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She had an impossible time sleeping at night. It had been a few days after the end of the game with Crowley and Horn. She'd seen Ferid, but Chess always caught her arm and steered her away before the noble ever got a chance to actually talk to her. She was grateful. It had also given her a chance to talk to Chess about her thoughts on who got her picture. It was still hilarious to think back on.
"He better not be doing anything naughty to the picture of me," Chess stated before puffing her cheeks out. It caused Atsuko to laugh as they walked down the hallway. Chess glared at Atsuko.
"It's your own fault. It's karma for dragging everyone into a game they didn't know they were participating in a game," Atsuko replied hear Crowley calling out Ferid's name down the hallway. Atsuko feels a blush coming onto her face at the memory of Crowley's teasing and glances at the short noble. "I bet I know what he's doing with your pictures."
She silently hoped that Chess would take the bait. It'd be sweet revenge since she hadn't gotten an actual chance to raid Crowley's room yet. Ferid had been lurking around the hallways, and she found herself with an 'escort' of some kind more often than not. It was usually Chess dragging her off while Crowley would call out to Ferid to talk about battle plans or something. Mika would always be by her side if he wasn't being sent to do something for Crowley.
"You do?" Chess asks innocently looking up at Atsuko. For once, Atsuko was silently thankful that she was associated with the purple haired vampire. Atsuko nods after trying to appear thoughtful. A smile spreads over her face as she stops and playfully sticks her tongue out at Chess, who glares in response.
"Of course I do. I know Lacus better than you do," Atsuko stops in the middle of the hallway and looks around as if she was planning to tell Chess a secret. She then gestures for Chess to lean closer. Atsuko knew that she would have to run as fast as she could and hide the rest of the day. Curiosity spreads over Chess' face as she leans closer. Atsuko tenses up every muscle as she whispers as many naughty things as she could thing of as fast as she can. She barely dodges the fist that creates a large dent in the wall. She doesn't look back to see how bad it was. She just pushes herself to run as fast as she can laughing so hard that she can barely see straight. She ends up racing past both Ferid and Crowley. She ignores Crowley calling out both her and Chess' name.
She had found multiple places to hide from the enraged noble, but she kept on the move to avoid actually getting caught before Crowley found them both and tied them together back to back till Chess calmed down. He made sure to stay with them to prevent Atsuko from being harmed, though he openly laughed when he found out why Chess was aiming to hurt Atsuko. By that time, the sun was coming up, and Crowley had sent them both to bed, much to Atsuko's humiliation at being treated like a misbehaving child. It wasn't long till Mika had returned back looking tired. He still laughed when she told him what she'd done. He informed her that everything was prepared for battle. It made her heart sink.
She found that it was going to be another sleepless night. She was just laying there staring at the wall listening to Mika breath softly behind her. Her thoughts were racing though everything that could go wrong. She feels Mika twitch violently in his sleep. He pulls her closer, and she feels his body starting shiver. She slowly looks over her shoulder to see his face twisted in pain. Her heart starts to race. Was he having a nightmare? He was muttering softly, but she couldn't make out any words. A few sounded like he was saying stop. He pulls her closer and presses his face into her back. She lets her head fall back to look at the wall again. She wiggles a little trying to turn over in his grip. She could feel a dampness against the skin of her back. Her heart starts to race even faster. It was painful now. He was crying. The shuddering was getting worse. She didn't think she'd ever seen him cry, but, every time she tried to move, he would hold her tighter till she felt like she couldn't breath anymore.
"Mika!" she says feeling breathless.
"No," he mutters into her back. She flinches in pain as she feels his hands digging into her skin. She lets out a strained breath and starts to thrash. He was squeezing too hard. She felt like her ribs were going to break.
"Mikaela! Wake up!" She tries to pry his hands off of her body. All of a sudden air rushes back into her body. She goes limp gasping hard.
"Shit, Atsuko, are you ok?" he asks desperately. His hands barely touch her sides as she rolls onto her stomach to groan into her pillow. She just nods slowly. He pulls his hands away before he touches a tender spot on her side causing her to flinch. "I... I hurt you..."
She turns her head to look up at him. He looked mortified as he stared down at her. She swallows softly and rolls a little to look up at him. His blue eyes meet hers. His face is still damp. She slowly gets to her knees flinching as she feels whatever wounds he gave her starting to heal. She reaches out and puts a hand to his cheek, but he flinches back from her touch. She doesn't let herself be discouraged. Instead, she lunges into him knocking him off the bed. She feels her weight driving the air from his lungs before she sits up straddling his stomach. Her hands brace herself on his chest. She smiles down at him. They'd dragged half the blankets down with them. "There, we're even. I hurt you too."
He was rubbing the back of his head as looks up at her. His face still had a mixed look of pain and mortification as he watches her. She reaches out and gently cups his cheeks in her hands and leans down pressing her lips to his forehead. That seems to help him relax beneath her. "I know you were having a nightmare. I don't know what it was about, but it wasn't your fault. Besides, we heal fast."
A look of irritation spreads over his face as he reaches putting a hand over the top of hers. He says softly, "Just because you heal quickly doesn't mean I should hurt you."
She can only stare at his face for a few moments since she wasn't sure what she was going to say to him. Her heart flutters slightly as she watches him. He just stares back at her looking miserable. She smiles a little and says playfully. "You know that I love you, right?"
He gives her a suspicious look, which she pretends to be offended about, but he just nods a little. She playfully pinches his cheeks before he growls softly and shoves her hands away. She puts her hands on either side of his head to support her weight as she leans over the top of him. She says in a serious tone. "It was an accident, Mika. You could have done so much worse to me if you wanted to. All you did was hug me too hard. I know that you didn't intend to do it. I hurt you when I was first changed into a vampire."
His hand touches her ribs, but she doesn't look down. She was determined to look into his face, so he knew that she was serious. She finally gives in and leans down into him, hugging him. He hesitates, but he finally wraps his arms around her, though he makes sure to keep his touch light. He presses his lips to her shoulder. He mutters against her skin, "That's different though."
She rolls her eyes and lets out a soft sigh. "It is not any different, Mika."
They are silent for a few minutes before she pulls away, and she looks down at him before she gets up and crawls back into the bed. For a moment, she thinks he won't be getting off the floor before he slowly stands up, pulling the blanket with him, and lays beside her, facing away from her. She lets out a soft sigh and turns over pressing herself against his back. She drapes her arm over him like he always did to her. She lets out a sigh and closes her eyes. It's silent for a few minutes before he asks, "Are you ok?"
"Yes, I am fine," she says softly. "Are you afraid to go back to sleep?"
He doesn't answer her. She leans up and kisses his shoulder. She settles behind him and closes her eyes. She'd at least try to get some sleep before the big battle. She feels him moving just as she was starting to doze off. She tiredly opens her eyes. He was facing her now. He pulls her closer to his body. She just loosely drapes her arm over him again and uses her other one as a pillow. She feels him press his lips to her forehead. She smiles a little and says tiredly. "You are so stubborn, Hyakuya Mikaela."
She feels a chuckle against her forehead as she finally falls asleep in his arms.
The moment she wakes up is like a haze of movement. She could barely remember anything. Crowley had informed her to do the same thing that she had been doing. Gather up the non-combatant humans while his forces killed any soldiers. She was given the same group as always along with a plane. She couldn't tell if it was the same one or if she even had the same pilots since all she ever saw was the back of it, and they all looked the same. The second they arrive, she feels that something is off. They are a lot closer to the battlefield than they should be. It made every fine hair on her body stand up.
"Same orders as always," she mutters to the four hooded vampires. They nod and disappear. She had found that, with a little coaching from Mika, she was a lot more confident when giving out orders. He was always there to make sure that the other vampires listened. Her eyes move over to the battlefield happening not far away. The scent of human blood felt like it was suffocating her. She didn't know how big the force was supposed to be, but it looked like it was larger than normal. Wasn't she told this was a small outpost just outside the city they were planning to take?
She grits her teeth. She feels Mika's body press closer to her. She glances up at him, then she looks back at the battle. She mutters softly, "There are a lot of soldiers over there. What if more arrive from the city?"
Mika glances down at her then up at the battle. "Crowley will take care of them. Ferid is there as well. That's four nobles in one spot if you count Chess and Horn. The humans won't stand a chance."
She turns to look at him once more. He sounded so sure of the vampire's victory. It was always a slight shock to remember that he didn't like humans at all. Worry was starting to fill her stomach. What if he was wrong though? What if they were being lured here for a reason? She knew that humans weren't as stupid as vampires liked to think. She shakes her head and proceeds after the four hooded vampires. She could hear the sound of Mika's footsteps directly behind her. Still, she had an uneasy feeling starting to creep up the further she went into the outpost. She reaches for her sword slowly pulling it out. She stops and glances around. She couldn't see the hooded vampires at all. She couldn't hear any screams other than what was coming from the battlefield. It all just felt so eerie to her. She swallows and takes a step back into Mika's chest. Mika also had his sword out, though he hadn't activated it yet. She hears footsteps approaching and turns to look that way. She feels her body relax as she sees the vampires approaching with a small group of humans. She wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible.
"Is that all you found?" she asks softly. She felt like she shouldn't be talking much louder than that. The humans all look at her with cold, terror filled looks. One of the hooded vampires nods a couple times. They never seemed keen on talking to her, but she didn't let that bother her. Mika steps away from her, though he keeps his sword out and ready. She turns and starts to lead the way back to the plane. She kept seeing things move at the edge of her vision. She picks up the pace. Whenever she would look directly at the movement, it'd stop. Did that mean that this place was possibly haunted? She felt like every nerve in her body was alive with a mixture of nervousness and terror.
She feels Mika's hand on her shoulder seconds before she is roughly shoved to the side. She stumbles before she hears the sound of metal hitting metal. She turns in time to see that Mika was between her and a human soldier. She flinches as she notices that all four of the others were also engaged with human soldiers. She hears footsteps approaching from her side and turns to look. There are three soldiers heading her way. She flinches as more seem to pour out from various ruins. She hears a cry and glances back toward the vampires to see that one had disintegrated into ash. A second one falls seconds later after being ganged up on. Her panic rises instantly. She didn't know the last two, but she didn't want them to die in front of her. She tried so hard not to sound frantic. "Retreat!"
She makes sure they heard her. They pull away from the humans and leap upward trying to get out of reach as she turns on her heel to run along the streets. The three soldiers were incredibly close, but she knew that she was likely faster than they were on foot. She quickly runs toward the plane glancing back to make sure that Mika was following. To her relief, he was. His face flickers with panic as he opens his mouth.
"Atsuko!" Her head snaps back around to see a group of soldiers blocking her path. The man out front was clearly more muscular than the others. His sword lashes out at her side. It looked like he intended to cut her in half. She grits her teeth and lifts her sword to block his just before he meets skin. It isn't much of a surprise as she feels the weight of his strike bear heavily down on her. It felt like she got hit by a truck. It knocks her off her feet as if she weighed nothing. She hits the ground painfully and rolls to avoid any more strikes that might be aimed at her. She springs to her feet to see that he was rushing toward her. Mika lunges forward to prevent the man from getting any closer to Atsuko. He takes the blow from the large man a lot better than she did. She hears the other two vampires move to either side behind her, though they were facing back the way she had came from. She noticed that the uniforms that the humans were wearing looked different from Yuu's group as well. Were they in a different position? Maybe just normal city guards that kept horsemen at bay? But their swords had killed two of the hooded vampires, so she found herself unsure of herself. Her gaze focuses on the large man once more. The man had pulled back so he wasn't standing within Mika's immediate striking range, though Atsuko knew it wouldn't do any good if Mika had wanted to strike the man down.
Thorns come out of Mika's sword and wraps around his hand and wrist causing blood to drip onto the ground. The blade turns a red color as it absorbs Mika's blood. The human doesn't even flinch at the sight. Instead, he turns his cold eyes on her. It felt like time had stopped as soldiers surround the four of them. She couldn't tell the exact number of people that they were facing. Her heart starts to race as she looks back in the direction of the much larger battle. Would any of the vampire soldiers notice that something was wrong? A gravelly voice comes from in front of Mika, "Remember what Lord Kureto said. The female in the center is a noble according to our reports. We are to attempt to capture it alive. If you have to harm it, try not to make any fatal wounds."
She feels every muscle in her body tense up in complete surprise. What were they talking about? Was they referring to her? Did they seriously think that she was a noble? Who even told them that she was a noble? She didn't even carry a first class weapon! She hears metal hit metal and spins to look at the other two vampires. To her horror, she realized that she'd been so distracted by the human's words that she hadn't noticed that the soldiers were making the circle around the vampires even tighter. One lunges for her raising his sword over her head. She quickly raises her own to block the blow. She quickly falls into the training that Mika had taught her. Despite them being enemies, she couldn't bring herself to kill them, especially since it was painfully obvious that they weren't actually aiming to kill her. She'd lost track of the two hooded vampires in what felt like a sea of vampires, but she could smell human blood and knew that they were likely killing these soldiers. She notices that Mika is fighting with the larger man, though a small group was forming a smaller circle around him. Her attention is drawn back to the soldiers facing her when one lunges at her. She was able to keep out of reach by dodging as many of their attacks as possible and knocking away the few she couldn't dodge. She was careful to keep an eye on the ones that lurked behind her.
She could feel a frantic feeling swelling inside her the longer the fight went on. She felt like she was being pushed away from the other three. She notices movement close to her side and turns in time to see a soldier lunge forward. She tries to side step the thrust, but she flinches as she notices that she won't be able to fully dodge. She flicks her sword up brushing it against the soldier's, so,that, when it hits her, it just slices past her skin. She could already feel that it was healing. This soldier didn't have a cursed weapon of any kind. In fact, they didn't really show much experience in actually fighting vampires. It made her sick to her stomach. Was they just sacrifices?
Her eyes rise to meet the human's eyes, but his eyes was widened in pain. The tip of a sword was sticking out of his chest. Blood was pouring from his mouth as his body is jerked backward instantly. She can only watch in horror as the man drops to the ground. It seems to startle the men around him, since they have stopped moving to watch the sight as well. One of the hooded vampires is standing behind the soldier. She wanted to yell at him and tell him that he shouldn't have killed the human, but she couldn't find the words. He sneers at her slightly, "If you weren't Lord Crowley's bitch, I would have let you die. I just don't want to deal with him having a tantrum if you screw yourself and die."
Anger flairs through her body as she glares at the vampire. He sneers at her once more baring his fangs at her before he takes a few steps toward the next human killing him as well. He manages to kill two more before the humans start to react again. He engages the remaining ones that had been aiming for her leaving a giant hole where she was able to slip away. That's when she noticed that there wasn't as many soldiers, but she noticed that there was only one hooded vampire left. Her heart sinks at the thought for a moment till she notices that several of the human soldiers had focused on killing Mika, since it looked like he'd killed the large man. Her heart starts to race as she watches him.
The scent of his blood hits her nose causing her to panic and rush forward. One of the soldiers had managed to get behind him, and was attempting to ram his sword through Mika's back at the same time two from either side had stabbed at him. She couldn't tell which of the soldiers had enchanted weapons and which didn't. Atsuko moves before she truly thinks about it. She just knew that she couldn't sit there and watch him get hurt without trying to help. She just appears behind the human that was at Mika's back. Warmth runs down her arm as she shoves her sword at an awkward angle in her haste to try and help Mika. She wraps an arm around the soldier's throat and pulls back to throw him off balance so that his sword wouldn't actually reach Mika. It works though the man's cry of pain brings her back to her senses.
Her sword had entered just below the ribs and was aiming upward. His blood was running down her sword and onto her hand and wrist, warming the skin. Still, she had stabbed a human, and she was sure that she had gotten vital organs, if the harsh gasping was anything to go by. He was coughing up blood. It dripped down the arm wrapped around his throat at an alarming rate. She rips herself away from him. Her sword slides from his body with a sickening noise that makes her head spin. It reminded her of the sound of her little brother's body. The scent of Mika's blood hits her nose again, drawing her from her morbid thoughts. She looks up to see that he was now in front of her. The two humans on either side of him was laying on the ground. His uniform was covered in blood, and she wasn't sure how much was his. His hand wraps around hers as he pulls on her roughly. She just numbly follows him. He was heading toward the main battle. She could hear the shouts of the humans behind her. They were giving chase till she hears cries of pain. She stops suddenly. Her body jerks when Mika pulls on her, but she turns to look back. All she got was a flash of white and silver.
Mika grabs her chin and turns her face to look at him. His eyes look over the top of her head then back down to meet her eyes. "You won't like what you see. Don't look back. Keep running with me. We'll find Crowley, Horn, or Chess."
She could feel cold liquid smearing onto her face from his hand. Her whole body starts to shake. He had blood on his hands. He releases her chin and tugs on her harder. She feels herself starting to shake. She wanted to drop the sword, but she finds that she can't. Mika had given it to her, and she'd been able to save him from being hurt badly with it. She could still smell his blood, but it's starting to get drowned by the overwhelming smell of human blood. She notices that despite the overwhelming numbers, the vampires were clearly winning like Mika had said. She shivers as the blood along her arms starts to crack with her movements since it was drying. There was fights going on all around her making her head spin. She feels a hand on her back and looks back to see that it was Mika, but he pulls away when they are noticed by humans and engages them. She just watches feeling numb and lost.
"Is something wrong?" Ferid whispers in her ear. She could hear the soldiers calling out orders but she didn't even pay close enough attention to hear the words. She feels the hand with her sword being lifted up. His nails lightly scrap over the skin causing the blood to flake off. She turns ripping her hand away from him feeling disgust well in her chest at the thought of his touch. He reaches down and runs his fingers along her jaw in a fake loving manner. She turns her head away from his touch feeling her skin crawl. He reaches out to grab her chin when she feels something grabbing the back of her shirt and pulling her away. She turns expecting to see Mika, but she finds herself staring at Crowley's chest. He tugs once more on her clothes, and she finds herself even further away from Ferid. Crowley smiles at her and moves his hand from the back of her shirt to pat her head.
"I don't know why you are here and covered in blood. I just saw Mika not far away fighting some humans. You will tell me what happened after the battle. The humans are retreating. Go find Horn and try to get a few of the human soldiers before they are all killed. We could use some information on the city's defenses," he orders playfully before he puts his hand back on her back. He pushes her and turns to look at Ferid. Atsuko feels gratefulness well up as she rushes away from the two nobles. She carefully puts her sword away since her hands were starting to shake now that her adrenaline was wearing off. She felt as if there was a weight crushing her chest as she fights the tears. She felt guilty about killing a human, even though she didn't regret saving Mika. It doesn't take long to find Horn on the battlefield. She didn't even look like she broke a sweat as she stands among corpses. It made Atsuko flinch hard. She closes her eyes tightly trying not to think about the man she'd killed. She feels two cool, soft hands on her face. She slowly opens her eyes to look up at Horn. Horn smiles down at her.
"Did Lord Crowley send you over?" Her voice was kind and gentle. Atsuko found herself taking comfort in the tone and gentle touch. She just nods a little. Horn doesn't say anything, she just patiently waits for Atsuko to say something.
Finally, Atsuko gets the strength to mutter, "He wants some soldiers to be saved so that he can ask them questions."
Horn nods and grabs Atsuko's shoulders and spins her away. She guides her toward a helicopter. She says in the same gentle voice, "I want you to get on. I'm going to retrieve someone to go back home with you. Shower and get changed. We'll be here for a bit. I'll take care of what Lord Crowley would like done. I'll also let Mika know where you went, so he doesn't worry about you. You are shaking and pale. Whatever happened, I don't think you should worry about it."
Atsuko doesn't even fight Horn. She numbly gets onto the helicopter and pulls her knees up staring out the window. She just sits there for what feels like hours before she hears someone board and sit across from her. She feels the helicopter take off, but she still felt too numb to even think about it. All she could think about was Mika being in danger of getting hurt and killing the man. Had she even helped at all? She hugs her knees tighter.
"You look pathetic," a cold voice states making her jump. She finally turns to lock eyes with Rene. He only watches her for a minute before he turns his gaze toward the window. "You are worried about the livestock dying, right?"
"Shut up, Rene," she says irritably. He turns his attention back to her.
"Grow up. People die in wars. That's what is happening right now," he states coldly. She puts her feet on the ground and leans toward him ready to snap when he says, "Did you ask Lord Crowley to return your picture?"
That baffles Atsuko completely. Her cheeks start to burn as she pulls back. Rene was smart, so it didn't surprise her that he knew who had her picture. Still, she felt like her tongue was frozen, even though she knew it wasn't. She flinches when she realizes that her mouth is hanging open and quickly closes it. He turns to look out the window once more.
"The stupid look on your face tells me that you have. Tell me, did any of you guys keep anything of ours? We didn't get any pictures back," he asks. His voice was becoming strained. That does surprise her. What had happened to the pictures of the three of them?
"I didn't keep anything. Are you thinking of trading your picture of Horn for the one of you?" Atsuko finally manages to ask. It was actually giving her an idea. If they hadn't gotten their pictures back, she might be able to trade Crowley his picture for hers, if she couldn't find her picture. He didn't answer at all. In fact, he didn't look at her. It's silent for a while before she says, "I don't know what happened to the picture of you."
He closes his eyes and leans his head back. It's silent till they land. He follows her into Crowley's mansion. It doesn't take long for her to get to her room. She searches desperately for any clothes of hers that Chess hadn't taken, but she comes up empty. She flinches and finally just grabs some of the clothes left for her. She really needed to find a way to hide clothes from Chess. Rene had disappeared when she comes out. She spends as much time in the shower as she can scrubbing frantically at the skin that was tainted with blood. She found that she was crying as she scrubbed, even after the blood had disappeared.
She decided it was time to return to her room after finishing the shower and dressing. She left the bloody clothes on the bathroom floor. She didn't have the strength to lift them up again. She hadn't even bothered brushing her hair. Rene is leaning against her door when she approaches. He glances up at her. Startled, she realizes that he isn't looking at her coldly like he usually does. She pauses to look him over for a few minutes, and he seems to be returning the favor. She moves to sit on the ground beside him. She's careful to keep her panties from showing. It's silent for a few moments before she feels curiosity starting to grow. "How did Lacus take getting Chess?"
Rene chuckles which surprises her. She leans her head back against the wall and slowly turns to look up at him. He had his eyes closed, and his arms were folded across his chest. He says softly, "He was pissed it wasn't you at first, but he discovered something."
"Oh?" She could feel her curiosity growing, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to know.
"He thinks he can use it to make you feel jealous," he states before shrugging his shoulders. Atsuko finds herself staring at Rene in disbelief. He chuckles as he slowly starts to sit down. "He doesn't give up, you know."
She scoffs and looks at the wall directly in front of her. It's silent again, but she found it easier to not focus on what had happened. In fact, she could almost make it seem like she had just had a nightmare. That's when a thought runs through her mind. She quickly climbs to her feet. She hears Rene sigh, "Whatever you are planning, don't do it, stupid."
She glares down at him and turns walking down the hallway. It's not long after that she finds him following. She stops before a door and takes a deep breath. He stops a few feet behind her. He didn't know the mansion as well as she did, so he probably didn't have any idea who the room belonged to. She quickly opens the door and steps inside, leaving the door open for his sake. Her eyes scan over the bed and dresser. Where would he put it? She deices to try the bed and starts to search through the pillow cases. She wouldn't leave anything unsearched.
"Is this... Lord Crowley's room?" Rene asks. He was standing in the hallway looking through the door. She just nods. He's silent as she carefully puts the pillows back and starts to pull the blanket and sheet back to search for the picture. She could feel herself getting frustrated as she shoves her hands under the mattress as far as they could go and searches there too before she remakes the bed. "Your stupid. Is that picture really worth the trouble of invading his room?"
She stops and turns to glare at Rene. He returns it. It takes her a moment to try and think about what she wants to say, "It was bad enough having you look at my bra. I really don't want to think about someone else seeing something like that."
He visibly flinches and snaps, "I didn't mean to see you. If you had just answered me, I wouldn't have had to pull on you."
"I'm a person, not a thing! You didn't need to play tug of war with me!" She says feeling her anger build even more. Rene gives her a cold look that has her taking a few steps back.
"I am not interested in you or your body. You are nothing more than a child. You aren't even the type I like," he states coldly. She scoffs softly.
"Good. I wouldn't want to be."
"You don't have a mature bone in your body, do you? You are going to get caught, and I won't be a part of it," he states before he walks away. She hurries to the door and shuts it before turning to start searching the nightstands at the side of the bed. She knew it had to be in here. It just had to be.
She is so lost in finding the picture that she almost misses a sound outside the door. She dismisses it at first thinking it was just Rene coming back to lecture her, but a jolt of terror runs through her as she realizes that it might not be. She looks around frantically trying to figure out where to hide just in case. She eventually drops to her stomach and rolls under the bed. It had a skirt around the bottom that she hoped would hide her. She covers her mouth to keep her gasp from being heard when she sees that it was actually Crowley who had returned. She was near the edge of the bed, and she wanted to scoot toward the middle, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She was afraid he'd hear her if she tried to move. She could hear a second set of footsteps, which makes her heart sink even more. The door shuts. Crowley's feet move across the room to the closet area.
"My lord, I did get the causality report from the front lines. We lost more than we expected to," a stern, unfamiliar voice says. He were standing just inside the door. She slowly lifts the edge of the bed skirt to peek out. Crowley was covered in blood, but he was wearing an amused smile. He was looking into the closet. She presses her cheek to the floor and lets go of the skirt to see into the room a little better. She could see the other vampire was a lower ranked vampire, but she didn't recognize him.
"Well?" Crowley asks as he pulls some clothes from the closet and turns to toss them onto the bed.
"The four vampires that you assigned to the girl was killed. Apparently, there was a group of humans in their area, waiting for them. The only two to survive was her and the boy, Hyakuya Mikaela. Sir, are you sure that it was wise to trust her? She hasn't shown herself in battle. If there was perhaps a more experienced commander at the front of that group, they could have survived."
She flinches and covers her mouth to keep from crying. She felt like such a failure. Crowley chuckles and says, "She did just fine. Don't pretend like you care that we lost some soldiers."
It falls silent once more before the vampire says, "Would you like me to retrieve her?"
"That won't be necessary. I can find her later," Crowley says. A chill runs down her spine. Did he know that she was hiding beneath his bed? Her eyes widen when she sees his clothes slowly hitting the floor. She closes her eyes tightly as she feels a blush starting to spread. She was trying so hard not to make a sound at all. How could she be so stupid? Did she really think that she could find the picture in such a short amount of time?
She hears more clothes hitting the floor and has to fight to keep herself from squeaking in embarrassment. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire. The lower ranked vampire suddenly starts talking again, "Sir, may I ask a question?"
She finds herself silently grateful to him. It helped to pull her mind off of what was going on in front of her. She felt like killing Chess all over again. Even with her eyes closed, she could remember what the picture looked like. She hears a chuckle and the bed shifts. She presses herself harder on the floor making sure to keep her eyes closed. He must have made some gesture to the other vampire since the man continued. "Why do you keep her around?"
It's silent for a few moments before Crowley says, "That's easy. It was an order at first from the queen, but I find her personality to be interesting. She's a nice little puzzle. See, she's special. Do you know how she's special?"
"I know she was livestock once," the vampire answers sounding unsure of himself. Crowley chuckles and shifts on the bed making it creak above her. She slowly opens her eyes once more figuring that it'd be safe since he was sitting on the bed. She could see a majority of his clothes laying scattered on the floor, but, to her relief, she didn't see any pants.
"Yes, she was, but that isn't the most interesting thing about her. Have you ever watched her?" Crowley asks sounding amused. It sends another chill down her spine. She had to remind herself that he couldn't know that she was there. He just couldn't. She'd made sure that everything was the same before she'd rolled beneath the bed. She was just freaking herself out.
"Well, I can't say I have. I do know that Lady Chess and Lady Horn have both shown affection for her, but I don't see the appeal to be honest. She was once a human, and she still acts as if she is. It's disgusting to be honest," the vampire says still sounding unsure of himself.
"That's fine. You don't have to like her. None of you do. She doesn't belong to any of you. She's mine just like Horn and Chess are. She's also Mikaela's lover," Crowley says casually. That's when Atsuko notices that his legs are right in front of her face. Thankfully, he was still wearing his pants. She closes her eyes again.
"If you don't mind me being so bod, my lord, but what do you mean by her being yours?"
Atsuko feels curiosity bubbling up. She was wondering the same thing. She doesn't have to wonder long since Crowley answers with a playful voice, "I'm going to take her from the queen. I've already sent in the request to make her one of my aides."
"But, sir, she's not a noble!" She found that she was shocked as well. She honestly didn't even know what any of that meant, but it was still embarrassing by the way he had said it. Her eyes were now open as she stares at Crowley's legs. She couldn't form a coherent thought at all. She could hear Crowley laughing.
"If that is the only reason for protesting, don't waste my time. You are dismissed. I have a little mouse to take care of," Crowley says in a knowing tone. Her heart felt like it lept to her throat. He knew she was there! She hears the door open and shut. Crowley stands up with a chuckle. "You suck at hiding. I heard you when I came in."
She releases a gasp and tries to crawl away from him. His hand suddenly seizes her ankle dragging her out from under the bed and lifting her into the air. It aches to be held by one leg, but she was more concerned about the fact that her skirt was trying to come up. She quickly shoves it between her legs and holds it there to make sure everything was covered as she looks at him feeling a blush spread over her face as she watches him. He had a cruel playful smile on his face as he holds her out at arm's length.
"Does Mika know you are here?" She just continues to watch him silently. He chuckles and says, "Did you find what you were looking for?"
She grits her teeth and glares at him the best she can, but she's sure she looks stupid hanging upside down. She knew for a fact that she didn't scare him at all. He lifts her higher. She was now level with his bare chest as he playfully says, "Did I give you permission to come into my room, Atsuko?"
She feels humiliation swell up. She says the first thing she can think of. "You said that you wanted to talk to me after the fight."
"You're lying. If you were here to talk to me, why were you hiding under the bed? You were doing something that you shouldn't have been doing," he says with a chuckle as he seems to easily fling her body onto his bed. She bounces near the edge and falls off the other side making him laugh even more. She barely contains the flinch as she starts to stand and straightens out her clothes. She glances up at him. He just laughs and says, "Your look of anger is canceled out by your blush. Who has corrupted your innocence?"
She scoffs and looks at the wall feeling awkward. She crosses her arms and says, "I'm going to get that picture."
"I doubt you can, even if you found it," he says as he pulls on a shirt. She feels herself relaxing. He'd just given her a hint. Maybe he stuck it in with his boxers? She finds her eyes drifting to the dresser thoughtfully. He might think that she'd be squeamish about touching his boxers, but she was determined. At least, they'd be clean. "I take it you listened to my conversation?"
She just nods a little and finally looks back at him. She had so many questions about it, but she didn't know where to start. He smiles at her and puts his hands on his bed leaning forward. "I did put in a request, but I wasn't the only one. Lord Ferid did as well, though he's likely to get denied. She still has to give him fair consideration though. It'll be interesting, won't it?"
He smiles even wider showing her his fangs. She takes a few steps back. He chuckles and playfully says, "You look like a scared little bunny rabbit."
She didn't care how childish she sounded as she says, "I'm telling Mika about the picture."
She bolts to the door, but she finds herself hanging upside by the same leg. She frantically tries to cover her panties with her skirt again as she glares up at him. "Put me down!"
He chuckles and says softly, "You trespassed. I just wanted to let you know that you will be punished. I still need to talk to you about your fight, so no running back to your lover yet. If you really want to tell him, feel free to. It doesn't matter to me, but remember something. He doesn't stand a chance against me, and I will protect myself should he attack when he has a tantrum. Is it wise to tell him?"
She lifts her hand to flip him off. The gesture just makes him laugh. He says in a low voice, "You are lucky I'm not Lord Ferid. He would have taken you up on your offer."
She stares at him stunned as he carefully sets her down. He moves to stand over her with his hands on his hips. He reaches into a pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. "I found this on a human soldier. It has your name on it, ironically. If you are a good girl, I will give it to you."
She leaps to her feet and reaches for the note, though he lifts it out of reach. He was just as childish as Chess was. He laughs as she attempts to jump and grab it before she finally snarls. Frustration swells in her chest as she finally just steps away from him. He reaches out with his hand and puts it on her head. That just makes her sour look deepen. He was teasing her. She snaps, "Fine, I'll play your game."
He chuckles and ruffles her still tangled hair. "What happened to you out there?"
She flinches as pain rushes through her chest, and she closes her eyes. She didn't want to relive the moment that she killed someone, but she wants the note. She didn't recognize the writing at all and that made her incredibly curious. She slowly works her way through what had happened.
"So, it was a trap. I wonder who is feeding the humans their information, or why they are aiming for nobles. Perhaps we should put the attack on the city off for a few days," Crowley says thoughtfully. His hand was still on the top of her head, but she found that it was a comfort now instead of an irritation. He leans down so he's level with her and pulls his hand away. The note appears inches from her nose. She eagerly takes it from him, but he doesn't release it right away. Instead, he says softly, "You are free to go anywhere you want, but you are still going to be punished for entering my room without getting permission first. Avoid Lord Ferid. He's surely lurking the halls somewhere. I returned first, but Mika should be back by now. Go let him know that your alright."
She looks at him and forces a smile. She dreaded the thought of another punishment, but she was still grateful to him for allowing her some freedom once more. She says, "Thank you, Crowley."
He chuckles and releases the note. She quickly and carefully makes it to her room to find that Mika was already waiting for her. He pulls her into a hug the second she steps in. She feels herself breaking down as she returns it. She cries against his chest while he runs his fingers through her tangled hair. He repeatedly tells her that she did what she had to. She finally remembers that she's clenching the letter and pulls away from Mika. He moves to the middle of the bed, and she settles in front of him so that he can easily read over her shoulder. She feels him put his chin on her shoulder. The writing at the beginning becomes different as the letter progresses. She smiles a little as she reads why.
Hey, Atsuko, this is Yuu. I wanted you to meet someone. I have something to- it becomes illegible at that point. In fact, there is a mess almost as if he had the paper ripped away. Someone with better handwriting must have taken over. It clearly has the spot where she was to meet them. Then it says, This is Kimizuki. Yuu's handwriting is terrible. I doubt you can even read it. He is almost illiterate, because he's stupid. He wants you to meet someone to prove a point to them. You can bring Mika if you want, but it won't matter. I don't think this is going to end well. He still stubbornly is going to wait for you outside the protective walls, so please show up as soon as you can. I'm not sure how this note is even supposed to reach you. Our c.o. said he'll send it with a soldier that is going to fight your kind tomorrow. Hopefully, you find it alright. See you soon.
She can't help but chuckle. She could just see the two of them arguing. Mika wraps his arms tighter around her. He says softly, "We should go meet them before any of the fighting picks back up. The humans are likely going to be recovering from their losses soon and may attack us in retaliation."
She smiles and leans back into him. She closes her eyes and just nods. All the stress melts away, and she finds herself relaxing. The sudden need to tell him about the picture rises. Maybe he could help her find it. She decides that maybe it'd be better to tell him when they returned if they were meeting someone knew. She wanted Mika to be calm, since Kimizuki had showed concern. She opens her eyes to stare across the room. She felt so comfortable leaning back against him that she didn't want to ruin it with any talking. He slowly lets her go and says, "We should ask Crowley if we can go out."
She reaches out grabbing his arm when she remembers what Crowley had said. "I already talked to Crowley. He's the one who gave that to me. I told him about what happened on the battlefield. He said that he was giving me freedom to do as I wanted for a little while."
Mika reaches down to brush his fingers along her jaw. "Let's go now then. The sooner the better."
She smiles and nods. She was nervous, but she was eager to see who Yuu wanted her to meet. Yet, she still felt a hint of nervousness swell up. Mika was going to go with her, so she knew she'd be fine. She'd return back and tell him about the picture then see what his ideas were for getting it back. She quickly gets up to actually brush her hair. Mika waits for her to finish before he takes her hand and leads her out.
Her thoughts were racing as her thoughts turn to Yuu's group. It felt like forever since she'd seen them. She felt a thrill of excitement run through her body. It didn't matter who she had to meet if she got to sit and talk to them again.
