"Hey, Shinya! How does it look?" Guren called at the sniper, who stood in the highest branches that would still carry his weight.

"The JIDA is approaching from the north-east and the vampires are setting up defenses." Shinya landed gracefully on the ground. "Or maybe they are going to attack Kureto preemptively. So, what's the plan, Guren?"

"We talked about this this morning."

Shinya waved his hand. "No, no. I mean after we got the Queen out. What is your goal, Guren? The best outcome?"

"We get the Queen out and save Kimizuki's sister," Guren said with a monotone voice.

"And then?"

"…"

"And then, Guren?" Shinya shouted. When the other man gave no answer Shinya grabbed him by his jacket. "Tell me you have a plan, Guren!"

"…"

Shinya pushed Guren away. "I can't believe you started this without having a plan about how this was going to end! All of us are traitors! Obviously we can't stay with the blood-suckers and the JIDA is going to behead us, if we don't die first! The world is in ruins and I won't believe you saying: 'Oh, let's run away and live somewhere remote.' You wouldn't abandon our comrades like this, Guren!"

Guren's purple eyes lacked their usual light while he talked: "The Queen will owe us a favor for breaking her out and the vampire race will owe us for getting the Seraphs back under control and not using them against them anymore. We can arrange a cease-fire with them."

"So what? You know that Kureto is never going to agree!"

"And if Kureto was not the leader of the JIDA anymore?"

Shinya gaped. "Guren, those are dangerous thoughts."

Guren sighed. "It's nothing that we haven't considered before."

"That was different then, in a country with well-fed and save citizen. The people are loyal to the Hiiragis, now more than ever. They provided food and shelter and propaganda did the rest." Shinya smiled sourly.

"Yes, they are loyal to the Hiiragi family, but not necessarily to Kureto."

"Are you going to drag Shinoa into your plans as well?"

Guren scowled. "No matter what, she is already involved. Besides it could be you too."

Shinya chuckled darkly. "I'm just the adopted son. Who would follow someone like me?"

"I would," Guren said without hesitation.

Shinya gave him a half-smile. "That's nice of you Guren, but the two of us have always been outsiders. It needs to be Shinoa. … Honestly, I'd rather not push her into this role. She is still young."

"We were her age when hell broke loose."

"That's what this is all about, isn't it, Guren? You still feel guilty for not being able to save more people."

"Of course." Guren's voice dropped to a whisper. "I always do."

Shinya sighed. "I know it's difficult, but there is no helping it. The past is past."

"Ah, but it's not just the past, Shinya. Every day I get to read who died in combat. All those names, all those people …" Guren smiled, but he looked very much broken. "I talked to Kureto one day. He won't stop until the Hiiragi family has conquered the whole earth."

Shinya snorted. "That's ridiculous! Wait … he really said that to you?"

"Yeah."

"Now he's officially gone mad."

"I think it's amazing that he still has a goal that he's working to reach."

Shinya slung an arm around Guren's shoulders. "How about we focus on our own goals and see where we can go from there. Let's go and rescue the Queen and Mirai~!"

Guren smiled just a tiny bit. When you can't see your future, all shrouded in mist, then you need to focus on what's in front of your feet. Not walking forward will never disperse the fog, but one day after taking one tiny step after another the future will become clearer.

The secret passage was pitch black, even for Mika's enhanced vampire senses. A stairway led into this darkness. The passage, as far as Mika could tell, looked like it had been molten out of soil and stone.

"And how are we supposed to see in there? Mika, do you see anything down there?" Yu asked and Mika shook his head.

"Goshi, did you acquire the goods?" Guren asked the other soldier.

"Yep. Give me a sec." The tall man put his backpack down and pulled a handful of glow sticks. He handed them out to each person.

Yu broke one and it started to glow slightly. "What the heck is this? No way we're going to be able to see down there with these."

Goshi shrugged. "Couldn't afford to steal the JIDA's. They would have locked me up."

"It will be enough," Guren said. "Besides your senses are far better than the average human's."

The younger soldiers regarded him with doubt. Ferid on the other hand couldn't care less. He was completely fascinated by the glow sticks and hummed while breaking them. "What interesting little toys you have there. I'd really like to know how exactly they work."

In the dim glow of the chemiluminescence the group went into the lion's den. The passage was only wide enough for one of them to pass at time, so Crowley went first. He was the only one who was somewhat inconspicuous. The passage ended behind a wall carpet in a grand hall. Three corridors left the hall on ground level and another three on the first and second level each. There was no staircase in this room but the each upper level had a balcony. Considering the Gothic style of the room it was built by vampires for sure.

Exactly when Sayuri stepped out of the dark, the entire earth shuddered.

Ferid clapped his hands together. "What impressive timing! The soldiers must have been called to the top levels already. And that means we'll have free reign!"

"Unless the ceiling caves in," Kimizuki commented as sand drizzled from above.

"Let's not waste any time."

With Ferid, Guren, Yu and Mika as vanguard and Yoichi, Shinya, Mito and Crowley securing the rear the group continued into the dungeons. The group then entered a corridor made from rough-hewn stone. The cell doors were made of wood and did not look like they could hold back a vampire, especially not a third progenitor.

Ferid walked along humming to himself. He had no need to look into each cell. It was obvious that the Queen's would have a lot of enchantments and enchantments needed power. He kept walking until a faint tingle crept over his neck. There he stopped and pointed at the cell. "It's this one."

Mika walked to the door, Yu closely behind him, and looked though the bars. He gasped. Despite having the body of a child, Krul had always had an air of authority and wisdom around her. But now she looked like a drowned rat. She was chained to the wall by two black chains and faint purple marks spread around where the metal touched her skin.

Suddenly she looked up and their gazes met. "Mika?"

He knew that she had not heard them coming. He senses must have been suppressed along with her powers. There was sadness and shock in her eyes and Mika got the distinctive feeling that he was not the one she had been expecting.

Suddenly he was shoved aside by Ferid, who unlocked the doors with one of the keys he held. The door groaned as he pushed it open. "Hello Krul! Did you miss me?"

Strangely enough she stayed perfectly calm, cold in fact. The silver haired vampire carefully approached her and unlocked her chains. "We came to rescue you, my lovely Queen. That's the truth."

The chains fell down to the floor with a metallic jingle and Ferid's head sailed through the air. Before anyone had lifted a finger, Krul was out and rammed Crowley into a wall, so hard that the stone cracked.

"Did you really think I'd just forgive you?" She seethed. "I should kill you for your crimes, burn you in sunlight and immure you for the rest of eternity. How dare you lay a hand on me? How DARE YOU?" She ripped Crowley's sword from its sheath, parried Guren's attack and sent him flying. "And who do think you are?"

Guren's teammates immediately went into a defensive formation, but definitively didn't feel like attacking a furious third progenitor armed with a longsword.

"Please leave my co-conspirators alone, dearest Queen," Ferid said. His head sat on his shoulders again, but his collar was stained with blood. "I still need them."

Guren huffed. 'Don't talk like it's you using me, damn vampire.' He kept his words to himself, though. If Ferid wants to stick out his neck, why not?

"I do hope that your little game does not have a negative impact on me, Ferid … For your own sake. And now speak up! What the hell are you doing?"

Ferid laughed. "Well, that's a long story, but I'll try to keep it short. I've found someone who was exiled for meddling with the Seraphs and now I'm taking my revenge. But alas, how could little poor and weak me stand up to a man who lived tens of millennia? That's why I had to mess things up a little and get some stronger vampires here."

"And for that you had to attack me and lock me up?!" Krul growled.

"Well … Answer me honestly, would you have requested aid from the council?"

Krul pressed her lips together. Request aid? Her? Laughable! Of course she would have never called for help.

The earth shook and debris fell from the ceiling.

"I think that's our cue. So, won't you lend us your power, third Progenitor Krul Tepes?"

The short vampire handed the sword back to Crowley. "Very well. But if you betray me or sell me out again, I will kill you."

Ferid bowed. "Thank you. We also brought you a change of clothes."

Krul accepted the clothes with her chin held high. The greyish dress she wore scratched her skin. Where Ferid had gotten clothes in her size and preferred style from she did not want to know. Sometimes it is better to know less.

"So what is your plan, Ferid?" She asked from behind the door.

"Well-" Another tremor shook the cells. "We need to get the Seraph to calm down first."

"And then?"

Ferid smiled enigmatically. "We'll see."

The group raced a staircase up.

"How can we save Mirai?" Mitsuba asked between breaths.

"I have a drug that could calm her down." Guren answered.

Krul clicked her tongue. "You humans and your drugs."

"Do you know a different way to save my sister?" Kimizuki asked.

The little vampire looked at him with an undecipherable gaze. After a longer pause she finally answered: "Talk to her. Evoke positive emotions like happiness and hope. Seraphs feel rage and mostly despair. If you can give her the feeling of security and hope then she should calm down on her own."

Shinya gave a curt laugh. "That doesn't sound more reliable than drugs at all."

"Well, you bound the Angel to a small girl," Krul hissed. "What were you expecting to happen? Medication is only a short term solution, but if Mirai manages to control the Angel herself it would be far less troublesome."

They arrived on the top of a tall building. And what they saw was carnage. There was smoke rising from buildings all over the place and the sounds of fighting from below. Above it all, the Seraph floated with Abbadon controlling an army of black Horsemen and occasionally attacking places itself.

"Not the worst place I've been to," Crowley commented.

Guren started talking: "Shinoa's team will try to get to Mirai. My team will locate Kureto and stop this madness."

"And I will stop Urd," Krul finished.

Mika shot her a worried look. "He is a second Progenitor. You can't win against him and his subordinates."

Krul grinned. It was the same face she had had when he had tried to rebel against her after he had met Yu. "Mika dear, I might be less powerful, but I have my own tricks." And to Crowley she said: "Do you still carry matches or a lighter around?" With a snap the lighter produced a small flame. At first nothing happened. Then it expanded and shaped itself. The group watched spellbound as Krul created a snake with two wings in the sky out of pure fire. The contents of the lighters could not have been enough for that.

Abbadon directed its attack at the dragon. Black mass clashed with orange flames. The monsters seemed equally strong. Krul nodded. "Good. I'll keep it busy for the next few minutes."

"What the hell?!" Yu shouted. "What is this?"

Krul was amused. "Have you never seen proper magic?"

Guren pulled on the boy's ear and ignored his pained mumbling. "We'll get going, now."

Everyone, except for Krul, Ferid and Crowley, left.

The Queen raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to follow my orders now or do I have to worry about getting stabbed in the back again?"

"My dearest Queen, I always acted in the interest of vampirekind. So today we simply act as your humble backup. I am quite surprised, though. I wasn't aware you can control fire."

Krul looked at him with smugness in her eyes. "Ferid, Ferid. I am a Tepes after all. This is child's play."

It was his paranoia that had Kureto acting before he even knew what happened. The force of the attack he parried drove him back and in a split second he activated his demon's curse and cleaved two white tigers in half. His retainers stood around in shock. Even Aoi had not expected an attack here, surrounded by allies.

The man he was facing now Kureto had thought of to be an ally too. "What is the meaning of this, Guren Ichinose?" This could be bad. Even with Aoi at his side he would lose this fight. Guren had a strong well-trained squad and Kureto had only his aide and a bunch of regular guards.

And then there was the Angel.

"It's enough. I've seen what a Seraph can do and I cannot condone the use of weapons of mass destruction and human experimentation on children." Guren looked surprisingly somber and collected for a man constantly tormented by his demon.

"Oh? That is new. Weren't you the one who helped me with this experiment? Weren't you the one who brought Yuichiro Hyakuya here in case Mirai Kimizuki failed? Don't be a hypocrite! Because of this power we finally stand a chance!"

"A chance against what exactly?"

Kureto didn't know whether to scream or cry. "Against what? Did you hit your head, Guren? We are at war with the vampires!"

"Are we really?" Guren ran a hand through his hair. "Tell me, do you really believe that we are fighting an enemy who controls the rest of the world?"

"What is your point?"

Guren scoffed. "The vampires have access to all weapons in the whole world! Guns, tanks, planes and nuclear weapons. So why have they not obliterated Japan yet? One missile to Tokyo could do the job."

Kureto stayed silent and thought about the other man's words. True, wouldn't it be the simplest solution? A few civilians would die as well, but in the end the vampires do control the entire world's population. Tokyo is just a drop in a bucket of water.

"I'll tell you why, Kureto," Guren said with a cold smile. "It's because they don't take us seriously. Ever had a little child shouting at you and hitting your legs? You know they're wrong and being stubborn, but they can't hurt you at any rate.

But now where would we be if that little child suddenly grew up in a second and had a knife? Do you understand what I'm getting at?"

Kureto said: "Are you talking about the Seraphs?"

Guren spread his arms in a gesture of 'that's what I'm saying, but come to your own conclusions'.

"Pathetic. I thought you were better than this, Guren. We were born in war, always aware that we could lose our life in a fight. Is this any different? Even if those bloodsuckers decided to go all out on us, we now have the power to face them. Maybe you need a reminder."

Guren was in awe how someone could look down on others so easily. Either you're with me, or you are my enemy. Either I will give my life to protect yours, or I will show you no mercy. That was the world Kureto lived in.

"Aoi! Have the Seraph attack Guren!"

"Yes, Sir!" The blonde didn't hesitate for a second. And Guren desperately hoped that he had bought the kids enough time.

White hot flames met cold black stuff and exploded with ear-shattering thunder. Right underneath in the streets the group of teenagers ran.

"I didn't know vampires were capable of powerful magic like that," Shinoa huffed. "Why don't they just use it against us all the time? We'd be toast!"

"I don't think all vampires are capable of something like this," Mika answered. "Crowley never mentioned magic in my training and I've never seen Krul do something like this." Sure his sire could shatter tiles without touching them, but a giant flaming dragon was something differently entirely.

"Maybe they get tired quickly," Yoichi suggested.

"Are you guys serious?" Mitsuba raged. "We're on a mission to rescue Kimizuki's sister and all you care about is how vampire magic works?"

Shinoa laughed. "Don't be angry, Mitsu! It's just a coping mechanism."

"Look there!" Yoichi shouted and pointed at the house up ahead with the flat roof.

"Mirai!"

The little girl was perched right on the edge of the rooftop. She still had four feathery wings and the giant black demon floated above her. Five soldiers held the chains, with which she was bound and another ten guarded the JIDA's most prized weapon.

The guards that had deflected Yoichi's arrows were swiftly taken out by the others. Regular forces were no match for soldiers from the Moon Demon Company. The chains rattled as they fell to the ground and freed Mirai's wings.

"What have you done?" A guard coughed out. He had a wound to the leg and to his hand. "You have doomed us all!"

The angel shined brighter and brighter. She stretched a hand out and golden particles were dancing in front of her fingers. She was going to summon the Fifth Trumpet.

"Mirai!"

The angel flinched. The Seraph was restless. It had been caged and used and now it wanted to unleash destruction. But the girl fought it. She fought it for her brother, who had always taken care of her even though she was just a burden.

"Mirai! Can you hear me? Respond to me!" Shiho's eyes were watery. Wasn't there something else he could do for his sister?

The angel looked at him.

'Ah, an ugly human,' the Seraph thought.

'Brother,' Mirai thought. Then she turned at the Seraph. 'This is my brother! I won't let you kill him!'

'He is human. He and his friend shall die. All humans shall die.'

"Mirai! Can you remember when I started to grow strawberries on the balcony, because you loved them? You scolded me. You said, I should have grown something more nourishing instead."

'I do remember. I also remember how you came home bleeding, because you fought older kids for medicine for me. It seems like I still need you to save me. I am so weak.'

The outline of the trumpet became clearer.

"Hey," Yu called out. "Your family is right here, so start fighting back! Don't you want to go home with him again? In this world, if you want to be with your family, you must not give up! Isn't that right, Mika?" The boy smiled at the vampire, who had been training and fighting for four years just to see him again.

Mika thought back to the time when he'd rather die than turn into a real vampire. He had fought so hard to not drink human blood until it almost killed him. Then he met Yu again and was rather forcefully talked into surviving even if it meant becoming a monster and having to fight with the thirst for blood every day. He hadn't regretted it once. Mika liked being alive.

"It does not matter if you have been too weak to fight it in the past. Today is a new day and today is different! Each and every day you can decide what you want to be!" It sounded sappy in Mika's ears, but if it helped …

Mirai wanted to be strong. Mirai wanted to fight. But it was just so difficult! Two minds in one body. And the JIDA had spurred the Seraph's bloodlust with their experiments. She was so tired. Her limbs felt like made of lead. The voices in her head were too loud and the only thing she wanted now was a good rest.

Ever since the JIDA had started to experiment on her the voices hadn't ever stopped calling. She felt anger welling up inside of her. Anger at the Seraph. Since it was the angel's fault, she'd first have to beat it and then she could take a nap. The anger fed her powers. She'd beat this stupid angel and save her brother! She was the only one who could do it!

She turned on the Seraph and stated: 'I won't let you hurt my brother or his friends.'

'Ah, really now? Know you place child! The human race will fall!'

'No. You are in my body. You need me, but I don't need you.' "And now fuck off!"

As she shouted the last part her wings and the trumpet disintegrated and she fell right into Shiho's arms.

The boy clutched her closely. "Mirai! You're back."

"Yes." How she had missed the warmth of her brother's hugs! How she had missed her brother! She heard a noise, almost like someone sniffling. "Are you crying?"

"No," Shiho choked out.

Mirai giggled. Her brother was such a dork.

He wasn't dead yet. Nothing had happened on Kureto's commando. His heart continued thumping in his chest, pumping blood through his body. Guren let out the breath he was holding and adopted a cocky grin. "Oi, what's the matter Kureto? Lost your precious weapon?"

Kureto pulled out his katana. A few sparks zipped through the air. "What did you do, Ichinose?!"

"Me? Nothing. I've been talking to you after all."

"This isn't a joke, Guren! Our comrades are out there, fighting the vampires and counting on the Seraph to have their back! If the bloodsuckers notice that we are defenseless, they will come slaughtering us all!"

Guren huffed. "I do think they are rather preoccupied. Have you ever considered how their rank in their society is determined?"

"This has nothing to do with your betrayal!"

"On the contrary. I instigated a coup, you see. And if it succeeds peace would be possible for the first time in five years. Now we just need to withdraw."

"Withdraw?!" Lightning zipped over Kureto's body and spiked his hair. "The JIDA will never run!"

Guren sighed. 'Why are you so damn stubborn?'

"Send the sixth battalion to the right flank and have the fourth advance to the park," Second Progenitor Urd Geales ordered. His orders were promptly acknowledged by a low-ranked vampire in grey.

"I rescind those orders." Krul's clear voice rang out. She elegantly landed a few meters in front of Lord Geales with Ferid in tow.

"You are a traitor, Krul Tepes. You have no authority anymore."

"I beg to differ! If not for your interference I would have gotten my hands on the Seraphs already."

"Seraphs, that are still alive because of your incompetence!"

"Watch your tongue, Geales! Vlad Tepes is not the First anymore!"

Lest Karr, who had kept silent until now, spoke up: "But it is the truth, Krul. Unlike me, you failed."

Krul glared at him. "And unlike you I had to deal with actual Seraphs and not some kind of low-grade imitation. You can't kill them unless you want to activate their trumpets. I planned to acquire them for safe-keeping."

Lord Geales blinked. He was thinking.

Lest Karr only scoffed. "That's impossible. Seraphs of that power cannot exist in a human."

It seemed like Lest's Sire had not been entirely honest with him, Krul mused. A Seraph in a human was not 'impossible', just 'unlikely'. The real problem was that to gain a trumpet, one needs a First Progenitor. There are only seven trumpets. There cannot be more. Knowing that it meant that the humans had been able to capture two Firsts without the council knowing (or being notified of; Maybe the two clans were too proud to admit losing their leaders to some measly humans).

"I see," Lord Geales said. "It still was a reckless plan. You should have informed me."

"I did not feel like that was necessary," Krul answered.

Geales' face was as impassive as always. The old, really old vampires mostly lost all of their human reactions, like facial expressions. Krul knew that Geales was old and he could choose whether to reveal his thoughts or not.

"I will reinstate you as Queen of Japan, Krul Tepes," the Second Progenitor said. Then his red eyes blazed with anger. "Do not disappoint me again. You will tell me all about your plans later."

Krul shivered. She should not mess with him any longer. "Yes. I understand."

"What is your battle plan?"

Krul stepped closer to the map of Okayama. A few pieces showed where JIDA- and vampire-forces were. "Thirteenth Progenitor Crowley is waiting for my allies in this park. Until we get his signal that the Seraphs are secure we should hold the line." She pointed to a few figures on the map. "Are all of these archers and ranged fighters?"

"Yes," Geales said.

A terrifying grin spread on Krul's face.

"I see everything went alright," Crowley said when Shinoa's group arrived at their meeting point with Shiho carrying his little sister.

"Yes, it was a piece of cake," Yu said smiling.

"Good." Crowley fired a flare gun into the air. "Let's go."

"Wait a second," Narumi said. "I won't come with you to the vampires'."

"Eh, why?" Yoichi asked.

"What is Krul's battle plan?"

Crowley shrugged. "I don't know. It depends on how pissed off she is."

"I still have friends in the JIDA," Narumi said. "I want to protect them. I said, I'll protect you, but you'll be safe with the vampire queen."

"Are you sure that this is what you want, Narumi?" Shinoa asked. "My brother doesn't really like traitors, and I'm afraid you classify as one."

Narumi huffed. "Yeah, I guess Lord Kureto is going to hate me. But I still need to have my comrades' backs and I'm sure Guren will have mine." He smiled. "I'll be fine."

"B-but you can't leave. You're our friend too! Can't we just get your friends to join us too?" Yu shouted.

"It doesn't work like that."

"But-"

"Look, you just can't hold onto everyone you meet," Narumi said. "You can't expect all of your friends to be around you all the time. We've got lives of our own you know."

Yu scowled. Of course he knew. He had involuntarily spent a lot of time alone and away from friends and family and he wished he hadn't.

But Narumi still went and left them with the vampires. Yu could only hope that they would meet again someday. He loathed that feeling. It was unsettling and eerily familiar.

The white clothed figures turned and ran, only occasionally stopping to defend themselves against the JIDA's arrows and bullets.

"They're retreating! After them!" Lieutenant Shijin roared. "Let's drive them back to whatever hellhole they came from!"

Behind him thirty members of the Vampire Extermination unit shouted in agreement.

They fell into their battle formation. Shijin looked around in satisfaction. They may have lost some comrades, but they were still going strong. The wounded had been treated and everyone had this unyielding glint in their eyes. The vampires can bring it on! Shijin and his unit would put them in their place. Common soldier or noble, no bloodsucker would stop them.

They jogged after the fleeing vampires, conserving their strength. Shijin felt his heart beat fast when he looked at the fleeing bastards. 'Not so weak, huh? Let's see how you make livestock out of us!'

The vampires made no attempt to stop and stand their ground or escape into one of the tall buildings on the street. The soldiers gave chase. If the other bloodsuckers are also retreating, Shijin thought, then maybe they could encircle and trap them. No matter how many vampires there are in this world, a force like this would be hard to replace.

That was when his second in command stumbled and fell.

"Tora-," the rest of the sentence caught in his throat. Blood seeped into the woman's uniform, dyeing it crimson.

"Ambush!" Shijin screamed, but in was already too late. He was driven to the ground by a hit to his shoulders. A bunch of arrows pierced his legs. Around him his friends were screaming, crying and dying.

Shijin propped himself up, panting from the pain. He saw how Nakamura, their shield, defended their friends against a barrage from a few vampires on a balcony only to be killed by a shot from the other side. Eita took out the shooters on the balcony, but a bullet got his hands and he had to drop his bow.

The soldier fell on his back. The initial attack had already killed so many and the rest didn't have time to regroup. The shooting stopped. The street was silent except for the occasional whimper and those died down too.

Slowly faces appeared at every window. All of those had white hoods and red eyes. Every vampire held a ranged weapon. Shijin realized that they never had chased 'fleeing' soldiers. This had been a trap all along!

A shadow fell on his face.

Someone said: "All of them are dead."

"Not this one," the vampire said.

"Let's capture it."

Ah, but they wouldn't get him alive, Shijin thought. He would preserve his dignity and take his secrets into his grave. After all, one couldn't expect monsters to treat prisoners of war humanely.

Corporal Minowa followed the leader of her squad closely. They were drawing closer to the vampires they pursued. The bloodsuckers were slowing down, probably because of exhaustion. Could vampires get exhausted?

"Attack!" the commander yelled and Minowa's heart skipped a beat.

Vampires do not get tired! "No! It's a trap!"

Behind her another voice yelled: "Genbushin!"

The woman heard the shots and saw the bullet's impact on the shield. The entire squad had turned around to see who had saved them.

"They pretend to be weak and then lure you into a trap," Narumi said. "I've seen other squads fall for it."

"You! You are a traitor!" A soldier screamed. "Why the heck are you here?! What game are you playing?!"

"He just saved us though," Minowa tried to caution.

"So what? The Hiiragis said-"

"I don't care what they said," Narumi coldly interjected. "And honestly, I don't care about them and what they told you about me. I am here to save as many people as I can. That's all."

The Commander shifted from one foot to the other. "We will return to HQ and warn them about the ambushes."

"But Sir! The traitor-"

"Will be handed over to Kureto Hiiragi. I don't have the clearance to deal with this," he sighed.

A small smile crossed Minowa's lips. 'What you wanted to say was 'I don't get payed enough for this, right?' They retreated covered by Narumi's shield. One particularly brave (or stupid) soldier flipped his middle finger at the bloodsuckers. Minowa was glad they didn't have to fight the vampires in these abandoned houses. There was nothing to gain, but everything to lose.

"Squad seven reporting! The vampires are baiting our soldiers and ambushing them. We are taking heavy losses."

"What are those idiots doing, getting baited like that?" Kureto clenched his fists until his nails bit painfully into his palms. He had lost the Seraph. And now he was losing his troops. He was losing this battle.

And it was all Guren's fault!

"You!" He whirled around. "You bastard! Hadn't you abducted the angel these soldiers wouldn't have died!"

"Lord Kureto," Aoi called out and snapped the man out of it. He lowered he fist that was destined for Guren's pathetic face. The messengers were still waiting for orders and whispering. He could … No, he would brawl with Guren later but now he had to keep a calm head. A glance over the map of Okayama and a mental headcount of the soldiers later, Kureto issued his orders: "Have all squads return to Asahi river. We will install a defensive perimeter there and retreat."

"Yes, Sir!"

"Hey, what happened to 'the JIDA will never run'?"

"Is this fun to you, Guren? We could have decimated the vampire army and taken out a few of their leaders, but because of you that will never happen! Because of you good soldiers died!" Kureto turned away from the other man. "I do hope that their lives were worth whatever you were trying to accomplish." The General stomped off to direct the withdrawal.

Guren looked at his back and wondered: 'What would happen if I stabbed him? There is no one around to stop me. Just a second is all it would take.'

Then a hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Are you alright, Guren?" Shinya asked.

"Yes. I was just wondering how we got here. What went wrong?"

"Why should that be of any importance?" Mito said. "It's not like we could change anything now. So we're just going to do our best."

"I agree with Mito," Sayuri said, and Goshi agreed too and added: "But, seriously Guren, did you have to rile him up that much? I was so frightened; I thought was going to shit my pants."

"Goshi!"

"What Mito?"

"You're so vulgar! Choose your words better!"

"Well excuse me. Then how about: 'I expected to be soiling my undergarments.' Better?"

Shinya started laughing at Goshi's fake posh accent and so did the others. Even Guren chuckled. It's going to be fine. If all of them stand together, it's going to be fine.