Disclaimer: The only thing I own are the Monogatari men and women and their stories.
A/N: Someone else did a trailer for Iris! I stumbled upon it and thought I'd share! If you go to my profile page and go to my LJ I have it posted there for everyone to see...well, both of them are posted...the second one is the newest.
Chapter 24
Always
"Kuro."
Her voice came out in a soft breathless whisper. His dark fathomless eyes closed at the sound, his hair gently caressing her face as his forehead slowly fell forward to gently rest momentarily on her bare shoulder. She felt his quavering breath on her warm skin as his lips gently made a sensuous trail to her neck. Her hand slid slowly up his bare chest, finding a resting point on his shoulder as she took a deep breath. The diamond adorning her hand twinkled in the candlelight as her hand slowly caressed its way toward his neck, his dark hair gently caressing her hand.
His mouth slowly slid up her jaw line. Near her ear, he released a low sound somewhere between a moan and a growl. She arched slightly beneath him, his free hand, the one whose fingers were not gently leaving a hot trail across her lips and up her cheek and jaw line to her hair, gripped the luxurious sheet beneath them and the large coverlet that had been tossed aside. She felt the tip of his nose barely touch her, as he moved slowly until his forehead rested against hers, eyes closed. He felt her fingers playing gently with the back of his hair and a shiver ran through his body. He moved, his mouth almost touching hers as he took a deep breath as if in disbelief of what he had beneath him.
"Hermione," he whispered before his lips crashed onto hers and the sheet pooled around his waist.
Things just weren't the same in the months since Chloe left. The Chi that rose from the ground of the court yard that night was not the Chi Hermione knew. This Chi had eyes as dark as the night and they were empty as if some black hole existed beyond their glare. A rumor around the estate was another death; A Death Eater that got too close to the estate met with Chi and what was left of the man was unimaginable. Kuro would let her no where near Chi, especially alone.
The darkness that engulfed Chi lay like a shroud over the estate. And it affected everyone there. Rui felt the pain of his cursed love one and knew what the loss felt like. No one seemed able to control Chi and amidst all his turmoil, Kuro clung to Hermione…worshipping his every moment with her, worshipping every inch of her.
Watching Chi fall apart…watching him cave to the darkness of the curse and embrace it was like a visual reminder to Kuro. He knew what he had. He knew he could not let her go. He knew that he would hold on to her at all costs, even if that meant giving up the throne and hiding from his own family.
And Lucius.
There was no idea what could be done about the betrothal agreement. So, Kuro did the one thing he could think of…the one thing he knew he could do to claim her as his own in their world.
He put a ring on her finger and set a wedding date.
He was given a choice. Drain her very life to save the family or love her. He could do nothing but love her and he would continue to do so…even if that meant running away to keep her safe.
The knock at his room door was almost silent. He could hear it though and it startled him awake. His dark eyes drifted down to Hermione, ensuring she was undisturbed and covered well enough. Kuro slid out of the bed, taking the sheet with him and answered the door, holding the soft material loosely around his hips. To anyone looking there was no doubt Kuro was wearing absolutely nothing beneath. Kuro found his uncle on the other side of the door.
Ayame stood there, taking in his nephew's appearance. His eyes glanced behind Kuro and then he saw her. Her small frame lay curled beneath the coverlet of the bed. Her hand lay gently in the space still warm from Kuro's body. The diamond on her hand seemed to taunt him. Ayame took a deep breath and looked away from them both. It had been so long since he tasted her blood that she had faded from him. No longer could he feel her, but his body still ached for that wine.
"Rui-san asked me to tell you that Ari-chan will arrive about an hour after sundown tomorrow to take care of Mi-chan's dress fitting."
Kuro nodded once, curtly and watched as Ayame turned without glancing back and walked from the doorway like a man shot in the chest. As Ayame moved down the corridor, Kuro shut the door. Ayame heard the soft click of the door and he stopped walking, knowing he was no longer being watched. He leaned back against the wall, tilting his head back to look up at the ceiling as if an answer to his heart ache could be found there.
From the darkness of the corridor, Rui emerged as ethereal as ever. His long dark hair was tied back and his eyes shone with sadness and understanding.
"Chi-san, though hard put to say it, loves Chloe-chan enough to set her free, to give up any idea of her being by his side if that means keeping her safe even from himself. Kuro-san loves Hermione-chan enough that he is willing to give up everything he is destined for to keep her by his side and safe. You will find someone some day, Ayame-san. One day someone will fill that void."
Rui gave Ayame a sad understanding smile and continued down the corridor.
"But will the pain ever go away?"
At Ayame's question, Rui stopped dead in his tracks, feeling the emptiness his Orchid left behind.
"No," Rui whispered. "There will always be the pain."
Ayame watched Rui disappear back into the darkness and closed his eyes as he slid down the wall to rest there on the floor, his memories flashing back to only a week ago.
There was a city right outside Darkland. This city didn't hold just vampires, but normal people as well. It fell under the joint jurisdiction of the Darkland monarchy and the government of the people. Ayame had gone to the city to get away from everything that reminded him of Mi-chan. She was everywhere in the royal estate.
He walked down the sidewalk, his stone still in his hand, tossing it up and catching it. It was almost as if he wished to lose the cursed thing. His mind was dancing around the wedding announcement Kuro made at dinner the previous evening, the diamond ring on Mi-chan's finger, the ring he did not put there. The stone flew up in the air and with a thud of some petite form walking into him, he did not catch the stone, instead it fell to the concrete.
Ayame looked down with a scowl at the intrusion of not just his thoughts, but his personal space as well. A couple girls walked by giggling as they looked down at the small female. She had dirty blond hair that had fallen forward in her descent to the ground. She was scrambling to pick up her books and apologizing profusely. She sounded so small, weak and frightened. Her voice broke as if she were going to cry and when the girls passed by she seemed to withdraw further within her self.
He reached down to help her, picking up her books for her. As he handed one of her books to her, he noticed her eyes. They were such a deep gray they reminded him of the sky during a storm…raging above the royal estate. But her eyes looked so…guarded and her face seemed to hold so much pain. It made Ayame uncomfortable to see this high school girl with such a look on her face.
When he stood up, he kept his hands in his pockets and looked down at her. Her eyes flickered down, noticing something on the pavement…a stone as dark as the night. He couldn't process what she was doing immediately. Not until it was too late. The young girl reached out, her fingers brushing the stone and she wrapped her small delicate hand around it, picking it up from the ground and pulling herself back up to her feet.
"You dropped this," she said so quietly.
Ayame said nothing just held his hand out for her to place the stone in. She had no reaction to his stone, picked it up as if it were an ordinary stone found in any garden in town. He slipped the stone into his pocket, his dark eyes burning down into hers, his cheeks sucked in slightly with his pursed lips as if in disapproval of mere presence before him. She winced slightly and tears began to fall down her face.
"Why do you feel so much pain?"
Ayame threw his fist down onto the floor. Yes, he did find someone else able to hold the stone, by accident. A simple child if you asked him. And to make matters worse, where Ayame did everything in his power to block emotions, to keep them away, to feel nothing, this girl was an empath…feeling everything…even his pain for Mi-chan.
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"Be still!"
Her words were commanding and almost frightening. Hermione was not expecting such a woman to exist among the cursed members of the Monogatari family, but Ari was not just any woman. She accepted her curse. She found it amusing how the "boys" tried so hard to find a cure and laughed when she was told it was the one Kuro loved. Her confidence was an overpowering force in the room.
She circled Hermione as she stood on the small stool in the most beautiful wedding dress Hermione had ever seen. Ari barked orders at those she brought with her. They scrambled around Hermione sticking pins here and there. From the shadows of a room, a young man, possibly Hermione's age stepped forward and placed a hand on Ari's shoulder.
"Ari-chan, you are frightening the girl."
She scowled and looked back at the young man.
"Eric, this wedding is only days away! Kuro-san did not exactly give me adequate warning. So impulsive he can be."
Ari turned back to Hermione, but her face seemed to have softened some what. She circled Hermione once more and then stood next to her, looking at her reflection in the mirror.
"Well, Hermione-chan? Do you find this dress fitting for a Princess?"
Hermione's face scrunched up slightly and Ari laughed.
"You silly girl! Did you not realize you would be the crowned Princess of Darkland? You are marrying the crowned Prince you silly child."
"Ari-chan," Eric said again, with a slight warning tone to his voice.
Ari turned slightly to look at Eric, one thin eyebrow rising slightly at her. She turned slowly and took in how pale Hermione was.
"But, I'm not a vampire," Hermione whispered. "Is it okay for me to be the crowned Princess?"
Ari looked at her contemplating the most diplomatic way to say this.
"It is highly unusual, yes. The kingdom as a whole will say nothing of it, but the Shadou cousins. They are the ones that will cause the most problems."
Hermione nodded understanding. They wanted the throne back and what better way to argue the point than the fact that a normal girl was the crowned Princess? She stepped down from the stool at Ari's command. With the mention of the Shadou cousins brought about thoughts of Chloe and Hermione couldn't help but to hurt for her. She may now be in the hands of one of the Shadou cousins, but from what Hermione was told it was a Shadou cousin that loved her…openly.
Her thoughts were still on Chloe as she moved down the corridor. When she reached the top of the grand staircase she heard the front doors burst open followed by a scuffle of activity. Rui was standing calmly in the foyer, arms crossed in front of him. Kuro and Ayame each held one of Chi's arms, who was fighting against them growling like some rabid animal. The blood shining at the corners of his mouth almost frightened Hermione. She took a step back as if afraid he would see her.
"Chi-san, we have a meeting," Rui said calmly.
Hermione slowly sat down on the top step watching the happenings below; something was brewing…she could feel it in the air. Chi just was not the same since sending Chloe off. It was as if she were the only thing keeping him from totally embracing the darkness he was cursed into. Perhaps he never realized that, but now…he was embracing a life without Chloe.
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She sat on the sofa in her room, legs and feet curled up next to her. Taka knelt down before her, smoothing the hair off her forehead. She wasn't even looking at him. Her eyes scanned the room. It was her old room…the one she shared with Taka for a short time. It appeared as if nothing had changed since she left.
Taka's hand moved slowly down her arm and took hold of her wrist, the one that adorned the bracelet that hid the marks he left behind. The leather bracelet hit the floor almost silently and Taka's fingers caressed the scarred skin. She squirmed to try to remove her wrist from his grasp, but he didn't let go. Instead, he brought her wrist up to his face, where he seemed to inhale as if smelling the perfume of her skin and blood. His lips moved over the sensitive area.
"You used to like this," he mumbled as his eyes looked up through his hair at her reaction as his teeth barely scraped across her skin.
She pulled her wrist out of his grasp and held it against her as if to protect herself. She had no doubt Taka could have prevented her getting loose from him if he really wanted to, but that was just it about Taka. He was always thinking of her. Despite his darkness, despite his frustrations with her, despite how clumsy she was, he always thought of her. It was like having a Chi that openly loved her, but he wasn't Chi. He was one of the Shadou cousins.
"In time, you'll realize that I am the one that loves you unconditionally," Taka said as he stood up.
He turned to walk away, to leave her to herself and give her time when she spoke.
"He will return for me."
Taka stopped, feeling Chloe's heartache and pain like a knife in his own chest. His hand gripped the door frame.
"No, he won't," Taka whispered.
Chloe turned to glare at him. Her bright blue eyes shining with hurt, hope, and anger.
"Yes, he will! Chi-san will come for me! That's where I belong!"
"NO! He won't!" Taka turned. "Do you believe he loves you? You are a klutzy girl that has been a pest to him since you were a child! You are nothing but a bother to him! He will NEVER return for you!"
With those last angry hurting words, Taka stormed from the room. He paused outside the door and leaned back against it. He hated carrying her feelings with his own. She was in pain, he knew, and he just caused more out of his own anger and resentment. If only he could have convinced her to stay with him back then. She could be such a stubborn girl though. He could hear her cries and could hear the crashing sound of various objects being broken in the room. And he could feel it in himself…her desire to break any tie she had with him, her desire to break anything that represented Taka…her desire to be with Chi no matter the price she would eventually pay.
Taka began gasping for air as the hurt and anxiety took over. How could one person feel so much and why couldn't she feel that deeply for him? Why couldn't she see he was right for her? He would love her without reservations.
Chloe could feel it in the air. Something was going on…something was coming for Chi and the others. She could not sit in this room full of memories and do nothing. She could not let what was coming come and never try….never tell Chi openly and honestly that she just couldn't do without him.
Taka leaned against the door as all the emotion of Chloe drained from him…fading to a faint whisper as total silence fell on the other side of the door.
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"They've figured out a way to do it."
Silence fell at Ayame's words. Rui looked at him. He knew this day would come eventually. It was inevitable.
"How?" Kuro demanded to know.
"That's why they've been found just outside Darkland several times," Ayame explained. "They have a wand maker that has made them new wands with cores coming from our own land. They are now able to use their wands to kill us."
More silence. Kuro's heart pounded. He was accustomed to being invincible when faced with their fancy little sticks. Now they have found a way around that…a way to manipulate their own magic against them.
"Did you let the Death Eater speak before you killed him?" Kuro's voice was deep and displeased as he glared at Chi who simply glared back with a slightly wicked grin on his face as if he could still taste the blood in his mouth.
"Yes," Chi said. "They were warning us."
Rui sat up a little straighter.
"What was the warning?"
Chi turned to face the head of the family.
"They will attack…there will be an all out war if we do not return the girl."
Kuro's eyes widened slightly before turning into angry slits as he growled out each word with as much hate as he could take.
"Then we go to war," he snarled.
"She's just a girl, Kuro-san," Chi said. "She's no Helen of Troy."
The sound that escaped Kuro was loud and frightening. The snarling growl, like an animal ready to attack, echoed in the room. Kuro had Chi by the throat and slammed him against the wall. He was almost nose to nose with Chi.
"That's the difference between you and me, Chi-san," Kuro said through clinched teeth. "I will not give up so easily. I will do everything in my power to keep her by my side and if I can't then at least she will know I love her."
Chi glared at his nephew. Kuro's words cut deep.
"You are willing to die for that girl?"
"Yes, I am willing to die for her…I am willing to kill for her." Kuro let go of Chi with a slight push as if wishing to simply throw his uncle to the ground. "What are you willing to do for Chloe-chan?"
Chi glared at Kuro, stepping forward, neither afraid of the other.
"I did everything I could to keep her safe from us," Chi said.
Kuro shook his head.
"No, you did everything you could to keep yourself safe from her! You simply gave up." With those last words Kuro stormed from the room, double doors of the throne room slamming shut behind him.
Rui looked upon Chi and then glanced at Ayame motioning for him to go ahead and leave. Once Ayame was gone, Rui stood up and slowly walked toward Chi. The King said nothing at first. He took a deep sigh and then looked past Chi to the windows.
"It scares and frightens him to see you like this, Chi-san," Rui explained.
Chi shook his head, anger still on his face, but this time it was possible that his anger was at himself.
"Kuro-san is right," Chi said. "I gave up."
Rui stepped forward and grabbed Chi's arm, pushing his sleeve up revealing the choker he ripped off Chloe's neck, wrapped around his wrist.
"Is that why you wear her necklace like a mala around your wrist?"
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"Now?"
Hermione looked at him almost incredulously.
"The family, the cursed ones, have some things to take care of soon. We might not be here for the day of the wedding ceremony," Kuro explained. "Marry me before we leave and when I return we will have a ceremony."
Hermione looked at him. He was knelt down in front of her so that he was on an even level with her. She could hear the desperation in his voice and could see something in his eyes…a pleading. What girl didn't dream about a big wedding? And she would be a princess so she was bound to have one no matter how the actual marriage came about.
"Okay," she said. "I'll marry you now."
He stood up suddenly, a smile rarely seen on his face and pulled her from the room. They ran through the corridors and down the stairs, bursting into the throne room where Chi still stood with Rui.
"Marry us…now," Kuro said looking at the King.
It was possible. He was King and could marry anyone beneath him. Having heard the ruckus through the corridors, Ayame stepped in. He could tell something was up.
"What about the ceremony, Kuro-san?"
Kuro shook his head and stepped closer to Rui.
"We will do that…once…once I return. I will not leave without knowing she's a Monogatari."
Rui glanced over the two and realized there would be no talking either of them out of it. And he knew…Kuro wanted her to be a Monogatari before he left so that if he didn't return, she would be cared for. He nodded his head okay. Ayame, realizing what was happening, held his breath as he stepped out of the room, only to slide down the wall in a heap of misery. There were some things he simply could not bear to see. Watching his Mi-chan marry his nephew was one of them.
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A storm was coming.
The warning rumbled over head like a cry of war. Kuro would not allow them inside Darkland. No one would get in. No one that man led anyway. Kuro stormed forward, his family surrounding him, his followers, vampires and some not behind him. It was a massive sea of people…of the Monogatari people…the people of Darkland, their defenders and those once Death Eaters.
Lucius stood in front of the Death Eaters watching those vampires approach. He stood calm for someone watching a large mass of vampires approaching, the leads with a certain swagger that warned Lucius they knew what was to come and that it wasn't in Lucius' favor. Lucius' eyes scanned the main vampires he knew to be the royal family, his main concern.
There was no sign of Hermione…no sign of his betrothed. His lips curled up in a snarl and he whipped his wand out.
"You were warned to return Hermione," Lucius said on the verge of seeing red.
Kuro glared at Lucius through the top of his eyes. Next to him, Ayame looked as if he could kill Lucius right then and there. On the other side Chi's chest heaved in barely controlled excitement as he licked one of his fangs as if it tingled in delight at what was to come. Rui stood there…looking calm, but with a storm brewing in his eyes. No one messed with his family…no one, not without paying the price.
"She was never yours to return," Ayame said, his lips slowly turning up into that knowing smirk as he licked his lips.
Lucius' eyes twitched to Ayame…the one always flirting with his Hermione. Kuro's eyes never left Lucius though.
"Are you prepared to die for her?" Lucius held his new wand up slightly as if preparing to strike.
A growl could be heard over the crowd of vampires. Chi was barely being held back by one of Rui's hands. Kuro continued to look at Lucius over the top of his eyes.
"Yes, but what should concern you the most is that I am willing to kill for her as well."
And with one last cry of outrage and anger, the two groups collided as the rain broke through the clouds in what would quickly turn into a bloody war between the two groups.
It echoed in the rain…the cry of a killing curse followed by the sound of ripping flesh.
She was hiding behind a tree, watching him…just to be sure he was okay. He wouldn't take her back into the estate, Taka warned her. She would no longer look for the heartache he would cause. She stood up straighter watching him act like a rabid vampire on the bloody field. So out of control. So not like Chi exactly. Then someone got him from behind…someone who had been disarmed and one of his friends.
Chloe felt her heart stop. How could this be? This was the vampire that was unstoppable. The Shadows were often frightened of him. He was the one that fought them off single handed and rescued her as a child. How could he allow himself to be caught now? She felt her heart pounding in anxiety. All the men she knew as family, her protectors, were on that field…fighting. She shook her head no as they landed on Chi again. She wouldn't allow it…not him…not now.
She reached down behind the tree where they lay. Two katanas…made together…made as a pair, destined for only one.
Chi looked up from his captors. He felt overwhelming panic and anger at seeing the one thing he gave up to protect. She moved across the field, her long skirt such a deep dark red that it reminded Chi of iron-rich blood, gliding over the grass of the field. Her black top hung off one shoulder giving her an almost fragile look. In her hands though, she held those weapons he was warned against touching by Rui…warned that they were destined to be wielded by the one…the one that could face the Shadows…the one that could hold the katanas without repercussions.
They were made for the one.
They were made for Chloe.
Many of Lucius' men had been disarmed and were coming for the small young woman. Chi fought to get loose. He had to protect her. That was his job. That was his destiny. Chi grew strangely still when the first of the men reached Chloe.
She didn't flinch.
It was as if she felt nothing as she shoved the two katanas forward with as much grace as any samurai. He watched in awe as she made her way through anyone coming her way, her feet moving gracefully, her hands never still…twirling, turning, and ramming the katanas into her next victim. Her long dark hair flew around her face as she turned to kick someone out of the way; it was like watching black fire come to life…
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Hermione stood in the room she had been in with Ari for her dress fitting. Her wedding gown currently being worn by a mannequin, sat in the middle of the room like the centerpiece to the upcoming event. It was gorgeous. Ari was a genius.
Her hand reached out and caressed the soft white fabric. She was a girl and as such would often fantasize about her wedding. For a while there Ron was the main player in that fantasy, but she soon discovered they could never truly be anything more than friends. She felt Kuro all those times in her room, but it wasn't until she saw him on the beach, looked into his eyes, that she realized where she belonged. She had found her home.
She held two books in one of her arms. Dropping her hand from the gown, she pulled those books closer to her chest. Chi had given her assignments, part of her training and learning for being the Princess of Darkland. Though Kuro did not want her left alone with Chi just yet. She had much to learn. And in true Hermione fashion, she went to the library to look for extra reading material to supplement what Chi had assigned before this mysterious Monogatari Men outing.
"What is it this Malfoy-san wants so bad that he will declare war against a monarchy of vampires?"
Hermione heard voices coming down the corridor and at the mention of Lucius and war she grew quiet and ducked back against the wall by the door to better hear without being seen. The footsteps grew closer as the voices grew louder.
"What do you think he wants? The new Princess," the other vampire said in response. "Malfoy-san warned them that if they didn't return her to him then it was war."
Hermione's eyes widened. They were off fighting a battle because of her? Was she really that important? What if any of them were killed? She had heard about the new wands; she knew it was a possibility.
"No," the other vampire said as their voices started to fade down the corridor. "Malfoy-san started a war when he killed her father."
Hermione had thought her heart would pound out of her chest until those final words she heard. Now it seemed still as death. Her mind flashed through those months at the summer house, those months he spent as her protector, those moments where she swore he was going to kiss her…every second with him seemed to crash down on her as she remembered standing at her father's graveside.
And those vampires' words echoed in her head. She was the reason for it all. She was the reason her father was dead; she guessed that meant she was the reason Severus was dead; she was the reason the royal family of the Monogatari was out on a battlefield fighting a war with wizards who now had a way of killing them. Who else would she lose because of who she was?
Her mind flashed through the various things she could possibly do to save the family. Her eyes drifted down to the rings on her finger and the books on Darkland lying next to her. There was only one thing she could do. Just the thought made her heart feel hollow, but she had to do it. It was a sacrifice she was willing to make if it kept the family alive…safe. She pulled herself up from the ground and ran from the room…
…Standing in her and Kuro's room, Hermione laid the aged looking parchment she wrote on, on the table by the bed.
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…When the man facing Chi dropped to his death, Chloe turned to face the men holding him. Any other man might not like such a woman. What man wants to be saved by a woman? But Chi really couldn't think about that. His eyes were transfixed on her. Had Rui been teaching her these moves all these years? How long had Rui known she would wield the Katanas of the Shadows? How long did Rui know she was the one…not just for Chi, but the one that would hunt the Shadows like prey?
Rui had always known.
Just like deep down, Chi always knew he could not do without Chloe…she was his one.
She held each katana in the faces of each of the men holding Chi.
"That would be my vampire you have there," Chloe said in a voice Chi had never heard from her before.
The two men dropped their hold of Chi and ran off. She lowered her weapons and her eyes drifted to Chi.
"Go to the estate, Chloe-chan," Chi said in an unusually soft voice. "I will deal with you later." He was concerned. These weren't Shadows they were fighting and though she dealt with her encounter just fine, he didn't want to push his luck where Chloe was concerned. Her destiny was defeating the Shadows…hunting them…stirring fear in them…not facing Death Eaters with wands of death. Deep down, no matter what she was destined for, she was still that clumsy girl that stumbled after him all the time.
Chloe didn't leave immediately. Chi looked like himself again. He looked focused, ready to fight properly. Chloe liked that look on his face, she always had. She nodded her head and before she ran from the field she jumped up to reach his lips. Chi didn't stop her. He welcomed the touch. As she ran off, Chi swallowed the lump in his throat. His mouth watered as the perfumed scent of her blood flooded his senses. Never had he wanted a taste of her like he did in that moment. He was startled out of his thoughts when he watched her trip over her own feet and stumble to the ground.
Chi rolled his eyes and grabbed her by her arm, lifting her to her feet as if she were nothing but a doll.
"Baka," he mumbled.
He was still looking at her with that withering look when they caught sight of something running past them, between where they stood and where the fighting raged on.
Despite his attention being on the Death Eater before him, Kuro noticed the battle field. The new wands of the Death Eaters had put them on more even ground. No one was a clear winner yet. There were deaths on both sides. That was when he felt her. She was there. He could feel it in his every fiber. With a quick move and a sudden snap of the neck, the Death Eater before him crumpled to the ground. Kuro's head turned in a panic.
There she was.
She was dodging fallen bodies and fighting men.
Her eyes were on Lucius Malfoy on the other side of the fighting like some King too good to get dirty in his own war. Kuro felt the panic and felt every thought and emotion of Hermione's flood him.
He knew what she was doing.
He had to get to Lucius…he had to kill him…now.
Kuro lunged foreword, running with all he had, but was stopped by a group of Death Eaters, ready to kill him on the spot. Kuro easily took one down and then the other, leaving only one more facing him. His eyes still kept track of Hermione, her hair falling against her back, the rain pelting it down to make sure it stayed there.
He shook his head. She couldn't do it. No…not after he had just married her. He had finally won. He was willing to die for her…willing to kill for her!
"NO!"
His voice echoed pain and heartache in the rain as he saw Hermione come to a halt in front of Lucius, head bowed slightly as she nodded her head in assent.
As if Lucius could communicate with his Death Eaters, the fighting suddenly stopped. Kuro ran forward, growling, ready to rip Lucius' throat out. Lucius held the soaked Hermione back against his chest. Her eyes landed on Kuro, Ayame and Chi now holding him back. Lucius was smiling victoriously, but Kuro did not notice. His eyes were on Hermione…his wife. Her tears mixed with the rain. He shook his head as her thoughts flooded his mind…an effect of the bonding of their marriage.
"I won't watch the family destroyed because of me. You are safe if I go."
Ayame and Chi glared at Lucius, holding Kuro tight despite his fighting to be let go.
"I love you, always," she mouthed silently before she disappeared in the rain with Lucius.