A/N: Wow, the climax. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Yuzuki: "CrazyNinjaPenguin doesn't own Naruto or the lyrics to this song. He does own all of us original characters though; don't use them without permission."
"You want it all,
but did you want it tonight?
Oh you don't remember,
As you wait by the light.
Oh, can you see what you've been asking of me?
With the turn of this knife know, I will take your life.
This ain't a crime,
No, I'm calling for mercy
Now it's time,
Please pray for me.
There will be justice in murder.
There will be justice in murder.
Now, you've been for me, what no other could be.
Will I now grow old to forget all those?
Blow off sorrow, goodbye tomorrow.
There is no worse than the curse they've given me.
This mule's seen it's end in love and war.
I'll wish you best when I'm lost to eternity.
Now do what you will, so it hurts no more."
- Coheed and Cambria, "Justice in Murder"
Everyone watched in anticipation as the single entity made up of their three former opponents stepped toward the light with a deliberate pace. In just seconds they would be face to face with the true form of the Overlord. Finally, the real final battle would begin.
"Are you prepared to die?" The deep sinister voice of the overlord sneered as it inched closer, finally taking the first steps into the dim lighting. Everyone stared in shock at what lay before them.
"Y-you're the Overlord's true form?"Yuzuki stuttered as she stared at the person before her eyes.
"That is correct! I am Mangrvello, all powerful Overlord of this world. Cower in fear as you await your inevitable destruction!" the Overlord began to laugh maniacally. The group all stared at him blankly.
Mangravello was odd. If one might have called Big Joe, Ceracitoe and Verali odd, a stronger word would assuredly have been used for this man. Only about four and a half feet tall, Mangravello was a really small man, but with a stocky build. He had jet black hair covered by an oversized, wide-brimmed straw hat that was roughly as long as he was tall. Additionally he had a thick oversized mustache that obstructed most of his face. He wore a flowing green cape that was much to long for him, and held in his hands what looked like an oversized wooden paddle.
"Wow... If this is your real form I can like totally se why that Sophia chick like ran the other way..." Shikazuki jeered, unable to contain herself any further. Her, Yuzuki, and Masanzi all began to laugh uncontrollably at their foe's ridiculous appearance.
"Silence worm! I may be able to temporarily re-fuse my broken soul, but even if you re-glue a broken heart together it will never look quite the same," Mangravello growled violently at the girl, in his voice which failed entirely to suit his appearance.
"All I know, is that you don't look very strong like that and that now the fight is six on one," Yuzuki commented dryly, ceasing her laughter to smirk instead.
"Wait to judge my power till after you've witnessed it!" Mangravello shouted. Then he charged forward with no warning, disappearing from sight. Everyone took a defensive position, cognizant that the fight had begun.
Without warning, Mangravello appeared again. With tremendous force his giant paddle found Takako and launched her into a wall, which dented at her back. As she slumped down to the floor the Overlord delivered a follow up, somehow creating a deep bloody cut across the length of the girl's frame with his seemingly blunt weapon.
"Takako!" Yuzuki shouted as she rushed toward her friend. Remembering Takako was now a vampire, Yuzuki decided to allow her concerns to become anger as she turned toward the strange man. "Mangravello, you bastard! I will stop you!"
With her spirit fired and Wangetsu-kyoudasagi held high Yuzuki charged toward the Overlord, preparing for a powerful strike. Just as she was about to carry through her assault Mangravello seemed to disappear again. When he reappeared, it was behind Mina. The girl collapsed to the floor in a pool of blood, as Mangravello's ridiculous weapon cut at her back. Thanks to quick reflexes she managed to divert the brunt of the attack to the side.
"Mina!" Shikazuki shouted as she ran toward the girl on the floor. Noticing that the exceptionally well trained fighter's body still carried breath, she decided to focus on the enemy. it would be best to finish things quickly. "Like, die you evil stupid-head!"
Shikazuki generated a giant sword of pure darkness in her hands and swung it down swiftly at the small man. Unfortunately, the evil tyrant had already vanished once more. Even the great vampire lord Masanzi was caught off guard by the powerful overlord. he was slammed violently into a wall and then brutally slashed several times as well. No one yelled out his name though.
"They're taking us out one by one. What do we do, sister?" Inoko started in an obviously frightened voice. Her Yuzuki and Shikazuki had quickly backed together in a hopes to defend each other's backs.
"I don't know what to do. He just seems so powerful," Yuzuki said through gritted teeth, unable to admit how scared she was as well. In roughly a minute the overlord had incapacitated half of their party.
"Can't you like stop him when he disappears like you did the other guy, Inoko?" Shikazuki suggested, hopefully.
"I can, but it doesn't seem to do much good. He's not only halting time, he's also moving freely through space like your opponent was," Inoko replied meekly, obviously dispirited.
"We can't give up, Inoko! We have to do this! People are counting on us!" Yuzuki declared. The words were as much aimed at herself as they were her sister.
"I know, we still have to find a way," Inoko said, shaking but showing resolve nonetheless.
"Let's like beat this guy and stuff!" Shikazuki shouted, energized.
All three of them remained close together, knit tightly, protecting the others from surprise attacks. Mangravello watched them meticulously, waiting for any break in the formation so as he could catch one of the three unaware. His break never came, instead all three girls began hurling projectiles in his direction, forcing him to take action.
Avoiding knives composed of darkness, magic blasts, and crescent shaped chakra blades Mangravello disappeared again. He reappeared directly above the three, which just so happened to be exactly what Shikazuki had predicted. Instinctively, Inoko Slowed Masanzi's time with her magic as Shikazuki let darkness expand her arms to grab the evil man. Seeing the opportunity presented to her, Yuzuki leapt up and delivered a slightly lesser version of her Deep pressure Crescent Slash. She found that Mangravello's flesh was every bit as difficult to cut through as Ceracitoe's had been. Still her blade drew large amounts of blood.
"You three. Your powers are unique. They certainly make for a rare challenge; but just because you can land a single blow you've won," Mangravello growled as he recovered from the cut. Straightening his hat and lifting his paddle high, he prepared for another assault.
Fury was obvious in his movements now. He no longer waited for opportunities, he created his own. Charging forward, the mighty overlord began to launch strike after strike at the three girls. His incredible speed and movement capabilities made evasion and defense near impossible. Intuition and reflex led to most strikes at least being partially deflected or avoided. Still, after only a matter of minutes, all three girls were in severe pain, and covered in their own blood.
"It's too much. We need to find the opportunity to make another strike," Yuzuki panted, the three of them falling back into their rigid defensive formation.
"He's like impossible to predict when he's all berserk and stuff," Shikazuki's voice held stress.
"If we work together, I know we can still win," Inoko said; for her at least, the blood pouring from the cuts lining her body seemed to make her more focused.
"You got an idea, Inoko?" Yuzuki asked, surprised and uneasy, but desperate enough to take any suggestion, even one thought up by her usually thick-headed sister when she herself saw no viable solution.
"Sorta. If what Youkousei-nijitenjin tells me is correct, I might have a spell that could work, but someone's going to need to divert his attention for it to work," Inoko said, in a strong tone, determination showing through.
"I can do that. I'm like the lest susceptible to damage and stuff," Shikazuki said, smirking softly. She would have been hesitant acting as decoy before the powerful man, but if there was one thing Shikazuki had, it was faith in her beloved.
"Enough mumbling amongst yourselves! This time I will not miss!" Mangravello shouted, as he seemed ready to make his next offensive move. Before he could even disappear for the first time, however, Shikazuki had charged him with twin dark swords, prepared to deliver a cross-cut.
Mangravello gave a satisfied grunt as he disappeared from the attack at the moment it was begun. He appeared just behind his attacker and delivered a quick but forceful hit with his paddle, knocking Shikazuki to the floor. He readied a following finishing blow, but just as he was about to land it, a thin spear of concentrated light shot up through him and his body seemed to freeze entirely.
"Now attack him!" Inoko commanded, appearing to be in painful levels of concentration. It was rather obvious from the immediacy in her voice, that the effect would not last long.
"Piercing destruction cannon Jutsu!" Yuzuki shouted. At rapid speed she thrashed her sword about before stabbing it through the mass of chakra trails. At the same moment that the massive beam radiated froth from Yuzuki's sword, SHikazuki prepared her own attack. A gigantic dark spar shot straight out of her hand piercing through the overlord in time with the spear.
The Overlord's body fell limp to the floor. Even with his resilience, the combination of Shikazuki's massive spear at his stomach and Yuzuki's powerful destructive cannon at his back, a hole was drilled cleanly through him. Blood was spilling out onto the floor and his breaths were becoming labored. It looked like a clear victory, but something tin the air still felt ominous.
"Such abilities... a skill that can completely paralyze your opponent for matter of seconds is a simple thing, but to have attacks prepared to strike from both sides... it's a difficult thing..." Mangravello's voice was weak and forced. He seemed to be dying. "I suppose, this proves that a solitary existence like mine, is inferior to one filled with love and friendship..." the strange man took a morose expression as he raised his eyes in reflection, "It looks like I was a fool... So-phi-a..."
"That's right, you are a fool! Allowing yourself to be beaten by an insolent pack of little girls! You dare call yourself overlord of the world!" A deep, intense laugh radiated from nearby. Shikazuki and Inoko, both slumped to the ground from exhaustion, began to look around the room rampantly. Yuzuki didn't have to look to recognize the voice.
"So Mangravello's attacks didn't keep you down... Masanzi," Yuzuki said, hostilely.
"They were powerful, that's for sure, milk whore, but I recover quite quickly," Masanzi said as he stepped into the light, hovering over Mangravello's barely living body.
"Then, why didn't you help us? We could have had a much easier fight?" Inoko asked softly, her body was intolerably weak from the exhausting paralysis spell.
"Help you? Idiot masochist, if anything I was hoping you'd die in this fight as well," the vampire laughed darkly, taking another step toward the Overlord's bloodied body.
"So this is like betrayal, then? You told the high council you were like on our side and stuff, but in the end, you're nothing but a no good liar!" Shikazuki shouted, furious, but unable to move. Her body was still suffering from the direct attack it took as well as that brought on in forcing her own attack.
"You were all naive fools, pedophile slut! For someone who prizes above all else ambition, do you think a mere pardon is sufficient when true power, true dominance is well within my grasp?" Masanzi laughed evilly, smirking in a self-satisfied fashion.
"What's your aim, Masanzi!" Yuzuki growled, preparing Wangetsu-kyoudasagi,
"It's simple enough. I may have said before, that the body I inhabit regulates the power with which I can release. A weak form like this one restrains me, but a body like Mangravello's... it would actually give me more power than my original form," Masanzi explained, grinning widely. "thanks to you three, Mangravello's soul is on the brink of certain death. By forcing my soul into his body now, I can make it mine. With my new found power I can usurp this foolish overlord's title, and rule this world with an iron fist until the end of time!" The demonic look in the vampire's eyes proved that he was serious.
"Heh, that so! Well, you aren't going to do anything if I just kill you right now!" Yuzuki shouted, as she charged the vampire ready to attack.
"I'm sorry. But I can't allow that," a soft but chilling voice said as Yuzuki's arms and thus her sword were stilled. Takako had healed herself and was obstructing her comrade's path.
"What are you doing, Takako?! Get out of the way! This monster's lost it! There's no reason for you to want to go along with his crazy plan as well!" Yuzuki shouted frantically, struggling to break from her friend's strong grasp.
"Really? Can you confidently say you understand me enough to say something like that?!" Takako spat, throwing Yuzuki back. Her vampiric strength winning out.
"Good job, girl. The other three are so weak they can do nothing to stop me; with you to keep the one that remains at bay, I am free to do as I please," Masanzi cackled as he took another step toward the overlord's paling body. He began howling with laughter. His body began to glow.
"No..." Inoko murmured, she tried to stand but her weak body was so heavy.
"We gotta like stop this..." Shikazuki mumbled. She fired a knife composed of darkness at the vampire but her disorientation led to the projectile being woefully off its target.
"Takako please! Do you realize what you're letting happen!" Yuzuki cried as she got back up. Takako didn't move from her path.
"Of course I realize it. I'm ensuring that I won't ever have to face that monotonous life again. I'm ensuring that I will have power. I'm fulfilling my ambition!" Takako countered sharply, coldly.
"That you are, my servant." Masanzi laughed. He began to laugh uncontrollably. Looking at the scene, it was now different. The body at the feet of the Vampire was no longer that of the Overlord Mangravello, but rather that of Ichiro Watari. "Thanks to you, I now have true power!"
"Damn! What do we do now?!" Yuzuki yelled in frustration. If all they managed to do was usher in the reign of a new overlord, it'd be difficult to call that a successful mission.
"I think I can still like fight. It looks like it was a little late, but Kousatsuwarugi-gouka has been steadily healing my body of injuries and stuff," Shikazuki said in an ached voice. She tried to stand; she was successful.
"What about you Inoko?" Yuzuki turned to question to her sister.
"People are counting on me. I must endure," Inoko said, standing as well, with more difficulty. Her energy hadn't quite recovered completely but Inoko was the type who could push her own limits if need be.
"Don't think you're going to get out of this without a fight!" Yuzuki shouted in Masanzi's direction. She turned to Takako and said with a lot more strained words, "That goes for you as well..."
"Very well. Me and my servant shall gladly crush the three of you then," Masanzi laughed as he walked towards them.
"Let's fight, Yuzuki," Takako said, with a twisted expression. Yuzuki's heart ached at the sight.
Takako charged forward furiously. A swarm of blood red insects extended from her hands and flew at her former comrade. Yuzuki shot small blasts of energy from her sword to vanquish them all. As her swarm distracted her opponent, Takako lunged at the girl, delivering a brutal palm attack to Yuzuki's chest. Yuzuki staggered as her body fought off both the literal and metaphorical pain in her heart.
Meanwhile, Shikazuki, with whatever support Inoko could provide was keeping the greater vampire busy. Masanzi was fast, powerful, and cunning. What's more he was familiar with both girl's abilities. Shikazuki was quickly put on the defensive. WIth both of them working together, they were avoiding all damage. After several minutes of his attacks being repelled by magic shields or slicing through empty shadows, Masanzi was beginning to look frustrated. He obviously wanted the battle over as soon as possible.
"I grow weary of your feeble attempts to defend yourself. Allow me to unleash my true power!" Masanzi said, with a certain impatience. He jumped back and began to growl loudly.
Suddenly Masanzi's shape began to change. It was a similar change to that of his arm when he fought previously. The difference was instead of just his arm becoming gigantic gray and grotesque, it was the vampire's entire body that became so. Now, towering over Shikazuki and Inoko was a giant, demonic monster with glowing red eyes and enormous wings.
"Behold my, ultimate vampiric form!" Masanzi howled in a distorted voice. he began to laugh loudly. Both girls shook in fear.
"Heh. Now your body's every bit as monstrous as your soul," Yuzuki commented gruffly as she looked over Takako's shoulder and at the other enemy.
"Maybe that is so... All I know, is that now you fools don't stand a chance, no matter how well you try and defend yourself," Masanzi sneered as he took a powerful step forward, causing the whole tower to tremor slightly.
The giant monster quickly went on the offensive, he made swipe after swipe of his gigantic claws as he cackled in bloodlust. The battlefield was quickly altered in the destructive attacks. It was immediately clear that no matter how strong a magic shield was cast or how powerful Kousatsuwarugi-gouka's defenses were, getting hit by the monstrous Masanzi's claws would spell certain death. Shikazuki and Inoko began an evasive battle.
"Inoko, please, we can't hold anything back now!" Shikazuki shouted in a desperate panic as she avoided a gigantic claw.
"Right! We have to give this everything we got!" Inoko shouted back, beginning to concentrate hard.
Quickly Inoko crossed and spread her arms, focusing for all she was worth. Just as Masanzi was turning his attention toward the blonde, she succeeded in pulling off her spell. A black portal had opened in front of her. The familiar three-headed dragon flew out at high speed. Inoko jumped on it's back as it flew towards Masanzi with intent to kill.
The vampire seemed intrigued by the summoning spell. He abandoned his pursuit of Shikazuki to meet the dragon head on. The two large monstrous beasts, began to exchange blows. Inoko's dragon was obviously destined to lose the fight. Despite it's thick, armor-like scales every dark-energy warped claw that found it resulted in a sharp howl of pain. Luckily, it was not fighting alone for long.
"Prepare to fight my like ultimate dark skill!" Shikazuki shouted from behind the brawling beasts. Masanzi turned his head slightly, managing to just catch Shikazuki as dankness seemed to explode from out of her. She was completely enveloped in it. The dark mass warped and shifted until, what was standing there was no longer recognizable as a young girl. Instead, it was some sort pitch black demon; horns protruded from its head, its body still maintained the shape of Kousatsuwarugi-gouka, and in its arms were two massive black swords.
The demon born from within Shikazuki charged forward mercilessly. It made slash after slash at the vampire beast, who was now caught between two powerful foes. Inoko's dragon clawed, bit and breathed fire as Shikazuki didn't let up her furious technique. Masanzi was still stronger than either of them. Even if his attention was now divided, it could only now be called a stalemate. Inoko and Shikazuki couldn't maintain these powers forever either; if they really wanted a hope to win, they needed support from the third chosen one.
"Takako! Please, Inoko and Shikazuki need me!" Yuzuki pleaded as she coughed up some blood. She had yet to bring herself to actually damage her one time rival, but her own insides were a mess.
"Do you think I honestly care about such things? You're a fool, Yuzuki, that's why you're going to die by my hands," Takako laughed.
"Please, Takako! How can you say that?! Did all that time we spent together honestly mean nothing to you?!" Yuzuki continued in her desperate attempt to pacify the girl in front of her.
"Oh, Yuzuki, of course not. The time you and me spent together meant more to me than you'll ever know. But that doesn't matter now," Takako smirked insanely and laughed, "It wasn't me you chose in the end."
Yuzuki gasped at the statement. It wasn't that she had been blind to Takako's feelings. it wasn't that she didn't return them to an extent. It was just that, it made her feel guilty. She could have done more to have confirmed that love.
"I'm sorry, Takako. I really am. I always cared about you. I respected you. Even if sometimes I acted like I hated you I always thought you were my friend. I never meant to hurt you. I am truly, truly sorry. Please, please don't do this," Yuzuki said, sad and hopeless.
"You're naive, Yuzuki. Do you honestly think it is only jealousy that moves me down this path? I want this power! I want to rule the world alongside Lord Masanzi! I don't care who I have to crush to fulfill this ambition!" Takako roared, the manic grin on her face not leaving.
"I know that's not true! I know you, Takako, your a kinder person than that. You are not so cold and hollow. You care about people, you love, you feel. I don't want to see you become like this!" Yuzuki shook her head. there were tears in her eyes.
"You think you know me?! You think you understand me?! You're a fool Yuzuki. You don't know a damn thing about me!" Takako challenged.
"I've been on a team with you for almost four whole years now! I'd think I at least know something!"
"Ha! Then tell me why it is I revere power. Tell me why it is I desire to be strong. If you truly know me, you should know very well the story behind what drives me above all else," Takako laughed and shook her head slowly.
Yuzuki hung her head as she thought. She realized quickly that she didn't have an answer. Takako's mantra had always been "the only thing that matters is power" but Yuzuki had never once thought to question it. She had never once considered that there would even be a reason behind it. She didn't know what to say. She stayed silent and listened to the sounds of the monsters battling in the background.
"See, you really know nothing about me," Takako said with an amused look.
Yuzuki knew how to respond this time; she said immediately, "I want to know! I want to know everything about you! I want you to tell me everything!"
Takako seemed shocked by these words. Yuzuki could tell it wasn't what the young vampire had expected. Now she seemed the one unable to come up with a response.
"Very well, I'll tell you then..." Takako said calmly, possibly unsure of what to say exactly. Yuzuki nodded as she anxiously awaited what would be conveyed to her.
In a soft, somber voice she began her story, "Shortly before Mangravello appeared, my parents eloped without consent of their clans. Both the Hyuga and Aburame were adamantly opposed to the marriage and did everything they could to annul it. They were just about successful; seeing the ire it had aroused in their clans my mother and father had agreed to the annulment. Just as the proceedings were being carried through, however, my mother was discovered to be pregnant. The marriage was thus recognized, and I was born. About that time, Mangravello invaded Konoha. Both the Hyuga and Aburame took extensive casualties in the war. At the end of it, both my mother and my father were the leaders of their clans. A small inter-clan struggle erupted over which of them I would succeed. In the process, my parents were estranged from each other and from me. They treated me as a mistake; I led a hollow life clouded in clan politics and struggle. In Konoha I was alone, my life dictated to me, a puppet not allowed any control. When I succeed my mother, I'll be forced into marriage with one of my cousins, I'll be forced to birth a child and live as a figure head while everyone continues to despise me behind my back."
Yuzuki stared at the girl in front of her. She had never heard any of this. She didn't know Takako's life had been so hard for her. She felt terrible. Not just because the story was sad, but because she had not heard it sooner.
"You desire power so that you can break free from it all, so that you can escape that life," Yuzuki muttered somberly.
"Everything has been to escape that life. That's why I helped you defy Mangravello by freeing those prisoners. That's why, you, who would never in anyway be excepted as a partner for me, was so appealing. That's why I gave in to Masanzi. That's why I fight you now," Takako said; Yuzuki could see tears running down her face.
"I knew from the beginning you were just like me..." a soft, weak voice said from just nearby. Takako and Yuzuki both turned to find Minashizumayuko Mitsumarushime, her back still red with blood, propped up with her weapon, staring at Takako with sad eyes.
"Mina! You're alright," Yuzuki said, surprised and delighted.
"I'm in a great deal of pain, but the blow wasn't fatal. Unlike you I have no legendary power to rely on. I may have been trained since birth, but I'm still just a normal human. It's a wonder I'm not dead," the injured girl said in her frail voice.
"You say we are alike? Ha! I'm a lot stronger than you are!" Takako spat coldly.
"I hate my life as well. My father views me as a tool to keep his line of the clan in power. I've never been allowed a normal life. I've never had friends or people who cared for me. My life was empty from the beginning. There wasn't even anyone like Yuzuki to brighten up my day. It was all perpetual loneliness. Yet, I never challenged my role. I never gave into desire or gave up on life. I realized that life was a beautiful, that even in my solitude I could find things that made me smile," Mina said in a grave fashion, Takako listened to her words patiently.
After a pause, Mina added words that made Takako shiver, "It may be weak that I never tried to change anything, but I think, giving into your lust for power, blindly attacking the very person you love, that that is weaker still."
"S-shut up! I don't need to be judged by you! I'm- I'm... What I'm doing... it's necessary," Takako cried, not wanting to hear the words.
"Takako, please, you know it's wrong!" Yuzuki shouted. Takako screamed as she sent another swarm of insects toward the blonde and followed it with a furious combo. Somehow, all the attack were much less focused and easier to avoid then before.
As the fight between Takako and Yuzuki began anew, the fight against Masanzi had reached a critical point. Inoko's dragon was covered in blood, one of its three heads cleaved cleanly off. Shikazuki's demonic form was beginning to look warped and damaged as well, whole chunks of shadow were missing and not being replenished. For all the damage they were taking, Masanzi had not a visible scratch on his body.
Desperate to see the battle take progress, Inoko yelled from atop her dragon in the direction of her sister and her sister's opponent, "Miss Takako, why do you insist on fighting us! I know you're a good person! You would sometimes say mean things to me, but after we reached the village hidden in the darkness and Yuzuki and me and you had fun together in the hospital from then on I could tell you were really good! Good people shouldn't follow monsters like Masanzi!"
"Your sister's an even bigger fool than you are, Yuzuki. Does she honestly think such naive words will sway me?" Takako laughed as she continued to attack, despite her words she was hesitant and still crying.
Hearing Inoko's declaration, Shikazuki decided to follow suit, shouting out as she continued to grapple with Masanzi's giant form, "I hate you Takako! I always thought you were like so cold and mean and stuff! Even still, I trusted you! I considered you a comrade! I had faith that in the end, despite yourself, you were still like alright on the inside! Even if I don't like you, I don't want you to prove me wrong!"
"Tch, are there any more fools who want to waste their breath giving me sappy speeches?" Takako spat mockingly.
"Yeah, there's one more," came a voice. It was a familiar voice, but one Yuzuki had never expected to hear again. She turned and watched in astonishment as Ichiro Watari picked himself off of the ground.
"Wha?! You're alive, Ichiro?! Wasn't your soul crushed?!" Yuzuki was taken aback completely.
"I never gave up the will to live. I never gave up on seeing Mika's smiling face again. I kept hope, and somehow despite the force it had to endure, my existence spared itself," the young man explained sounding accomplished.
"It's a fine joke if you think someone as worthless as you can sway me," Takako sneered.
"I know you don't think much of me. As long as I've known you you've treated me with nothing but contempt. I had every right to hate you, Takako. But I didn't hate you. I admired you. I looked up to you. I was willing to give up on my own dreams (as impossible as they probably were) just to be of use to you and Yuzuki. We were a team, Takako. I believed in the bonds we had between us. I believed in you," Ichiro started, his voice was a lot less shaky then before. Yuzuki supposed having your body stolen from you for days must change a person.
"All of you believe in me? Ha. What a mistake! I'm not worth blind faith like that," Takako said miserably. Yuzuki wanted to console her, but Ichiro continued to speak.
"When Masanzi possessed my body it was as if I wasn't even alive anymore. I was just a lost existence floating around. I had no control to do and say what I wanted anymore. It was just empty. I can tell, Takako. I can tell that right now, you're the same as that. You don't want this. Your feelings, your desires, they are being twisted. His blood inside of you, is making it impossible for you to hear your own heart," the young man said in a solemn fashion. Takako began to shake uncontrollably. She fell to her knees.
"Shut up! Please, shut up! Stop it! Don't say anymore! I can't take it. I know this isn't what I want... I know... I just..." Takako cried out tearfully. She looked at Yuzuki before suddenly shouting, "But I need this! I need my escape. I can't go back to my old life!""
With that, Takako lunged forward at Yuzuki, her arm outstretched, grabbing the girl around the neck. She began to clench it tightly as she looked in the girls eyes.
"I'm not stopping. One of us is going to die, Yuzuki," Takako said softly. Yuzuki's right hand's grip on Wangetsu-kyoudasagi was becoming looser.
"T-Ta-ka-ko..." Yuzuki struggled to utter as the vampire's grip tightened.
"Before the end, so I can remember it even after, could you tell me that you care for me, even if it's not true?" Takako asked somberly, as she continued to squeeze her finger down against the other's throat. Yuzuki was surprised by the request. but even if Takako were to kill her now, that did not change how she felt.
Takako lessened her grip slightly when she saw that Yuzuki was preparing to speak. The young blonde looked deep into the other's eyes as she then said in a somewhat rasped voice, "I love you, Takako, I deeply, truly do."
"That wasn't a lie," Takako smiled softly, seeing the conviction in the other's eyes, "I am a fool."
Suddenly the young vampire let go of her friends neck entirely. At the same instant she grabbed the girl's right hand with her left. Before Yuzuki could even react, Takako guided that hand, and more specifically the sword within it, to her chest. Yuzuki could only watch, as the shimming blade of Wangetsu-kyoudasagi ran straight through Takako's heart.
"Don't look sad, I told you one of us would die," Takako coughed as she looked at the horrorstruck look on her beloved's face.
"What have you done?! Takako?! How could you do something...so...?" Yuzuki began to cry uncontrollably. She held the other firmly in her arms, her golden robes coloring crimson with the copious amounts of blood pouring forth.
"I've made too many mistakes.. Yuzuki... It's too late to correct them..." Takako said, life quickly fading from her voice.
"But such a thing? It's terrible..." Yuzuki sniffled, unable to contain herself.
"I've always wanted to escape my life... It's sad, but I guess I'm doing that. I don't have anything to live for anymore... With the mistakes I've made... the only thing I really want could never belong to me," Takako looked straight at Yuzuki as she said this. Yuzuki looked down miserably.
"Takako, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! If only I had tried to get closer to you, if only I had made an effort to..." Yuzuki choked on her words, saying them was so hard.
"It's alright... I don't blame you Yuzuki..." Takako became increasingly pale. her breaths were becoming weak. "At the very end, at least I was happy..." Takako coughed forcefully, blood spurting out with the air. "I hope Nanako takes good care of you..."
Yuzuki didn't say anything more. She knew that the girl in front of her was no longer alive. She just wept as she held the body, a sweeping sadness consuming her.
"Why would you do such a foolish thing?" Yuzuki rhetorically asked. She felt so horrible, so lonely.
"I know one reason she did..." Ichiro started with just a tinge of nervousness. yuzuki looked up at him with tear filled eyes.
"What do you mean, I-Ichiro?" she asked, shaking horribly.
"While my soul and Masanzi's were in contact I learned some of his secrets. It seems that vampires posses an invisible shields of sorts that surrounds their entire body. Depending on the strength of the vampire, that shield can protect them from various attacks. There is however, one thing that can pierce the shield no matter what," Ichiro conveyed in a steady voice, it was obvious that he wanted to cry as well, but to Yuzuki's surprise he didn't.
"What is it?" Yuzuki asked, afraid of the answer.
"The vampire's own blood," Ichiro said grimly. At the words, Yuzuki stared at her blood soaked blade.
"Takako took his blood inside of her..." Yuzuki said, reminding herself of that fact.
"When a vampire makes a new vampire, most of the blood it gives congregates in the new vampire's heart at first," Ichiro offered another secret he had learned. Yuzuki stared at the unscathed monster fighting her sister's now one headed, one-winged dragon and Shikazuki, who's human from was now mostly exposed through the shadows.
"I won't let her sacrifice go to waste," Yuzuki said, tearfully morose. She pulled her Wangetsu-kyoudasagi, it's shimmering blade stained crimson, from Takako's form and stared Masanzi down.
Glowing, golden crescent shaped wings emerged from Yuzuki's back as her whole body began to shimmer brilliantly. She held her sword firmly outward as tears poured from her eyes. With blinding speed, she shot forth. Her sword found its target. It pierced through Masanzi shield and then his flesh and then his heart as if it was nothing. Once the attack was made, Shikazuki and Inoko found their own attacks finally cutting into the vampires flesh as well. When they all pulled out, the vampire was too weak to stand.
"Is this was you meant, Zazabiza... I see, my ambition was never to become reality. These girls were chosen by you after all... and you don't make mistakes. That's why I'm being destroyed again..." Masanzi died laughing.
"Is it really over? He won't try to posses one of us now will he?" Inoko asked, hopefully as she stared at the dying body.
"In piercing a vampire's heart, its soul is pierced as well. Your attacks just now gave him no time to escape that flesh, " the apparently now a vampire expert, Ichiro said somberly. Everyone looked at the monstrous form as it slowly disintegrated into fine ash.
"It seems the battle is over," Mina softly said.
"Yes. It is," Yuzuki said, smiling sadly as she looked one last time at the lifeless figure of Takako. She sheathed her sword.
AN: End chapter 24. That was pretty hectic. I hope no one hates me, I kinda had to do that. I liked her too, it just needed to happen like this. overall, I thought this chapter turned out nicely. Mangravello might have been too much of a pushover, but after all the buildup I kinda just wanted to get him out of the way, so as I could have my sad, touching climax to this somewhat schizophrenic story. Additionally, Mina seemed to be pretty useless here. Anyway, next week is the final chapter. The epilogue. I know I said I might put a lemon in the final chapter, but right now it's looking like I won't. Regardless, next chapter should be more uplifting after this one. So, go ahead and tell me what you thought.
ANd even though i said I would, I'm yet to reorganize the character page. I will be doing it next week though. I have however added more translations form Rabukurafuto who I would like to thank again for all his work on them.