o o o
Power emanated the rolling claw. Drifting through misty hair and colliding into flesh, the vigor of his hand tore Taito's jugular. Blood spurted in the wind, scattering the grass like ruby beads. The head severed quickly, bouncing on the ground. The forest recoiled, heralded in silence so shrill, the very wind stopped its tracks, and the volcanic mountains receded in its fiery hearth.
Standing taut in blood, the heir to the pureblood throne lowered his bloody claws. He had no regrets. In fact, he was exalted to kill for he was free of the burden. At last, Taito was no more.
He peered intently at the unconscious huntress, barely living, barely perceptible. He worried handling her roughly might blow her to pieces. He collected Taito's remains and took his huntress from the island, promising never to touch the wretched land again. From the sky, it was an inaudible few days journey back to the king's palace.
The King of Purebloods, Shigeu, rose at the sight of the prince whom he hadn't seen for weeks, bloody and empty-eyed, place the bundle of vampire remains on the desk. His mouth twisted open in awed surprise. Shigeu inspected the contents of the bag. The prince did not utter a word, bowed his head and returned to the curtained halls that fluttered and flowed with the draught of tired steps.
A week later he was called to audience with the court and council. He sat unconditionally noiseless while the room engaged in restless arrangements. When the air quieted in the distinct pulse of a freeing afternoon wind, the king rested a hand on his knee steadily and leaned forward toward the immobile prince. The court sat watchfully, surrounding the prince in intense attention.
"Kaname?" The pureblood king tried.
He looked at no one in particular, as if the name were unrecognizable and not his own.
"Would you like to begin the accounts of acquiring the remains of Taito Takamiya?" He invited to the waiting room.
The prince wanted to tailor his communication to the attentive minds of noblemen, generals, and purebloods, but he blanked. He'd never experienced running out of ideas or how to convey in public. He was book smart, and he'd mastered many languages on purpose. Of the skills, none came to aid. He gaped at a pool of light distilled in flight.
"Shall I try a question?" Rido interrupted beside a fellow council member.
Shigeu placated the pureblood relative by a wave of the palm and looked patiently at the preoccupied prince. "Shall we try again another day?" He suggested.
Kaname wrestled with a form of acknowledgement and loosened the sterile grip around his waist. The arm rested across his lap and the other dropped against the leg of the chair. Finally gaining a semblance of awareness, he responded frostily. "No need."
"Good. Shall we begin?"
He stared at the light imprinted on the carpet. "What would you like to know?"
"How did you kill Taito Takamiya?" The king asked.
Kaname grew still, and the room twisted in doubt so murky, it felt laborious to breathe.
"Kaname?"
"I manipulated her." He whispered.
The room's reflection shimmered in the king's frown.
"He knew about us before our arrival on Kyushu Island. He made a deal with a tradeswoman who promised to sell me. He knew of me. That I was looking to kill him, my grandfather and father's rival." The prince silenced as a castaway dust dangled in air.
The Grand Council bent forward pressingly from chairs.
Kaname tilted his head and caught shadows ripple the window over the king's throne. "We hid from his castle. The locals, even the innocent looking ones, were disguised. No one was untrained in combat. We were surrounded by ex-hunters, slaves, and bandits. He imprisoned Level Es and fed them prisoners. I sent spies over the island. He went by the name of Mouto Ideta and was quick to find us—her. I left her before sunrise. The stench of rotten corpse was ubiquitous. He freed a Level E, which followed his scent directly toward her. She was asleep when he injected her right arm. The drug stopped her ability to heal temporarily."
Kaname scowled as he went on, "He let her protect him from the attacking Level E. He had us right where he wanted. I was guided to a temple run by castaway monks who committed sin, some of their tongues were cut and were not able to speak. The island abided his commands. I was accompanied by his men in town and on hunts. I left her in the dark for Taito's convenience, knowing he'd kill her in the temple any day. He planned to poison and paralyze me, but after—" Flashes of Yuki stumbling, blurry-eyed and bloody, trekked his vision.
' "Ou-Ouji!" '
' "I had the prefect plan if it weren't for her. She is so loyal to you, she drank your poison whole.' "
The paralyzer almost stopped her heart. She fought hard to maneuver out of the forest and find him, not giving into the poison and using the last of her breath to reach his side. Her final word, her only wish was he. Ouji, her Ouji. His saliva sealed her windpipe, lungs, and heart minimally just to continue beating.
"I risked becoming prisoner and used as ransom." He gritted fangs, "And I decapitated him in front of his men." Anger frothed at the pit of his stomach.
His eyes flickered bright red as if Taito were in front of him, and he itched to run claws through the man's jugular and hold his head apart from his body. He craved the outcome as it excited and unrestrained him of foreboding guilt.
o o o
Her head was warm and her fingers knotted in fists. So that if he opened it and slipped a finger, they automatically clamped him. She was responsive but never awake. Freeing him, killing Shindo, and drinking poison so that not a drop was left to threaten him. It was all for him. The blood bond made her his servant.
"The poison weakened her extensively." Fumiko confirmed. "Your saliva cleared a pathway for her lungs to function, but it's not enough,"
"My blood can help her." Heavy and drained, the prince replied persistently.
Grandmother queen touched his arm gently, "You must not give her anymore blood." She'd detected the conspicuous scent he emitted was from providing the unconscious girl with blood not long ago. "Blood bonds create unalterable attachments. She is bound to you, but she must recover using her own potency. No good can come from depending on a pureblood's blood. Let her fight for her life."
Hesitation darkened his features. "It would have all been for nothing." He heard himself mumble in aggravated defeat.
The purpose of the mission was to maintain the validity of the trade. What use was hounding Taito Takamiya if Yuki never woke up?
Fumiko caressed his hair. "Your father is proud of your efforts. You came through just like you promised."
He didn't appear touched or soothed by the information. A hand draped a towel on Yuki's forehead. All to herself, Fumiko frowned at her grandson who seemed obscure in a world of pain. She grew certain Kaname initiated blood exchange. He seemed perfectly exultant to offer the huntress—his blood, his home, anything.
Fear shuddered Fumiko's heart. "You are not doing you or her a favor, Kaname. You can have blood bonds with others who are compatible." She proposed.
"She is my first." Quietly Kaname admitted under his breath as he watched her sleep, "I had to shut her mind for her to give in. She'd rather die than drink my blood."
"She understands the risk your blood bond poses. If word got to the wrong ears, she can be put to death for simply tasting it." Fumiko chastised. "I doubt you want her returning to prison. You need to think carefully about what you want to do with her." She patted his shoulder as a gesture of comfort, though unregistered by the prince, and left the room.
Early mornings and late evenings, Kaname ambled around the palace, returning to change her towel or wait for her to wake up. Marching bands, skits, and dragon lanterns flushed the populous streets in reception for his achievements. Red envelopes were sent to businesses and land owners, an invitation to feast at the palace. Nobles of the highest order or members of the Grand Council and king's court dined inside the palace. While the festivities colored the wind in fortune, blood fountains were freshly replenished and open to members of the council, townsmen, and prestigious humans.
The prince did not partake in the celebrations. He was seen strolling the courtyard and streets, unbothered by trailing guards and constant ramblings of Takuma. Sometimes he took a reasonable and quieter route where guards practiced sword fighting and target shots.
"Lately he seems distracted." Shigeu scrutinized his son wandering a grassy field.
"He asked to be alone." Takuma nervously dipped his head, "He has a lot on his mind."
"He was successful. I wish he'd celebrate with us. It's in his honor, anyway." The pureblood king stated wistfully, "He didn't go alone."
"No. The prisoner, err, Yuki Hanako, accompanied him." Takuma contributed, "Is something wrong?"
Shigeu peeked at Takuma beneath long, heavy lashes. "Is the girl here?"
"She's recuperating in grandmother queen's palace. Would you like to see her?"
The king waved the notion aside. "Never mind. Kaname did not want to tell me her location. He would not like my visiting her."
Takuma nodded, "She hasn't regained consciousness since their return. The maids say she ingested poison specifically for purebloods. There are rumors she might not recover."
Shigeu watched his son snap reeds from the ground. "Explains a lot. The road to kingship is not easy. He needs to understand the sacrifices he must make to be unconquerable. For the first time in a long while, Takuma, our city is ecstatic we will hold a coronation for someone apt to take the throne and ensure the protection of vampires. The future used to be uncertain. If Kaname can return with Taito Takamiya's remains, his grandfather's and father's enemy, he has established a strong foot in court. People will not mock him as a simpleton pureblood. No, they will respect him."
"Yes, Kaname is strong. He doesn't want to apply himself unfortunately."
Shigeu raised a brow at the added commentary.
"Forgive me," Takuma blushed, shaking his head. "Kaname is extremely reserved and strong. He can do—"
The pureblood king chuckled until his eyes clenched and tears dripped. "You don't think I noticed?"
Takuma sagged to his waist. "Oh, please, forgive me."
"I watched him grow from afar. The throne doesn't allow me close to him and I never taught him how to hold a sword, hunt, or race on horseback. I can't blame the detachment he feels toward me. I was never there, and he was not allowed near me."
"Kaname will be fine. I will remain by his side until my end." Takuma promised.
Shigeu wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. "You do not mind I stole you from your parent's and forced you to stay with my son?"
"Absolutely not!" Takuma gasped. "There is no other place I see myself."
"So be it." Shigeu smiled tentatively, "He was not allowed near anyone, but if you are there, it is good for him. You must not let him feel alone or hurt."
"I will do as you wish." Takuma bowed.
At every turn, Takuma obeyed the king's orders. He stayed with Kaname during long weary hours of lab work and practicing martial arts with foreign generals. He was there when Kaname was requested to make an appearance in the king's court. The evening was bone-shattering cold, and the horses in the courtyard jumped from freezing gusts of wind.
"The entire council will be present. I'm sure they want to pick a date for your coronation." Takuma continued his usual ramblings on Kaname's left. "Just in time for the Lunar festival. Astrologers say it's a good omen that your return and the coronation fall on the same month. The last coronation held around the festival was seven hundred years ago. Our great, great pureblood king Kosaku-sama led a prosperous reign."
Kaname halted and stared numbly at the blond. "Since when do you care about astrology?"
Takuma smirked, "I did a lot of reading in your absence."
"You were bored." Kaname slyly predicted.
A grin occupied his lips and Takuma shyly confessed. "I was."
The doors of the court room unlatched, and a panel of sentries bowed to Kaname. The formidable stature of the pureblood king relaxed in the highest seat, above the rest of the room. Kaname crossed the aisle neatly and bowed in the center of the room.
"You summoned me, Ou-sama." His shadow draped the red carpet, receding gradually in a respectful stand, not straight but hovering in slight bow.
Shigeu smiled and nodded in greeting. "The Grand Council and my court have assembled with a decision regarding your coronation."
The court bowed and reassigned themselves dutifully. Similarly, the Grand Council consisting of purebloods daimyos hailed and bowed.
"We are very blessed to have a sturdy and dependable candidate to be Crown Prince." Shigeu asseverated, "You slayed an enemy of the crown, of our town and people, your grandfather and myself included. For the measure of your efforts we wish to reward you with a palace by the Eastern Sea. Taito Takamiya committed murderous crimes and stole from royals and noblemen. The crimes of his gang breached our borders. You eliminated the instigator, therefore, royals of our neighboring land, Chongzhen Emperor, has offered to honor you and reward you with Yanran Mountains."
Kaname did not lift his head and resumed his light bend. "Thank you for your generosity, Ou-sama."
"For upholding your end of our arrangement," Shigeu murmured with narrowed eyes, "I expunge the records contravening the authority of huntress Hanako. She is free and immune from the condemns of our prison, our court, and Grand Council. After multiple discussions, the Branches of the Hunters Association and designated Presidents have concluded that due to her negative involvement, her honor as a hunter, however, expels her from the Hunters Association. Henceforth, she will return her weapons and armor as her service has been terminated."
Kaname reeked from shock and looked up into his father's eyes.
"As per our agreement, you will receive your coronation and marry a pureblood like your forefathers. You will raise the crown and when the time is right succeed me, your king," Shigeu elaborated, "The coronation will be in ten months. From this day on, our town, court, and Grand Council will focus on preparing your passage to the crown. You will participate in my court and conform to new tasks when assigned."
Kaname clenched his jaw, searing tears pooled his eyes. He blinked, and the tears dispelled.
' "Don't you kill him and regret the blood on your hands, Ouji. Don't you have a change of heart on the throne—that you swore to hate—all for saving a stupid girl from prison." '
o o o
Shards of light purloined her sight. She blinked and lights fizzled into uninterrupted darkness. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. Rapturous white, molded ceilings etched in bronze and gold winked from the burned the corners of her eyes. The drapes were drawn back, and the soft comforter bundled her in suggestive warmth. Strings of dark hair pillowed under her head, streaking the blanket. A hand passed her forehead, and the seams of her vision rippled to clarity.
The pureblood reseated in the chair next to the bed. She rubbed her chin on a knuckle in contemplation.
Yuki tried to inhale. Pain dialed up her sternum, turning the stream of breath in ragged gasps.
"Looks like you won the fight." The pureblood digested her observations. "Do you remember me?"
Weakly but steadily, Yuki bobbed her head in a short move.
"Do you remember what happened?"
She repeated the motion.
Fumiko leaned forward gingerly. "You've been fighting for your life. I didn't let him provide you blood. You're a smart girl, you can understand why I had to stop him."
Yuki's eyes hosted a look of dismay in resigned understanding.
"Yes, you're not like him. I can get through to you, and I can penetrate your mental barriers and see your innermost secrets." Fumiko picked her bruised and rough hand.
"I spent a great deal of time by your side," Fumiko said, "We were certain you wouldn't survive, it was quite worrisome to be honest. I used the time to access your barrier and learn about you. Why you ask? Hunters don't peak my interest, but when the hunter is someone my grandson protects, I'm forced to take interest."
Yuki stiffened and plucked her hand from the woman's grip.
Fumiko acknowledged the change in demeanor. She met Yuki directly in the eye, undaunted and candid, because it was the language Yuki knew and spoke. She didn't waver or swayed subjectively. "You have a chance to change your life, Yuki Hanako. I hope you take it and free yourself from the burden of blood bond you've formed with a pureblood. My grandson… let him go."
A tear oozed from her left eye into her temple.
"He cannot be yours. One day he will be king, the father of vampire kind. He must forget you so that he can be a reliable prince and king. And I know," Fumiko tearfully admitted this undeniable fact. "His feelings are deeper than he lets on. You know it too, don't you, Yuki?"
She tipped her head straight to glare at the ceiling, reading the absolute blankness above anxiously.
"You do." Fumiko knowingly divulged. "You knew a long time ago. Now, I must be the person to tell you to go. Were it some other pureblood, they would have you hanged. My grandson is tough, but I don't think he can watch you die. He will never survive it. Will you acquiesce to this old grandmother's request?"
Yuki had clenched her jaw. Her face unruffled except for the angry tears tarnishing the sweet tranquility of her expression.
"One day I will tell him the truth," Fumiko declared, "That I drove you away. I will take responsibility for it. On that day, he might be understanding or he might be furious as the day he realizes you are gone forever. I have readied a horse, some travel equipment and money."
The valiant huntress forced a smile and nodded at the grandmother queen, sympathetic of her plight. She hadn't regained complete strength, but she could move sufficiently. Fumiko, herself, guided Yuki to the stables where servants waited accordingly with a black stallion and travel bag.
Grandmother queen was not faint of heart. She steadied Yuki by the shoulders and bore into her deep eyes. "You are doing the right thing." The pureblood guaranteed.
The huntress bowed her head silently, and in the womb of darkness, faded forever.
Fumiko felt languid in her soul, like someone exploited her apart, rendering her unusable and tried to assemble her back together only to lose vital bolts and screws. Standing particularly serene in her greenhouse, a shudder anxiously throttled her from the bottom of her heart, dripping in tears of betrayal from her eyes. She nearly swayed, backing in a chair and slumped loudly in disbelief and terror at herself.
o o o
The pureblood king sat in momentary silence of his secluded office. It wouldn't be long before doors hurled open, letting his counselors, generals, and devoted ministers pillage his peace with questions and discussions. The summons prior was distinguished by the reputable council and court. He was relieved to have them on the same page. For a brief second, Shigeu allowed the thought to quell the strain plaguing him for years.
He had an heir. Not just any, but his own son. The news thawed his heart but a nostalgic awareness pricked his conscience. Once upon a time, Shigeu was a prince who wore the same clothes and shoes, responsibilities and obligations to the same throne and people. From an early age he roamed the world, battled and learned politics. His father enforced complex studies on political stratagems and war tactics. He didn't have a choice. His existence was solely to support the Kuran purebloods and receive the throne.
However, when it came to Kaname, panic stirred his chest. His son didn't run wild or battled wars and was not compelled to study politics. He was given a choice, and if Kaname didn't want to be king, Shigeu wouldn't hold it against the boy. A tiresome and lonesome path of kingship was taxing and undeserving of Kaname, who had an extensive pureblood life ahead and instead deserved to choose what he wanted out of that experience.
The hardness in his features mollified. Shigeu sighed at spotless papers draped across the desk in disinterest. A second later, a shadow loomed in front of the table without his noticing the door open. He looked up in quiet concern at the reflection of his younger self that glared in callous disappointment. The naturally warm maroon eyes narrowed in distinct suspicion, making his youthful face older and unkinder.
"Kaname." Shigeu tested his name loudly, "What brings you here?"
"You failed to mention her hunter status was contingent to removal in our negotiation."
Coolly, Shigeu stared at his son as worry chewed his conscience all over again. "Did it occur to you I wasn't the one to finalize her status?" He countered. "The Hunters Association upholds honor to the highest form. Once a hunter is considered shifty and devious, they're eliminated. The clause has been part of the institution for over five hundred years."
"It reduces her status drastically."
"A meager peasant. Does it worry you?"
His fists were curling, but his façade remained stoic.
Shigeu lifted an index finger, "Is she all you want to talk about?"
Through clenched fangs, Kaname shivered under a torch of anger. "I delivered my end of the deal. You needed an heir. By now you're gloating inside it's me. No one will contend a Kuran for the throne. It's been in our bloodline since the inception of our kind."
"As it should be," Shigeu was quick to point out and quivered in his red-handed hastiness, "That's—That's not what I meant."
"You could have trained another pureblood under your counsel and appointed him your heir. Many foreign kings have done so. But you stubbornly waited in the quiet for me to give in. You just needed adequate motivation for me to step forward. Lucky for you it worked out. You have what you wanted, but there's a huntress who perhaps won't wake up ever again because she drank poison meant for a pureblood, and now you want to purge her of any respect and honor and demote her to a peasant as she fights for her life. How quick you are."
"Must you turn me into a monster?" Shigeu could hardly believe his ears.
"I never have. I am a tail left to follow in your footsteps and have only obeyed the man who is more king than father." Kaname slowly conveyed.
The shimmer of shock in the pureblood king's eyes debilitated to nonchalant sadness. "Why did you say yes?" His heart shrank. "If you hate it so much."
Kaname looked up. His face was blank, and he leafed his mind for demonstrable significance. A stream of hope and wonder, crucially graceful to rope him up from the swallowing hovel of his beliefs.
"I thought in my pureblood life I had a chance to do something." He found himself whispering, "I thought in my long life that would grow hollow and hard, I can look back and think I made a difference. Instead of sitting around, letting the Grand Council toy people's lives, whom I'd never meet, I thought then I could help. It wouldn't amount to much, but I could live with that and know I made the right choice. I wasn't an idle observer who let her down. Her little life is spent between blades and orders. She conquers them wholeheartedly. A little person like her saves lives, and here I am, unable to die. What can I do? I needed to know enough so there wasn't a drop of doubt in me. And I did what came to me first."
"But you're not satisfied." Shigeu deduced.
"I am satisfied to help maintain your honor and trust in court. You are an unsurpassable king. I can't guarantee to rule exactly like you. I wanted to help. You can call it weakness or strength, but I don't want to destroy lives. I felt justified for killing Taito and I did it with a clear conscience and heart." Kaname breathed unevenly in sudden pain.
Shigeu's brows furrowed.
"I suppose it won't be of significance if you don't have consideration for the person who had to kill a loved one to protect you," Kaname concluded and sent a cold look at the burdened king, "They are simply fulfilling their duty, correct?"
Gloomily, the king of vampires unsealed his lips after deliberation, "If you want me to acknowledge a hunter's efforts in your achievements, I won't. You are purer and higher than other beings, not because of material achievement, or for satisfying the requirements for your initiation, or that I sired you. You are a Kuran, the name is the origin of vampires, and I cannot put another being on the same level as you." He said.
"As your father, mine and our nation's future will be written by you. I wish to give you the world. I could not give you love, but I can give you the throne. Since you've chosen kingship, lead us however you want—just remember, gentleness toward one person will bring misfortune to him or her. That is a king's curse. You can't get shaken by death of people around you. You're a pureblood, you will go on forever. The fate is inevitable." Shigeu reminded, "I lost a great number of people and I tried to help them. Like you, I had to make a choice. Always I was forced to choose the welfare of our people. To be a good king, I had to forgo being a good man to the people dearest to me."
His words strained the prince to the bone. Tugging the seven seas on the tiniest rope, Kaname weaved through a storm of emotions that'd haunt his existence. He wanted to do away the extremes in the path to become king. He was certain to avoid it if possible. Fortunately, his father did not pressure him from childhood. Yet the seed of responsibility had sprouted, and Kaname made a choice that ultimately propelled him to his knees in front of the throne he hated.
He wanted sunshine and rice canals sweeping cherry blossoms into sea as fishermen sailed to the market. He wanted skies flushed with stars, sitting in absent silence, forgotten by the peaceful strip of promenading people at night. He wanted to explore the lands of an estate and circle crawling roses planted specifically for a motherless huntress. To stop opposite to the shadow of a practicing sword at sunrise by her formidable blow, she'd never know of its cataclysmic power and continued her sword dance.
Kaname peeled off the threshold. The maid threw herself on the floor apologetically and gestured him inside. He had already forgotten about it as soon as he arrived upon an empty bed. The sheets had changed and the blankets had reached the laundry maids. The pillows were fluffed and the scent of fresh flowers swarmed, as if the room hadn't been touched by a wounded huntress.
"Oh, Kaname," Fumiko picked a teacup and sauntered toward her grandson, "You received your summons. What do you think about the palace by the Eastern Sea? It was my idea."
He continued staring agitatedly at the bed.
"Have some tea." She offered.
"Did she—is she?" His eyes widened from extreme assumptions.
"Alive? Yes." Fumiko smirked, "She was in a hurry." Forcefully, she placed the warm cup in his larger hand.
"Hurry for what? To go where?" Kaname struggled to craft even-tempered queries, "When?"
"Relax," His grandmother chuckled, "She's a strong girl. You can't imagine her holed up in here. The air will do her good. I think a horse might help."
"How uncharacteristically thoughtful of you."
She gasped, "You are becoming ruder lately."
"You are positive she is well? She immediately wanted to leave?" He marveled.
Fumiko sipped her tea, nodding. "Something about going home."
Kaname seemed convinced at last and nodded at his tea, "Her father is waiting impatiently, Juuri-sama too."
"Has she taken a liking to her?" Fumiko blinked.
Kaname smirked sneakily. "You were right, Obaasan. She resembles Juuri-sama. They have several things to bond over, and I am one of them."
Fumiko's eyes narrowed at his overconfidence. "Juuri will not approve of your blood bond."
"She didn't." Kaname waited for her to recover from choking on the tea.
"How did she find out?" The principled and collected pureblood cried.
Without a flinch or notable effort, Kaname coolly slurred. "Let's say I've gained an interesting adversary in Yuki's childhood friend. More to the matter is he accepted to become a knight of the royal family."
"Your father will never allow it." Fumiko protested.
"On the contrary," Kaname chuckled cheerlessly as he put the cup away, "He was the one who invited him to enlist."
"I cannot believe that boy sometimes." Fumiko huffed and puffed, her cheeks rising to warmer hue.
"Boy, you mean, the king?" Kaname amended playfully.
"He is very much a boy, Kaname, and you are just as terrible!" Fumiko shook her head wildly, "How can he permit someone whom you don't get along with to guard you?"
"He is a son of the Kiryuu clan."
Her smile withered.
"He has a twin brother. You understand the Kiryuus virtuous legacy and how many died for the royal family in the process. Oji-san gave their clan amnesty in return for their reputable deeds over the course of several lifetimes and Kuran kings. 'If ever a day ordained Kurans to succor Kiryuus, it would be equivalent to heavens smiling down on kings, and fortune and glory shall shadow he who fulfills his repayment.' " He absently quoted. "Nonetheless, not many know."
Fumiko's lips softened in a fond smile, and she gracefully melted in a chair overlooking her lush garden. "Your grandfather regarded them highly. He swore to help them at any given opportunity, as did your father. Soon you too will take the oath."
"It should be interesting," Kaname remarked, "To hold a man in high regard who resents me."
"Is he the one who reported the ambush in the desert?"
"The same."
"He was well-mannered than she." Fumiko sternly frowned.
"I suppose any well-mannered man won't look warmly toward a pureblood feeding his childhood friend." Kaname replied.
Fumiko silently watched her grandson try the tea. His dark eyes roved the springing roses, hailing sweet aroma. Hunched with elbows digging his knees, he looked guarded and exuded a nuance of gray desolation. Brown bangs ruffled his eyes as he gloomed over the cup.
Her breathing quivered. Pain seared her throat, soon tears pooled the rim of her eyes. Fumiko quickly cleared her throat and began pouring more tea, a secret exertion to allay the guilt lodged in her heart.
o o o
A fast rider like Yuki had exceptional finesse, charging farther than two cities from the king's palace. Apart from that, she had knowledge of shortcuts and less crowded routes to avoid adverse encounters. She was well on her own. The horse was nourished in comfort and was advantageously fast. Her silhouette chiseled the moonlit vastness, arid and freezing in the topping hours. She vowed to keep going, tugged the reins until ice flakes crippled her knuckles immovable.
Yuki, huntress of the wretched oblivion, yanked the reins and seized the horse to an abrupt halt. She could not take it anymore. Her ragged breathing stabbed the blackness with white wedges. She hunched over the horse, shriveled like a child in the night's womb against a nagging conscience to continue riding lest she freeze to death.
She tried to pick herself back up, only to topple off the horse and crash on the ground. Rasping at the white moon, she squirmed in the sand and from the blistering pain rocking her world to abstraction.
It echoed from the hole in her chest. Daunting, knifing, snagging her ventricles and squeezing her heart completely. She shook fanatically, coiling and rolling on the ground if only the pain lessened. Lastly coming up on her knees, Yuki panted between torrents of tears that froze before touching the ground, cursed from touching nature and life outside of her body. She clenched a hand on her heart, wrecking into sobs.
It hurts.
Everything hurt. The night air scraped her insides like razorblades. Quivering, she slumped into fetal position, clutching the monstrosity inside her chest.
A series of months and years passed it seemed. The stars turned faint and the wrath of cold tornado mused twice over, covering her in sand. From the distant crevices of the universe, horse hooves reverberated the desert, bumping her cheek rhythmically. They appeared on a narrow vein of the horizon's verge, coming faster and faster toward her.
Feebly she gathered on her knees, facing the fast approaching league. Catching sight of her, two alighted and unsheathed swords. Four on horseback had her surrounded. With acute precision, one of the riders on the left fired a bullet. She stiffened, sensing the hissing bullet caress her shoulder and embed the horse. It squealed agonizingly, neighing, and collapsed on the ground. Another bullet fired. Yuki clenched her eyes shut, twisting her face away as it kicked its hooves, bleeding to death.
She was snatched by the arm, a sword tucked deftly under her chin. Tears scrolled down her cheeks. She looked up unsteadily at the masked men in sophisticated robes. They had followed her from the palace. She was abnormally faster and if she hadn't stopped, she currently wouldn't face the sharp edge of the sword dipping in her throat.
A fist whipped the wind, scuffing her right cheek. The blow threw her over but she lurched back from a powerful yanked of her hair, dragging her through the sand. Orders beckoned the man to assemble ropes. Her eyes flickered eerily on the middle of his back.
She moved in watery speed. No thought, just focus. Her hands pinned his head and snapped his neck. A roar of exclamations exchanged between them. Yuki snatched the dead vampire's sword. Shakily she fluctuated on heels, meeting her assailant with an absolute swipe at his neck. He dissolved promptly.
The men on horses fired bullets, scorching her arms and legs. She could've run but there was nowhere to hide. The bullets jammed her muscles, entrapping her in anti-vampire toxins, not like the paralyzer she previously ingested, but deadly for all levels of vampires. She could feel her body dull impressionably, her reflexes slowing and vision blurring.
"They say you're the only huntress alive." A voice called from horseback. The rider alighted and towered Yuki. "And taking you down would be taxing. Ouji-sama seems very apologetic toward you and brought you back. We had a different agenda for you in mind."
The huntress lifted the sword, her blood drooling down the silver sharpness, "I hate to ruin your plans, but I doubt I'll let you get what you want."
The man grinned behind the shield of his mask.
Tersely she winged the sword under her arm, slicing the space of his chest. He reacted by twirling out of the way, swinging on her left, unsheathing his sword. A scorching metal lodged in her side. Yuki gargled a clump of blood, her grip loosened immediately. She gawked at the sword piercing her in the ribs. Unable to extract the appendage, her ears exploded with the thunder of her crashing heart. Loudly the huntress wilted to her knees for the final time. A fist descended on her left, knocking her unconscious in a puddle of blood.
o o o
"We need to designate personnel carefully. I have applicants from distinguished institutions with strong background in combat. We can assign sentries or royal knights. If Ouji-sama has a preference in numbers, we can find the right candidates prior to the coronation." The general rendered the applications to the attentive king.
"These are excellent." Shigeu perused a couple of prestigious sons from noble clans. "We need the right people to be on Kaname's side. I requested a knight and he is due to arrive after the coronation."
Asato Ichijo turned in the chair. "Why didn't you mention it earlier?"
Shigeu chuckled, "I must've forgotten."
"Who is he?" He pressed curiously.
"A Kiryuu."
The name set the general straight in the chair. He nodded after a moment, appeased. "I trust your judgement. Ouji-sama will have the brightest and skilled people in court. Would you like to recommend someone?" Asato gestured to the distracted prince mulling over distant mountains in the skyline. "Hm?"
From the papers Shigeu eyed his son.
"Ouji-sama?" Asato tapped the table under Kaname's elbow.
The brunette registered the noise and turned blandly in its direction. Standing a step on his right, Takuma blushed with an embarrassed shake of the head.
"Do you have someone you'd like to add?" Asato tried again.
The prince dropped his shoulders, shrugging haphazardly. "Takuma will do."
He rose from the chair and strolled out of the quarters.
Takuma bowed toward the wary king, nervously supplying, "He's not used to court business."
"Seven months ago, he hardly showed to my meetings." Shigeu sighed, "Is he not interested?"
"He is interested." Takuma enthusiastically chimed. "He's up all night studying law and how to be a better candidate for the crown."
Shigeu knotted arms across his chest and glared at the pile of applications. "It's my fault. I should've started him in the direction the minute he was born."
"Please, do not blame yourself, Ou-sama." Asato interrupted. "He is young and is engaging at his own pace. We can allow him time to digest the information."
"Besides studying all night, he's locked at lectures during the day and attends errands with councilmembers." Takuma added. "Oji-sama is right."
The pureblood lifted a demanding brow at the blond. "What do you suggest I do?"
Takuma bowed deeply. "Go easy on Kaname. He is a meticulous study and attends to everything he touches wholeheartedly. He is doing his best."
Nonchalantly, Shigeu crumpled an application and burned it in his fist. "Are you sure it's nothing else?"
He blushed darkly. "Wh-what el-else would it bb-be?"
"Takuma, I have assigned you to stay on Kaname's side. You must never leave him alone. It's your job to know if he's bothered and unwell."
"Forgive me, Ou-sama." Covered in erratic tremors, Takuma bowed, "I will make sure he comes to meetings prepared."
In the king's palace, a hall was specifically designated for Kaname's lectures. It was where the pureblood prince spent majority of his wakeful moments, whether day or night, rummaging palace law, ethics, Kuran history, and the birth of hunters.
Shadows frisked the expanse of the desk, smearing the immaculate text in gray haze.
Hair, brown like bird's wings, and eyes redder than the rising sun, she held the transversal space of the desk that raised his craned arm, knotting irredeemably into messed hair. Too plain to be beautiful and too radiant to ignore, wild bangs of hair oscillated rouge glimmers that tugged him out of consciousness. Presaged in soft calmness, her stillness soothed his vacillations.
I want to know how you are.
But she couldn't answer or move out of the opaque mirror.
I wish to see you.
Kaname glanced at chalk smudges on his fingers and sleeves. Multiple attempts at sketching her with a sword lay discarded next to his arm. He thought about it hard and long, repeatedly for months. She was not emotional and farewells didn't harbor any weight on her conscience. There was no reason to wait for her to visit or happen upon a note. His lips tweaked slightly as he stared at the haunting mirage of seven months. Not behind him, not next to him, not anywhere. She was gone, and it suffused him in irreparable ache.
Nothing spectacular if not peculiar, her beauty was notable, and her eyes invited him like fiery typhoons. Were he on a path to doom, gladly he'd walk toward it open armed. It was quickly turning arduous neglecting the nagging plea to see those eyes.
Today, it's your absence: that unnatural persistence craving you in a silhouette of your ghost. And still, you are missing.
You are missing.
Day in and out, he sat with ministers and advisors, harrowed by irrepressible worry that mocked him to silence on end. Something was wrong, it was all wrong. Something had terribly gone wrong, it told him.
The body of daimyo purebloods that had relatives serving the king's court or working as generals, warriors, samurais, and servants. The purebloods were principally favored in the material realm as they lorded regions across the nation. Due to Chongzhen Emperor's fear and distrust of his government officials, some pureblood daimyos stepped in to help and recounted to Shigeu on staggering social welfare. The studies were drawn out. He simply proceeded to execute them. He had always been a compelling student, but it wasn't reading and passing exams keeping him awake at night.
Always on his side, Takuma, turned to the horizon captivating the prince who never ate or slept anymore. "Do you want me to guess?"
Kaname waited on the animating embers caramelizing the black sky.
He unhappily sighed, "Can't it be someone else?"
The pureblood prince did not indicate having heard the question.
"I was mesmerized by her too." Takuma admitted, "She is not your typical woman. Obviously, you don't have to overexert yourself, it's perturbing."
"Quit skirting around and say what you want to say." Kaname's mouth barely moved.
"It's nothing you haven't heard already." Takuma mumbled at the sky.
Kaname breathed fully in his lungs to repress a wave of nostalgia. Had he better control over himself, he wouldn't be watching the sunrise in remembrance of a red-eyed huntress sword dancing.
"She has gone home." Takuma reassured. "There's nothing to worry about."
"Why haven't I heard about her return home?" Kaname speculated. "She'd be furious for losing her status."
"Maybe this is her way of dealing with it." Takuma replied. "Maybe, she knows better than fighting the president's decision. Maybe, she's come to accept her termination."
He merely shook his head from side-to-side, narrowed eyes pinned on the peeking sun, "Her wrath is to be reckoned with."
Takuma chortled, "Aren't you exaggerating her importance? What happened between you two?"
Kaname closed his eyes and clenched his jaw to lull a ruthless sting in his chest. An adept swivel of the heel hauled him away and out of the courtyard.
"Wait, I didn't mean—" Yelping, Takuma bounced around his shadow, "I was only curious. Don't be upset, Kaname."
A mob of servants interweaved the general courtyard where horses and guards piled under terraces. He came to a sharp halt with Takuma bumping into his back. The blond groaned and mouthed an apology. Kaname shrugged him aside and angled toward the sweeping course of servants as a soft form protruded from the carriage doors.
The popular bellows of Rido Kuran astounded the scuttling people next to Kaname. They nervously tarried as the pureblood advanced upon the courtyard. He looked at Kaname from toe to head, cleared his throat, and marched on.
"I have waited too long." Rido shouted. "Move your face." He shoved a guard by the palm to the left.
A pair of slender feet leapt out of the carriage and landed firmly on the familiar stones of her king's palace. Juuri pushed her hat back for a clearer view of the receiving party and noted the astoundingly glowering pureblood lord.
"You?" Juuri breathed in surprise.
"Rido-sama shook up the palace after he heard you were coming." A guard stepped in faithfully.
"I want you to know that I am very angry," Rido shoved an index finger at her nose, "You left without declaring to return. It's been lonely—I—have been lonely and in need of consolation. Now come into my arms and tell me you missed me." He spread his wings wide expectedly.
Juuri smirked, "I told you I was gone on personal business."
"Less talking and more hugging." Rido gestured his chest. "Right here is where your head should be. Come."
She did not budge and simply smiled, "I did miss the informalities."
Rido blinked and cleared his throat, observing the heeding servants. "Did you finish doing what you went there for?"
Juuri frowned, "Never mind that." She plucked her gloves gingerly, "I'm here for the coronation. I can't let Kaname be infested by palace officials. Have heart, Rido. He's not cruel like everyone wants him to be. You could've shouldered his burden while you're here."
Rido was appalled, "I guess time from the palace gave you your cheekiness back. What do you mean 'shouldering his burden'? Who helped him find the huntress's prison?" He hissed passionately. "I did, me."
Instead of jollity, her eyes dimmed longingly and shifted to Kaname. Juuri brushed Rido on the shoulder and crushed the younger pureblood in her arms.
Rido could hardly believe his eyes. "That hug should be mine." He bellowed that the crowd ducked as a whirlwind erupted in the middle of the courtyard.
Kaname chuckled in her hair. "I think he is right. He's been waiting for you earnestly."
"Be more selfish, Kaname." Juuri pulled back to reply, "He'd never speak well on your behalf."
"I am standing right behind you." Rido yelled.
She paid him no mind and said. "Take me to your palace, we need to talk."
"Kaname has not been residing in one." Takuma inputted suddenly.
"Why not?" She now detected his sullen, pallid complexion. "You don't look well."
"It's not blood related, Juuri-sama," Takuma solemnly confessed much to Kaname's chagrin.
She nodded her own speculations. "We'll discuss it inside."
Juuri was escorted to the guest quarters to respite and hoped the servants remained, not Rido. He was casually attached to her side and refused to offer her privacy. Fretting over her freshly showered hair or non-manicured nails was a great indulgence of his, however, she became impatient and threatened to pitch him over the banister of the quarters.
The incorrigible man fell in a chaise, laughing.
She fled his watch and trekked Kaname within crooks of an ancient library. Guards patrolled his visit. She entered a dark hall and rounded a corner, sensing a shivering stalk on her heel.
Juuri clenched her fists angrily and whirled back. "Why do you keep following me?"
"Because I missed you." Rido returned as it was the one true answer.
"I need to talk to Kaname."
"He's in the gallery." The pureblood pointed to the second floor. "He goes there to hide from meetings and entertain Takuma's interest in astrology. He built a telescope."
Juuri hurriedly escaped toward the appointed floor. Rido lingered on her tail and slipped between the slit of the door just in time. Takuma was in the middle of a soliloquy about new stars, patterns and impacts, and how to perceive changes.
Kaname faced a window, arms wounded tight, vacant-eyed and mute.
"You see it's the best year for you yet. You are about to receive extreme wealth, land, possibly a noteworthy mate." Takuma cheered.
"Does that mean your visiting brothels will never happen?" Rido wondered, stroking his chin. "Can't say you missed anything. The girls in town are blander than in Kyoto."
Juuri shook her head at the man in utter aggravation. "Leave it to you to soil the mood."
"Kaname, marriage does not mean your manhood belongs to your bride." Rido alerted. "I suggest making ample use of concubines and court ladies. If you appoint me, I'll hunt the country for the prettiest and softest women for your pleasure."
"Every word out of your mouth is like cyanide." Juuri glowered. "Kaname will never add you in court. Keep your disgusting fantasies to yourself."
"I concur." Takuma firmly declared. "Kaname deserves better than geishas and concubines."
"You can't expect a princess or queen to continually relieve a king's stress." Rido traversed the room and shoved open a cupboard. He reached for flasks and a bottle of wine. "She has other demands. Your mother knows what I mean, Kaname."
Juuri cursed under her breath. "Stop talking you, filthy vulgar pest. He doesn't need to think about matters of the sort."
Rido smirked and handed her a drink. "You're going to rouse an army out here with those flushed cheeks. Have a drink, Juuri-love."
She snatched the glass and consumed the contents. The first sample was terribly insufficient. She demanded three more glasses. After fifteen minutes with serener façade and rubber tongue, Juuri curled in a chair and looked at the younger pureblood who hadn't acknowledged them once.
"Are you set on ignoring us?" Juuri asked.
Kaname turned slightly and returned to glare outside.
She placed her empty glass and wiped her mouth on a napkin. "I can't picture how you've been inundated in training and royal demands. There cannot be a coronation without my being on your side."
"Not at all." Takuma chimed, grinning, "We're selecting the best men to support Kaname. To be honest, you're the only matriarch he prefers to the queen."
Juuri smiled warmly. "Let's not overlook how hard you've been working. He will need you too."
"Aren't you two warm and fuzzy." Rido mocked between sips of wine.
She ignored the man. "Kaname, thank you."
Inquisitively, the prince looked from his shoulder.
"You went out of your way to release Yuki. You too, Rido." She acknowledged finally, "Hadn't you provided him her location, we'd never know what could have happened."
"Anything to make you happy, Juuri." Rido raised his glass.
"That girl must be running around up to no good." Kaname silently assumed.
"Why?" Juuri picked her head in groggy confusion.
"He means," Takuma frowned, "She was terminated from the Hunters Association. The branches unanimously decided she was unfit for service."
Juuri swayed to her feet and approached the brooding prince. "Strange, I was under the impression she went on assignment after release. No one gave word about her unemployment. If she isn't working, where is she?"
Kaname paused his musing over a swaying orange tree.
Juuri's eyes flared wide at the room's lack of construability. "She hasn't been home in over eight months. Didn't you free her?" She demanded.
The suggestion of fouling his father's reputation moved Kaname to unbearable vexation. "The king upheld the deal honorably." He rumbled like rocks avalanching, "I vowed to kill Taito and accept the coronation in return for her freedom."
"But," Fretfully, Juuri quivered, "You want—"
"I know." Kaname cut her short.
"Where is she?"
The mystery teased his blood. Fanning through his gut up his chest, concern made itself home. One day fear began chiseling the marrow of his bones. Doubt sent him visions on and off. Was she trying to reach him? Was the interminable ache in his chest a symptom of blood bond? That she was trapped in torment, wrestling from death's chokehold underwater or in behemoth depths hanging by a thread?
He hadn't slept a wink in months. Somewhere, unconsciously seeping in his subconscious was her pale face screaming.
Kaname craned his head on a trembling hand and clenched his temple. "They were signs." He realized.
Moving Juuri aside, Kaname darted out of the gallery. He cut in the courtyard and stormed into a peaceful garden house quivering from his aggression.
Fumiko snipped thorns from the stem of a rose. He abruptly ceased on her side, snatching the scissors from her clutches.
She was not startled for she sensed his electric approach. By the looks of his dreary expression, she surmised he was not in the mood for light banter over tea.
"You are someone dear to me, someone I trust." Kaname said shakily. "Someone who vowed never to hurt me. I ask you, please, give me the right answer. You will lose me forever if you don't. Where is she?"
Fumiko unknotted his fingers from the scissors. "I was trying to help."
"Where is she?" He demanded.
She was alarmed by the frightful clench on her forearms. Fumiko gasped at his scorching red eyes. "I did not expect her to wake up. I did nothing terrible. Your blood bond endangers you both. She's not like you and agreed to disappear."
Kaname shoved away, his eyes black and fangs exposed. Pain stroked his chest sharply, shattering the cage of his heart. "She didn't go home to her father like she was supposed to. No one knows where she is."
"I meant her no harm. I even financed her sufficiently. She can start a new life." Fumiko added reassuringly.
A deeper fear imbedded his conscience. The ache in him sliced recurrently.
"I had to. She incited the council's attention," Fumiko imparted. "There are too many eyes here. I couldn't let you get caught in another dilemma."
"Dilemma?" Kaname interjected gruffly.
Like clashing blades, Fumiko flinched from the sound. "Get a hold of yourself, Kaname. If it went on, you'd throw yourself away. For what, a girl? What about the crown?"
"She is not just a girl," A voice echoed from the doors of the garden. Juuri meandered closer, arms folded.
"Juuri, darling," Fumiko offered her a hand, "Don't mistake our conversation."
"You don't need to hide from me." Juuri clenched her fingers in return. "Actually, I'm responsible for Kaname's disposition. That girl, however unmannered and insensitive, is every bit my daughter."
Fumiko yanked her hand.
"Yuki is mine." Juuri revealed composedly. "And Kaname has been overseeing her. This child standing here is warm natured and wholehearted, naturally he'd grow caring of her. If you know where she went, I'll make way and take her home. Her father misses her."
"Kurashiki," The grandmother queen gaped between the purebloods, "You went there for her?"
"Kaname had no idea. I dragged him."
"He would've latched onto the hem of your skirt hadn't you asked." Fumiko eyed the blanched prince. "And the blood bond?"
Juuri glared at the instigator. "His doing."
Fumiko touched her tickling throat. She turned and plopped in a chair.
Juuri caressed dark locks from her forehead. "I'm sorry for keeping it a secret. I had to protect her."
"Sure, yes," Fumiko giddily nodded, "You are not the only Kuran ever to bear a half-pureblood. Despite your common great, great, great grandfather, Shigeu and you are blood. Aristocrats linked to the crown are put down. Only pureblood Kurans exist, not Kuran half-purebloods. It's either that, or the state's echelon ought to do the trick."
"Life in the palace is already torturous. How could I force her to live in secret?" Juuri knelt in front of the chair, bowing her head. "My fate with my daughter is pitifully cruel. I did not regret leaving the palace, but I regret leaving her."
"It took leaving the wretched palace to have a daughter you could not have." The grandmother queen whispered tiredly, "She should not have been born yet she was. Her personality is that of an outcast. She fights stubbornly so she lives stubbornly. She must've slipped accidentally from the gods' hands, and they took pity on her, like melting fire she shot out of the black sea of the universe and came here. She's been trying to catch up ever since. My mother's heart cannot judge your decision. And this one," She gestured to the downcast prince, "He might as well be ours. We showered him love we couldn't give to the children we birthed. You did exactly what you felt was right at the time. As did I." She locked Kaname's seething gaze.
"You did not answer my question." Anger milked his tongue but he managed to muster with enervated patience.
"I don't have the answer you want, Kaname." Fumiko shot back. "She didn't hesitate. If I didn't know better, she sure is smarter than the likes of you two."
"Fumiko-sama, please," Juuri forced a saccharine smile, "Bear with us. We just want to know if you can help us."
"This was my way of helping you now that I see the whole picture." Fumiko stated. "The farther she is from you two the safer for her. She knew it. Don't hold a grudge. My interest is protecting you."
"Impossible." Kaname spat fervidly as Juuri sank to the ground in depression. "I will blame you. You had the nerve to tell her to disappear while she recuperated for saving my life."
Fumiko's eyes blazed.
"She would've gone home. Not for long, but she would've gone to her father first," Kaname clenched his jaw, the consuming fury iridescent in his glare and a palpable chill accorded the wind. The garden began wilting from frost. "In the last eight months, everyday a sickness burgeons inside me. An ache haunts my blood. I can't shake it. How can I triumph if I stagger in the safety of my father's palace? She sits here," He clenched his temple, "It started after that day. I thought my hallucinations derived from weariness. Only to reach here." He snatched the left of his chest. "Something is wrong; my blood tells me. I ignored it, fought it. I let it go, pushed it away. I can no longer feed. This isn't so I can forget the crown. I stand behind my trade if it returns Juuri-sama's daughter home. For that reason, I will find her." He swore.
o o o
Three months spun in a storm of peripatetic misery of misfortunes. The Lunar festival was long gone, however, in lieu of the coronation citizens resumed celebrations. The palace went on streaming fireworks. Within the furnished halls of spectating council, the pureblood king, irate and adamant, shrilled a command louder than rolling thunder. Takuma managed to escape at the right time and weaseled in the sanctuary of his gallery where the subject of the uproar resided.
He caught the pureblood prince leafing a book and absently, clumsily and devoid of delicacy, shoved the darn book on the shelf before reaching for another. Takuma halted by a desk.
The usual friskiness of the prince's hair was exchanged for a sluggish, matted brunette mop. He hadn't detected it earlier, but Kaname exuded a bizarre friability. Just when he found a book, he saw it. The perceptible thinness of his cheeks and bands of collarbone peeking from the collar. His weight loss was unignorably disheartening.
"He wants to know why you're postponing it again." Takuma carefully worded. "He summoned you."
"To put it precisely, he threatened to kill you if you don't bring me to him," Kaname queried with a short lift of the brow. "Are you ready to die?"
Takuma flushed, "Unlike you, I am replaceable. He can hurt me and Oji-sama can't stop him."
"Things like that," Kaname bent his face in a shaking hand, "Don't say useless things like that."
"It is true."
The prince searched his complexion. "You are too honest for you own good."
"I figured it's why you liked having me around." Takuma whispered.
Kaname met his eyes and turned on his heel. He leaned against a desk in front of the window and folded his arms. "The king gave you to me, he can also take you away anytime he wants, but that's not why. It seems you are the only person I can trust in the palace."
Takuma frowned at the pureblood. "There you go again. Talking about the world like it turned its back on you when you're the one who turned his back first."
Kaname stared at the swaying branches bordering the courtyard.
"What should I tell him?"
"He can fabricate an answer to appease the citizens."
"You're underestimating your father's temper." Takuma reminded.
"Perhaps," Kaname rubbed his aching temple, "But there are other things to do first than banquets and coronations. I sold my life to the throne, there's a lot of time."
Takuma joined his side quietly and followed his gaze at leaves falling and skittering on pavement. "Do you miss her that much?"
He said nothing.
"Who knows what happened?" Takuma longingly aired, "The search parties grow tired. Your father is impatient and angry. He's bound to kill me. The city has been partying for months."
Kaname rubbed hair from his forehead. "You need to go."
"Huh?"
"I need someone I trust." Kaname decided, "Take the best samurais if you must. Find her."
Before he objected and squabbled to avoid the task of leaving his side, Takuma studied his paling countenance. Sadness oozed from the shadowy depths of the pureblood's soul. A listless and endless plea beckoned from an unutterable bareness. Takuma could only see what amounted to superficial worry, nonetheless, he discerned, the pain ran intelligibly deeper.
"I'll go." Takuma yielded because he could not withstand the prince's pain. "Remember what you're asking of me."
"The you who can't handle rough roads, and dirty clothes." Kaname nodded with an expiring smile, "I am in debt to you for compromising your comfort."
Takuma clenched him on the shoulder in a jovial brotherly pat. "As long as you remember. It's enough for me."
His comrade combed cities, ports, and graveyards. He made sure to turn every corner and take time listening and waiting for clues. The easiest of identities was her former hunter status. Though she was an irrefutably resourceful and successful hunter, the chonin laughed and slammed doors on Takuma. One of the samurais suggested a peculiar endeavor in the afternoon of their fourth week roving a sea market.
"Usually they're leftover and nameless. They have no home as they've been offered to purebloods. Most don't return, but there are cases where some wind up sold as slaves to common vampires." The samurai had said.
Attentively Takuma nodded, "Do you know of any in these parts?" He gestured to the town in a slab of the forest.
"I don't but some tend to come from the king's palace."
Takuma sipped water from a leather pouch.
"I can ask around, Takuma-sama." The samurai offered.
He nodded and gestured to the man who jogged down the ravine into town. Takuma's forte was not hunting or investigating, and he was out of his comfort zone, strapped in blue cloth and armor with samurais at large standing in drifting mud under the weeping clouds of winter. He could not return to the palace emptyhanded. Moreover, he could not return and meet the limitless sorrow in Kaname's eyes. He pushed himself to the limit in mosquito fields, riding belligerent weather conditions, and rammed with nomads.
He had just about given up and lay cursing at stars in immobilizing temperatures.
"Takuma-sama!" One day an envoy arrived at camp, tripping over armor and swinging knives on his hip. "Takuma-samaaaaaa!" The man anxiously hollered.
Takuma tossed the tasteless tea and stood up on the rock he perched. "What now?" He grunted. For he was through patience and tired of pressure.
The bowing envoy carefully dressed the thin parchment across the blond's palm. "It's from the borders of Gifu."
Takuma unraveled the characterized text.
"Is it what you're looking for?" The envoy rasped out of breath.
His brows furrowed from concentration and gingerly he weaved the note into a thin straw. "The Yamato Court belongs to one clan of purebloods."
"I was instructed to give you news of implementations from that night."
"Night?"
The envoy lowered his gaze. "The night Ouji-sama received his royal summons. Only records of that clan were detailed. Shall I accompany you?"
"I don't want to get my hopes up." Takuma replied. "Stay here. I'll go to Gifu alone. The Toma clan will not appreciate a herd of samurais in their courtyard."
o o o
Juuri secured the last pin upon the orange silk robe. She retreated in caution, analyzing the amended accessories consisting the ceremonial attire. He was engulfed in layers of pillowing silk and the top of his head was covered by an elongated hat. A field of male servants tidied his train behind a pair of triangular tipped shoes. Outside, a warm breeze titillated the waiting courtyard. The weather was exceptionally clear, a break from the gray, and the satin warmth was refreshing for a lively coronation.
Because she opted to assist, his help stood alert in puzzlement at her heel. She threw the judging party a glare and shooed them out. They bowed and hustled out of the room.
"We can talk freely." Juuri let out the breath she'd been holding.
"Why didn't you dismiss them earlier?" Kaname twisted the tight material around his neck.
"Pride." She replied. "I can't have them looking down on me for not doing my job."
"Dressing me for my coronation is not part of your job." The pureblood prince reminded.
"I mean my other job." Juuri snapped lightly, "How are you feeling?"
His brows queued up to the hat and returned evenly above cool dark eyes. The only measure of response was a dark grumble, like a voice bridled underwater. "Perfect."
Juuri scoffed at his rotten sarcasm. "You're getting paler by the day. I'm surprised you haven't fainted from holding a teacup."
True, he had no justification nor recollection of the last time he drank blood. It must have been six months? No, longer. "I will be fine." The prince glanced at her warningly.
"Well, don't give me that look. I wasn't the one who insisted you coronate today."
"The king got to you too."
"I hate his glare," Juuri shivered, "He expected me to whip you into shape in a heartbeat. I'll say, we're two years apart but Shigeu can be a real monster when warranted."
"The king wants an active crown prince and the public wishes to see a coronation."
The doors opened to reveal the grandmother queen at the threshold. Her maroon eyes flickered from Juuri to Kaname. Their prior discussion ran rampant on her mind all the time and she couldn't stand his cold shoulder any longer. She entered, her footsteps soft and delicate, practiced and dainty.
"I want a word with you." She said to the prince.
He stood intrigued by a pair of chittering birds.
Fumiko did not anticipate him to eagerly want to make up. "I know you haven't forgiven my actions, but I ask that you be realistic." She voiced warmly, "Kaname, my intentions were purely for safety reasons. I cannot stand watching the particular episode again without trying to prevent future ordeal."
Kaname's head snapped in her direction.
"What I'm trying to say is-" Her eyes rounded. She touched the accidental quiver on her bottom lip. "I—what I mean is—"
"You said, 'again.' " He pointed out. "I heard you clearly."
Fumiko glanced at Juuri hesitantly. "I-I—"
Eyes narrowed, Kaname lurked out of Juuri's delineating appendages toward his grandmother. "Why were you afraid of our blood bond? Why did you not trust me to do the right thing?"
Fumiko blinked at the floor guiltily.
"You're not afraid of my indifference to the crown. You said, 'there are too many eyes.' Who was watching? Or rather, what did you not want to witness again in the palace?" Kaname erupted. The windows unhinged and a gust of frigid air, moseying secretly from winter, rattled toward Fumiko. "Tell me."
She protectively reverted the expulsion back outside with a thrust of her palm. "You're your father's son!" Fumiko cried.
The wind dwindled.
"And I will not watch another boy have his heart wrecked over a huntress." Her eyes seared him threateningly, a look he could not conceive. The serenity of her pale visage transposed to an incensed blood-eyed pureblood.
Juuri grabbed Kaname's arm. A tremble sawed him. He was molten hot. She tried not to flinch as a fragrant ferocity vibrated from his being.
"I vowed never to speak of it." Fumiko's fangs peeked from the corners of perfect crimson lips. "A mother cannot watch her children get hurt."
The door launched open for the third time. Shadows swerved on the garbs of servants. In a matter of seconds, samurais and a disheveled blond materialized. He was short of breath with good reason. The city was blocked and each curvature of the palace contained a palace official, inhibiting interruptions from Kaname's room.
The sight of his forgotten comrade of four months sent a glow of warm hope in his chest. Kaname immediately swiveled and met his glossy-green eyes.
Takuma hinted not a sound, only incessant gasps, but the look he gave Kaname told him everything. He nodded his head three times, slowly, deliberately, in quiet insistence.
At once, Kaname unraveled the primeval arrangement of silk belts and cords. Juuri was startled. "What are you doing?"
Kaname handed her the ceremonial hat. "Postpone the coronation."
"You've gone mad, Kaname." Juuri reproached, "Explain yourself."
He resumed detaching embellished pins.
"I think I know." Fumiko consciously glanced at the loyal blond by the door.
Takuma bowed toward the grandmother queen. "Forgive me—us. If we don't leave the palace now what with the crowds, we'll never get there on time."
"Where?" Juuri demanded.
Kaname squeezed her shoulders. "Tell the king something came up."
Fumiko shook her head sadly. "He will burn your servants alive instead."
"Please." Kaname faced his grandmother.
She met his eyes in condensed trepidation, but consented a firm nod. "I'll take care of Shigeu. You know what you're doing?"
Kaname unblinkingly answered. "I am fulfilling my half of the trade. There cannot be a coronation unless I get that girl back to Kurashiki."
o o o
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