Map to You

"I hate you."

And the way Neirah had whispered it was breathless, gratified, even. She exhaled the parting sentiment desperately against his ear before crawling to her bed pile and acting as if nothing had happened between them. He wasn't sure whether to call that anti-climactic or fully as he stared at her relaxed frame slipping into slumber, his jaw gaping and face ignited with mortified humility as he struggled to catch his breath. It was true, Saburōta didn't have a whole lot of experience with a romance of any calibre, but he was pretty sure that that was not what you were supposed to say at the end of it all. Although he assumed that I love you wasn't appropriate either, given that he was pretty sure that wasn't the case. But I hate you was a little insensitive and quite effectively ran his self-confidence into the dirt.

Saburōta had been sitting at his table since just after seven that morning, staring absently through the wall as his thoughts fought desperately for truth. He didn't know what was real anymore. Overall, he anticipated their first night together to go somewhere other than straight to hell. He still didn't know much about her or her expectations, but he was more than satisfied with his first experience. Initially, he intended to be quite proud of himself for going more than one round with the beautiful beast thirsting for his affections. All that changed rather abruptly, in the end.

The room shifted around his lowered groan as he slowly slid down in his seat until his neck was resting on the back of his chair. As far as he could tell, that was as much support as he was going to get for his troubles. His curious eyes halved as he listened to the shower water hiss in the other room. He was eager for his turn beneath the spray as well. Because he was afraid to disturb Neirah after she'd fundamentally discarded him, he didn't bother shuffling around the apartment that night. He only threw the covers over his head and tried not to exist for a little while. Unfortunately, that left him all sorts of sticky and uncomfortable, in a way that he was surprised that Neirah hadn't cared to bathe right after either.

In the end, he'd come away from their first night together with more questions than he'd ever had before. If he was greedy, and okay with the lack of classification for his feelings about her, then it shouldn't have hurt. For a second, he considered how selfish it made him feel to want her close, to need that touch kept away from anyone else's. When he decided that he was going to chase after her with Misaki nearby, he'd been sickened by the way she seemed likened to his favourite hat. It was a game, and she was his prize, at least, that's what he thought.

But if that were the case, then he wanted to know why he felt like his heart was on fire. Every move he made caused him pain because his muscles had been locked so intensely since their finale the night before that he wasn't sure they wanted to move anymore. He felt rusted, wrung through despite all of his satisfied expectations, and at any moment, he had to face her. He had to look her directly in those stunning, expressive eyes that he watched glow the night before and try to be civil while his heart was still in pieces.

Yō had warned him about her, and despite that he made mention that he might show him mercy if it happened, Saburōta silently promised Yō would be the last to find out. With Saburōta's luck that week, he could probably expect Yō to stick up for his Cricket instead.

"She's Cricket to me. What's she to you?"

'What is she to me?' His mental state was plummeting as he considered the whirlwind of events leading him to where he sat pondering his life choices until his ears began to ring. If it was lust, then he'd reached his goal, the objective that he sought from the beginning. So, the fact that he was unfulfilled and experiencing symptoms commonly linked to what one would consider heartbreak-

Unexpectedly startled, Saburōta sucked in a hard breath, his already tight body wracking to the bone to stiffen beneath the soft, damp hand covering his eyes. She was behind him. Her skin was still wet, and he could feel the consistency of her towel end just in time for the swell of her breasts to intrude against the chair back by his neck.

Her skin smelled like his, and something told him that she'd probably used his soap to wash. After a moment of lingering with her hand on his eyes in silence, he adjusted, trying to straighten into a more manageable position to retaliate whatever force she had planned, but her pressure increased. He stilled partway through his scramble as she retracted her index finger and gently combed an unruly section of his bangs to one side. Shortly after, she'd lowered her lips towards his reachable ear.

"Hold your shirt back."

Any vulnerability that he had experienced from her the night before seemed to have vanished. No matter how sultry her words flowed like poison past the pout he'd memorized against his during the night prior, they filled with a warning that if he didn't comply, there would be hell to pay. Though, he wasn't sure what he had left to lose. She'd infiltrated his home, stripped him of his dignity, and there he was with his fingers folded obediently over his collar, jerking the loose fit away from her presence.

Even beneath her palm, his brow tightened like his eyes sealed when he felt her breath against his neck. Then, a split second before she parted her lips, he could have sworn she'd curled them into a pleased grin.

The sleep in his voice roughened the whinge to mark his suffering as she sank her fangs beneath his skin. It was slow, and even when her blunted teeth resisted the pressure, she continued, seemingly delighted by the accelerations of his groans. Once she'd made her mark, she removed the needle points, but surprisingly kept her mouth pressed to his skin.

When she felt him relax, her grip on his eyes lessened but kept his gaze from wandering as she lightly sucked the abrasion, careful not to let any trace of her assault slip past her dedication. While she did, Saburōta felt his trembling fingers tighten their hold on his shirt, wringing it desperately for clarity.

Just like that, he was playing right back into her hands, shifting slightly to welcome the intrusion. After lingering in silence for just long enough that his hastening breaths began to fill the room, he felt her abandon his wounds. Next, she placed what he could only dub kisses along his neck that he instinctively lengthened to prolong her nearness. He was devastated the moment that she'd reached his ear, giving the top of it a stern pinch to get his attention. 'Please don't go…'

"So noisy."

The whisper was the same mix of sultry and yearning that condemned his heart the night before. Shortly after it had tempted his senses, she combed her fingers gently over his face, releasing his eyes and tracing the digits behind his ear, causing his wiry bangs to sweep to one side. But even after she released her hold, he didn't open his eyes. For just a moment, he wanted to pretend like she was still there, needing him like he was discovering he needed her.

"Go shower. You stink."

Unfortunately, she was gone just as soon as she came, leaving him wanting on the edge of his seat. When he heard her lumber away, his eyes flew open, and he whirled in his chair to watch her depart. She had peeled the towel from around her bust, using it instead to dry her sopping hair. The effort left her walking stark naked through his apartment, the tantalizing rocking of broad hips causing more than just his interest to stir. 'Something tells me that this isn't how it's normally supposed to go…'

Neirah had abandoned him some time while he was in the shower, which came as a relief when he slunk out from behind the door, careful not to bump into her unexpectedly. He never thought that he could put so much relief into a single sigh as he carried on his morning routine without the added anxiety.

Even the walk to HOMRA was relatively peaceful, giving Saburōta plenty of time to analyze his thoughts. Just thinking about it caused him to smooth his palm over her healed lesions. If he thought things were wild before, they were downright out of control now. He was cautious as he stepped through the front doors of his home base, checking the bar's contents that morning before entering. Neirah didn't seem to be there, which was a huge relief. He was even further satisfied to notice that Yō was, which caused his modest triumph to settle a mild smirk on his lips as he continued far less timidly. If he played things off casually, there was a good chance nobody would be any the wiser, and he could figure out the complicated details at his own pace.

"So, how was she?"

It was his second step into the building, and Yō was already spouting snarky comments like he had any idea what Saburōta's night entailed. Unfortunately, with his guilt and his inherent lack of grace, Saburōta tripped over his feet and crashed onto the floor, trying to hide his furious blushing. "Sonofa-! What the heck ever happened to good morning?!"

"Chitose, leave him alone," Izumo chided calmly. "You know they didn't sleep together."

Saburōta turned from where he watched Masaomi scold the rowdy pest next to him, his bemusement linking with Izumo's. "Wait, how do you know that we didn't… y' know?"

"I don't," Izumo reasoned soundly. "But I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt."

"In other words, Kusanagi-san would probably kill you if you tried anything." Shōhei patted the seat next to him at the bar with an inviting smile. "Not that I think anyone suspects you. You were pretty freaked out last night, huh?"

A miserable groan emitted from deep within Saburōta's chest as he peeled himself off the floor and crawled into the seat offered. "If somebody else wants her, I wouldn't mind sharing."

"That bad, huh?" Shōhei turned away and gave a lazy stretch. "I was pretty worried about you when you stopped messaging me, but I figured you two probably had a lot to talk about."

'Yeah… talk…' Doing his best to keep his head high, Saburōta squirmed in his seat, continually looking over his shoulder in case Neirah appeared at any moment. "I hope you're not curious because I don't know any more about her than you do."

Shōhei seemed startled by his friend's insinuation. "Huh? Really? Then what the heck did you guys talk about?"

Saburōta shrugged, shrinking into his shoulders as he tried to avoid the curious prying of his onlooking clanmates. "Nothing really. She said she was tired, so she pretty much just slept."

"Lame," Shōhei sang in disapproval. "I wanted to know more about that scary friend of hers. I guess she's lived with him since she was pretty young."

"Yeah!? Well, go ask her yourself!"

"Bandō, keep your voice down," Izumo ordered sternly. "You know that Tsukiyo doesn't seem interested in opening up to the rest of us."

After climbing to his feet, Saburōta slammed his hands down against the top of the bar. "And what makes you think that she's any more open with me!?" Electricity tore through his entire system, causing lewd memories to turn his complexion rosy. "W-we didn't talk about anything, okay!? I'm still pretty sure she hates me!" Then, when Yō dropped his arm around Saburōta's shoulders, the first instinct he had was to break all the nosy playboy's teeth.

"She seemed pretty full of energy when you guys took off yesterday," Yō instigated snidely. "What'd she do with it all to burn it by the time you got back to your place?"

Without thinking, Saburōta violently swatted Yō's touch away, ignoring Izumo's warning to keep his voice down when he blasted his prying cohort. "None of your damn business, that's what!"

"Chitose, I said that's enough," Izumo cautioned. "This is already hard enough without you teasing him for it. And Bandō, I'm not gonna tell you again to keep your voice down."

"Why the hell do you make it sound like I'm the victim here!?" Saburōta whirled his attention to snap at Izumo. "If I didn't want her to stay with me, I woulda told her to take all her stuff and beat it!"

"Sure, you would, tough guy."

When Yō drawled his cheeky retort just on the other side of him, Saburōta spun on his heels to redirect his wrath a second time, and fast enough to make him dizzy. "You know what? You're just jealous!" he fired back. "You're jealous that she chose me and not you, right?! I'm the place she feels safest."

Yō's eyes seemed to sharpen with impatience, wondering why it seemed harder than usual to pick on their typically defenceless companion. "Take it easy, would ya? You already know how that all went down." Reapplying his mocking grin, Yō slid his peripherals towards his angry friend. "But you're making it pretty obvious that you're still a virgin." When Yō took his teasing to the next level, he expected things like the escalation of his target's fury or a sheepish retreat. What he didn't was a thin and triumphant grin to curve on Saburōta's face. Considering that was the only visible part, it made the sight even more suspicious.

But before Saburōta could say anything too condemning to match Yō's provocation, the achievement he intended on gloating was lost to his panic when he felt his hood tear from his head. He didn't have time to face the offender when they started to cart him off by the thin material, but he expected Izumo to be the one moderating the conflict. When he tilted slightly over his shoulder to face the sight of Neirah's disapproving glower, he figured Izumo would have been the kinder reprimand. He flashed Yō a desperate look like he somehow expected the man to protect him, then he conceded that the better option was going to be playing dead and hoping the huntress got bored.

He tried not to outwardly bark the pain of her throwing him up against the hall wall behind the bar somewhere between the loft upstairs and the back room where Tatara had spoken with her the night she joined with them. The sharp sting of his head crashing against the wall didn't seem nearly as lethal as her scowl when she reached out and snapped his sunglasses from his face. He hated that the most because there was no way to hide how badly he reddened beneath her fierce scrutiny.

"What do you think you're doing?" Neirah watched the hesitation flicker in his eyes as he scanned his peripherals, hoping that someone might be on their way to rescue him from her intensity. "What reason do you have to fight him?"

Suddenly, Saburōta's focus sharpened on her attack. He'd expected Yō to take Neirah's side in any confrontation that might arise, but he certainly didn't expect Neirah to side with Yō. Something about that turned his expression sour. "Why do you even care about him? I thought you were still ticked about the whole Minato thing?"

It took all Neirah had not to crush his folded frames in her furiously tight grip. "For starters, he and I have a mutual understanding, which is more than I can say for us." Comprehending that her voice began to escalate, she lowered her tone, rechecking her shoulder before leaning closer to where he remained against the wall where she'd tossed him. "But for whatever reason, you act like a completely different person when it comes to him, and I don't think that's fair."

Fair. Fair?! Saburōta's teeth grated as he watched her eyes search their surroundings, and it took a great deal of self-control that he didn't know he had not to blast her for her hypocrisy. "You wanna talk about fair," he began begrudgingly. "What the hell was last night all about?!"

By the time Neirah's eyes returned, they'd softened, but her expression remained stern. Her tone was flat and quiet as she spoke. "What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, Saburōta second-guessed everything that he'd seen, or felt. He fell into the recollection of striking Yō the day before over something that certainly didn't happen, and then her ignorance made him wonder if he hadn't dreamt the whole thing up. "What am I-? You're kidding right!?" He fell forward, equally as hushed despite his elevated whisper that continued to defend his sanity. "You slept with me!" He thought he was going to heave when she looked at him like she didn't have any idea what he was talking about, but then her expression hardened again.

"It takes two," she warned him sternly. "We slept together." She said the words, but in truth, once they made it to the sleeping part, they were far from together. "Has this, in some way, upset you?"

He was tense. He could hardly believe what he was hearing, and his heart was beating hard enough to knock him off his feet as he searched Neirah's expression for leniency.

But none came. Instead, Neirah turned away from Saburōta entirely and flopped her hand to one side to offer him his sunglasses back. "If you have a problem with me, leave Chitose out of it. My actions don't concern him in the slightest."

Saburōta didn't know why he picked his shades out of Neirah's palm, but when she began to walk away from him, he was stricken with panic. He hated it the first time, watching her leave after suffering her disapproving tone, and he wasn't willing to let her do it a second time. He emptied his hand by dropping his glasses and snapping it around the wrist that she tried to retract.

Contrary to what he expected, he watched Neirah's expression soften as she glimpsed his mild embrace. Then, she raised stern eyes to his expectantly. "Oh? Have you finally figured it out?"

No, he hadn't. When he did, he would do as commanded and find the woman, but what Neirah teased to his surface at that moment had nothing to do with any feeling but the anger she'd instilled in him through Yō. She wasn't Yō's mistake. She was his.

She was his…

Neirah's breathless yelp tasted sweet as it crashed against his lips, and just in case she fought to escape, he released her arm so that he could clutch her face tight to his hunger. Her body had stumbled against his, locking him between her heat and the cold wall at his back. It was like a reenactment of their first time.

Once she surrendered to his kiss, he put his hands on her with urgency, noting that they could be interrupted at any moment. He didn't understand why things had to be so difficult. He could feel her eagerness as she lined his body, fisting her fingers against the waistline of his pants to pull herself into his pressure where his legs framed her thighs. In return, he snaked his arms around her lean torso, smothering their racing heartbeats together with the force of his possession. He couldn't comprehend how something that felt so right managed to cause him so much stress. Sometimes, she was stubborn with him, but then she'd melt entirely into his arms as if she belonged. It didn't make any sense. None of it made any sense.

Saburōta tore away from her affections the moment he heard the sound of more arrivals stepping through the bar door. It seemed that the welcome bell stirred him to his senses, causing him to heave his hefty breaths through protracted canines. He spared her wandering attention a glimpse from the corner of his eye, but she already seemed to recover from their brief encounter. She was always the first to bounce back, the first to retreat.

He wanted someone to answer his heart. He wished that someone would tell him it was okay to express his interest, to assure Neirah that she was his. From the start, he'd wanted to keep her to himself. Even when Tatara tried to help her back to the bar, Saburōta was intercepting. At first, he thought it was to take responsibility, but it seemed to escalate. Now, all he wanted was to cling to her everywhere she went. Pathetic? Maybe. But he had no shame in telling the world that she belonged to him.

Watching her slip out of weak fingers again was infuriating and heartbreaking all at once. Saburōta's touch was hesitant the second time as he reached, desperate to cling to her warmth for just a second longer, but then, she'd abandoned him, licking his taste from her lips like she was embarrassed to carry it with her.

'What happens when I figure it out?' he mused despondently. He stepped back into the doorway, watching the remainder of their clansmen teasing Neirah for being too hard on their lamest vampire. None of them suspected that she could ever hold an interest in him, and maybe they were the ones that had it right all along. That's what he pondered as he bent to retrieve his shades from the floor. 'If I told you that I wanted you to be mine, would you just laugh?' He'd only seen it a couple of times, the way she laughed, and it was radiant. Maybe that was what hurt him the most. He could appreciate, somewhere inside, that he would offer his heart to her for mocking just to see her smile. It was funny. As time progressed, he was starting to wonder if what he felt hadn't been love all along.

After his arrival that morning, Misaki shifted his sharp gaze towards where a mopey Saburōta was slinking out from hiding in the corner of his vision. When he considered that most of their mates were present, he redirected the brunt of his attention towards Izumo. "Kusanagi-san, we need to talk."

Oh? Izumo turned his enquiring hum towards the young hunter's audacity. "What's on your mind, Yata-chan?"

"Where is Mikoto-san? And Totsuka-san?" he demanded. "I think they should be here for this too."

The playfulness drained from Izumo's attention as he turned to connect it fully with Misaki. "And just what should they be here for?"

"I want answers," Misaki reiterated firmly. Seeing as Saruhiko hadn't bothered returning any of his messages, he forced himself to feed in agony to encourage his strength to return. "You said we would talk when I was better."

"And are you?" Izumo's expression dropped when Misaki lifted the centre of his shirt with an impatient scowl on his face, flashing the toned muscle beneath that was absent bandages. The trauma from his wounds still coloured the area unnaturally, but it was clear that he'd gone out of his way to accommodate his healing body. "That must've kept you busy."

"We were up all night," Rikio whinged through a muffled yawn. "He wouldn't stop until that hole healed."

"Yeah, and it fucking sucked. I didn't get any sleep," Misaki snarled impatiently. "But I did it 'cause this shit's gotta be important! That's why you wouldn't tell us when I was still healing, right?"

"Yata-"

"It's fine." Mikoto didn't bother pausing under the scrutiny of the room as he stepped towards their gathering towards his window-side couch with Anna attached at his hip. "If he wants to know so bad, I guess we don't have a choice but to tell 'im."

Misaki's murmur was nervous as he watched his king flop lifelessly against the couch, Anna climbing next to him with an emotionless expression. "Mikoto-san…?"

Through a crimson marble, Anna watched the bar shift, her eyes landing on each of their friends before she nodded her head slowly. "Misaki is red," she nearly whispered. "Everyone. They're all red."

"Then maybe it's a good time, after all, King." Tatara's bright smile lit up the room as he followed the pair out from the hallway leading to the building's upper floors. "It's not really fair to keep everyone waiting. They're all affected by this too."

"You guys are freakin' me out," Yō muffled around his bobbing cigarette.

"The entire aura of this room majorly shifted," Masaomi agreed. "How do we go from teasin' Bandō to feeling like something nasty is going to happen?" He moved his attention across the room towards where Izumo seemed unusually humbled from his place behind the bar. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Maybe." Izumo shrugged. "I can't say that for certain, though." The bartender finished wiping his hands and laid his cloth down, reaching for his cigarettes to prepare himself for the bleak conversation ahead. "On one side of the coin, nothin' changes, and we go on the way we have been." His words grew quiet around the smoke he'd ignited between his teeth. "On the other hand, we all die."

Misaki seemed to be just as staggered as the rest of his clanmates for a moment before he shook his head sternly. "What the f- You can't just start a conversation with something like that! You gotta warm up to news like people dying!"

"It's okay." Tatara smiled and added his confidence from along the front of the bar, where he seated himself by Neirah. "It might just be that only me and Yata-chan die."

"Why are people dying?!" Misaki raged. "That only makes for more questions!"

Izumo extinguished his lighter with the wave of his hand and watched Misaki clasp his head with wild eyes staring into the floorboards. "Now, you see why I wanted you in good health for this," he reasoned. "We've got ourselves a serious situation on our hands."

"Yeah, but Yata's right," Kōsuke justified calmly. "Shouldn't you try to break news like that a little easier?"

"Is there an easier way to tell someone they're gonna die?" Eric lowly contested. "That's pretty heavy."

Yō snorted lightly with amusement, catching Masaomi's petulant consideration. "Somethin' funny over there, Chitose?" Masaomi grumbled.

Yō shook his head with a devious smirk. "Nah, just with the way this is all goin', it's hard not to turn it around on Bandō's lack of sex life again."

"Listen up," Izumo proclaimed sternly. "I'm only gonna say this once, and if any of you've got a problem with it, we'll talk later. This hasn't been an easy thing for us to hide, but until we had something worthwhile to say, we thought it was best to let you all go about your business."

"Does this have something to do with the face I saw?" Neirah didn't seem pressured when Izumo turned sad eyes her way, leading the rest of their clan to do the same. "Is that why you didn't want me to tell anyone else?"

After a moment of consideration, Izumo slowly nodded, regretful that the woman found herself at the climax of their tragedy after only a week. He supposed it was as good as any place to start. "I'd say it does," he admitted softly. "What you saw is the very heart of our problem here." He turned his attention back towards the humbled faces around them, motioning to Tatara to lock the front door, although he hadn't even gotten a chance to open up for the day.

"You all know the story about Kagutsu and Habari-san, and how all that played out," he began. "But what we never told you was that Kagutsu is still around even today."

"What?" Misaki murmured over the sea of gasping expressions. "W-well, where is he?! I mean, this is easy, right? If he's lookin' to stir shit up, we just go beat his ass and-"

"None of this is easy, Yata-chan," Izumo interrupted evenly. "That's why we haven't found a way to fix it. If we weren't afraid of what might happen once he's gone, maybe we could've stopped this before it started, but by the time we figured it out, the rest of you were already a liability."

Time, he understood now and wished that he didn't. Misaki's expression was paler by the second when he considered the weight of Izumo's reveal. 'Was this what you were talkin' about, Saru? What you were gonna fix?' He lowered his head, his fists so furiously tight by his sides that the blood flow drained from his knuckles. "S-so, I'm… gonna die?"

"The truth is, we don't know what's going to happen to you or Totsuka," Izumo reasoned. "It's pretty obvious that we can't let Kagutsu get back out into the world, but if we destroy him, there're two paths that I can see us taking. One, all of his curses go with him. That includes the one that's been keeping you two alive all these years." Izumo reached out and pulled an ashtray towards him so he could banish the ash trail at the end of his light. "You can take the second however you want. I suspect that it's the path where nothin' changes. We keep our curses, and the miserable lives attached to them when Mikoto, here, takes Kagutsu's place."

"I saw him." Neirah's voice was weak as she squirmed in her seat, gripping the centre of her chest with a trembling fist. "That was the face I saw, wasn't it? The personification of my flame."

"I'd say it's not unlikely," Izumo reasoned. "I'd say that anyone that close to lettin' their flame go out has probably seen him there just waiting to take it back." When Neirah remained quiet, Izumo turned to face Misaki once more. "And it gets worse. Kagutsu isn't out wanderin' the streets for us to take down, and he sure as hell can't give us the answers we're looking for. Every trace of what's left of him… well, it's somewhere inside Mikoto."

Misaki immediately turned to face Mikoto like he felt betrayed, but he didn't outwardly rage against his superior. Still, it hurt that nobody had told them sooner. In his line of vision, Mikoto continued to rest his eyes, looking as collected as ever as he withheld the evil trying its best to escape. "H-how…?"

"It was Anna-chan who figured it out," Tatara nearly whispered. "Back when we first found her, Kagutsu was still weak enough that King could easily suppress him, but he got stronger with every new addition. Now, he's beginning to make his presence known in unexpected ways."

"There's too much we don't know," Izumo droned bleakly. "First of all, how do you kill somethin' that's hiding out in someone else? Anna-chan thinks she could give us a chance, but then there's the rest of you. If the flame goes out and the vampirism sticks around, we're all as good as dead. If both vanish without a trace, Yata and Totsuka could end up right back on their deathbed."

"What about Eric?" Kōsuke murmured nervously. "He almost died the night we found him during our hunt."

"I don't have any reason to believe that Eric, Dewa or myself will be high-risk in all this. Our injuries could have healed given time and proper medical attention." He could see Tatara's sad smile fighting to remain as he watched Misaki's dread fester. "What I'm worried about is that our curses just repressed the sicknesses that Yata-chan and Totsuka were fighting."

"As you can see, we still don't know too much." It almost frustrated the others that Tatara could laugh off the circumstance so freely. "But we do know that we're almost out of time. King can't hold Kagutsu off forever, and we just recently found out that SCEPTRE4 knows about our situation too. When Yata-chan and Tsukiyo-san made it back, we knew that we wouldn't have much longer before the rest of you were curious, so we thought that now would be a good time…"

"SCEPTRE4 has some disturbing theories of their own as well," Izumo continued a little resentfully. "I don't know how much of it I believe, but they're making a certain amount of sense. Kagutsu's priority is taking revenge on the Blue Clan for what Habari Jin did to him back then. I think Munakata's worried that we're the army Kagutsu raised to enact his revenge."

"Fuck that!" Misaki barked. "What the fuck makes him think we'd help a bastard like him, anyway?!"

"That's if we have a choice," Shōhei added nervously. "How do we know that Kagutsu can't control us somehow?"

"We don't," Izumo continued. "Then, there's the blood. The Blue King thinks that's the important part. If that's the case, then we're just tools collecting energy for Kagutsu to bank up and use to resurrect himself in our time."

"Oh, that's bullshit!"

Izumo closed his eyes and sighed through his soft smile. That was pretty much how he expected Misaki to take the news. "Yeah… sucks, doesn't it?"

"You okay, Cricket?"

Neirah turned over her shoulder to realize that Yō had approached the bar to retrieve himself a glass. She could see his concern as he passed, but she lowered her eyes shortly after. "I was almost accustomed to the nonsense that came with being a vampire, and now this."

"Speaking of your nonsense, I hope this is serious enough that you listen to me this time," Izumo interrupted sternly. "Some of you have a major problem with keepin' it together, starting with you, Chitose. You act like a damn animal in heat whenever you see an attractive looking young lady, and that has to stop."

"The hell does that have to do with what's-his-face?"

"Maybe nothing," Izumo admitted candidly. "But when you get distracted so easily, it's harder for you to focus on the important things." His attention turned immediately to Misaki afterwards. "That goes for you too, Yata. Your temper is about as bad as Chitose's whoring. Keep it in check."

Misaki didn't bother arguing.

Finally, Izumo turned his gaze towards where Saburōta lingered meekly across the bar, standing uncomfortably and struggling to take everything into account. "And you," he rumbled. "I don't know what's gotten into you recently, but I've noticed the way you and Chitose are butting heads all the time over this alpha omega shit you've got goin' on. Get it under control."

He was thankful that Izumo hadn't raised any more suspicion with his words in front of Neirah, so Saburōta just bowed his head in a brief nod. "Yes, sir…"

"For now, I want you all to consider every slightest change in every detail," Izumo assured them firmly. "If you notice something out of place, I wanna know asap, so pay attention to the little things." He turned to address their sombre expressions with a heavy heart. It seemed like the blink of an eye turned three into what he saw before him, just waiting to accept whatever fate had in store for them. "This should probably go without saying, but keep up on your hunts too. The bluecoats are gettin' restless, so avoid them at all costs, but we can't risk any of you being weak right now either. We're doin' our best to figure this out and keep anyone from dyin' but… that's the reality here."

Even though he tried to remain level-headed about the whole situation, Izumo could only think of one thing. Somewhere across town, Seri was doing everything in her power to protect their love, and he'd be damned if he didn't give just as much. Even if he felt a little hopeless, she gave his fire a reason to burn. "Make peace with your demons, boys," he encouraged them softly. "And any you can't, burn 'em."

'That's why you left, wasn't it?' Misaki couldn't bear his frustrations as he thought about his friend's betrayal in a different light. 'You saw the fucker and knew exactly what was coming all along, didn't you? Saru...' But Saruhiko didn't say a word. He didn't tell Misaki, or anyone, for that matter. He kept the weight of that guilt to himself and took it with him to SCEPTRE4. He used to think that his friend was selfish, acting just to save himself. But when Izumo and Tatara spoke so plainly about Misaki's potential death, he started to see things differently. He began to wonder if Saruhiko didn't leave to find a way to save his best friend.

"Don't worry about it…" Misaki's words were low and surprisingly casual as he spoke with what little hope he had for the situation. "Fushimi will figure it out." He didn't raise his head to face the others and their doubt, because their indecision didn't matter. Misaki knew that was why Saruhiko left, and he believed that if anyone could find a way, it was his best friend. "He's gonna fix it. Just you watch."

"Captain, are you sure about this?"

Reisi's soft hum interrupted Seri's worrisome influence when he turned his neutral posture towards where she trailed close to his left side. "Would I descend so willingly if I wasn't sure of myself? Come now, Awashima-kun, surely you jest."

"What makes you think he knows anything?" Saruhiko's tone was flat, but it didn't grate nearly as aggressively on everyone's senses. Since he'd appropriately fed the night before, his temperament was far more manageable, and Reisi seemed to notice that instinctively.

Before they could go any further down the hall of their prison district, Reisi halted the trio mid-advance. He didn't turn, just kept his hands folded neatly behind him as he spoke. "Fushimi-kun, I sense a significant change in you," he proclaimed just as confidently as he was of his previous plan. "Would it be safe to say that you were out past your curfew again?"

"Captain, don't be ridiculous!" Seri defended on Saruhiko's behalf. "I have already discussed the importance of-"

"Yes." Saruhiko's honesty was candid as he staggered Seri's defence with his admittance. Even if she looked at him with a pleading expression begging him to tell a tale, he didn't retract his statement. "It wasn't enough."

Reisi started forward deep in contemplation with a grateful smile on his face. "I suppose it wasn't, was it?"

The trio carried on their way until they found themselves in front of their intended destination, and somewhere behind the cell gate, they heard the restless clicking of plastic against teeth. The moment that Reisi raised his hand towards the entry switch, Seri lurched forward to interject.

"Captain, surely there's another way."

"I'd advise you not to poke fingers through bars if you wanna keep 'em," Tomaya rumbled impatiently. "Treat me like a fucking animal, and that's just what you're gonna get."

As Reisi closed his eyes, his smile broadened, and he laid his palm on the switch releasing the door to their irksome prisoner. "Tetsuko Tomaya," he casually proclaimed. "A shame that we had to meet for the first time in such a boorish manner."

There was no humour in Tomaya's expression as he lifted his shirt and flashed visions of the wounds continuing to clot without proper medical attention. Black and blue lesions dusted his chest and abdomen up to his sides, but he didn't seem in any obvious pain. "Compared to your boys, this is classy as fuck."

"Ah, for that, I do apologize," Reisi reasoned kindly. When he was sure the situation was under control, he stepped into the cell and raised his hand to encourage his men to relax their grips on their weapons. "Should our circumstances have been different that evening, I may have greeted you personally, but you were not of civil mind then, were you?"

"You caught me at a bad time of the month," Tomaya nearly growled. "So, d' you come all the way down here to pick my brain?" He watched through lazy golden eyes as Reisi's expression brightened with intrigue. "Yeah, I'm not stupid. You didn't dig my name outta the woodwork just to say hi. But…" A satisfied smirk curled Tomaya's lips as he raised his hands to either side of him. When his movement caused his chains to rattle, the two hands at Reisi's back lurched to arm themselves as their king remained calm. "But," he reiterated playfully. "I gotta say I'm impressed. You got any idea how long I'd been lurkin' just under your noses for?"

"Since the incident involving Kagutsu Genji and Habari Jin-san, no?" Reisi didn't bother reconnecting his confident gaze with the clamouring subordinates at his back. He didn't feel threatened in the slightest. "Would you care to tell us a bit about that?"

"Why?" The humour seemed to vacate the edgy wolf's expression again as he halved his gaze impatiently. "What's in it for me? And better make it good, 'cause the way I see it if you're desperate enough to drag my sorry ass outta the basement, it's 'cause Kagutsu's fucking up your shit again." Tomaya snorted lightly to watch the shifting of the expressions behind Reisi. "So I'm right," he snarled. "Y' know, back when Kagutsu was around, us rejects had it pretty good. It wasn't even half bad after your man Habari wasted him either."

"But then vampires became predominant throughout Japan and caught our attention," Reisi finished. "I'm given to understand that you don't appreciate their influence much."

"Yeah, I'd put those assholes right about where you're sittin' right now," Tomaya reposed.

"How strange," Reisi instigated curtly. "Then, perhaps if you have equated us to them, you will offer us the same courtesy."

Seri immediately threw her attention towards her king's certainty as he stared down the adjustment in Tomaya's severity. "S-sir, what are you saying?"

Reisi's didn't take the frosty calculation of his violet eyes away from the amber flames in Tomaya's. "I am quite simply pointing out that Tetsuko was sent to invade our base of operations by the very kind that he detests, by the one thing that he fears more than any of us."

"Which is?" Saruhiko pressed.

"How long have you assholes known that Kagutsu was still kickin' around?" Tomaya interrupted bitterly. "I find it hard to believe you had all this time to smoke me out when the king of the bloodsuckers was carryin' around your worst nightmare."

"That is of no concern to you." Reisi didn't elevate his voice even as Tomaya rose from the floor to oppose him.

"Isn't it?!" Tomaya raged. "You coulda stuffed him right back in the hole where Habari left him, but you didn't! Don't tell me your kind has grown soft over the generations!"

"That is enough!" Seri bellowed. "Stand down!"

"Bitch, don't tell me what to do!" Tomaya snapped.

"Take a seat, asshole," Saruhiko growled defensively upon drawing his sword. "Maybe silver won't kill you, but I can see it's still a pain in the ass for you to deal with while you're in a place like this."

Tomaya snorted a particularly resentful breath through his nostrils as he glared at the carnivorous cuspids Saruhiko flashed with his resistance. "Oh, I see how it is," the werewolf sneered. "So, the bluecoats are keepin' vampires as pets now, are they?" There was an avid display of hostility on his face as he scoffed his rejection of his company. "Fucking disgusting."

"My company is mine to keep," Reisi calmly countered. "As is yours."

"She wasn't a bloodsucker until one of those asshats went feral!" he roared. "And if I ever lay eyes on the fuckboy who turned her again, his ass is mine!"

"What a joke," Saruhiko grated impatiently. "How can someone responsible for countless murders over the generations call anyone else feral."

Tomaya cocked his head to one side, burying his finger into his temple with a defiant hiss. "Yeah, 'cept I don't gotta choice," he spat. "Somethin' just clicks in me that makes me go batshit crazy. You fuckers don't have that problem. You're just fuckin' lazy."

"Out of curiosity," Reisi interjected. "Does Tsukiyo-san know that you were responsible for the murder of her parents the night you apprehended her?"

"You douchebags are just pullin' out all the stops, aren't you?"

Tsk. A disgusted scoff sounded in Saruhiko's throat as he sheathed his weapon. "Did you just spend the last few decades learning every vulgar term you could find? What a waste of immortality."

"You wanna spitball insults, ya little punk?" Tomaya growled. "Those baby teeth of yours aren't gonna do shit against me. Neither are your words or your silver." He turned his heated glower back on the only stable source of conversation in his keep. "Tell me why first," he demanded. "Why didn't you off Suoh when you realized he was carrying Kagutsu?"

"SCEPTRE4 has a duty to maintain order, not exterminate," Reisi reasoned. "If I can avoid unnecessary bloodshed, I would prefer to devote my resources to that method instead."

Tomaya snorted brusquely. "Y' sure it's not because one of your guys is fucking a vampire?"

Saruhiko sighed, closing his eyes and relieving in the fact that Reisi didn't seem too interested in Tomaya's games. He feared that if Reisi found himself incited by anything the riled wolf said, he would suspect Seri of having relations with her subordinate. The mere thought made him cringe. Then again, it might've been better than the alternative. "Captain, you're wasting your time," he droned intolerantly. "He's not going to tell us anything."

"I would like to adjust my statement," Reisi murmured. "Rest assured that you will be released under proper supervision proceeding your cooperation, but I think the imperative advantage to your collaboration is the fate of your moon." When Tomaya's attention seemed to perk, no matter how bitterly, Reisi continued. "Tsukiyo Neirah is a vampire as of a week ago and will share in the fate of all vampires when Kagutsu finally makes his move. Given, none of us, even you, will be able to predict what fate will befall the clansmen that Suoh Mikoto has amassed, but I can assure you that there will be casualties. As such, I believe it is in the girl's best interest that we find a way to defeat Kagutsu in a timely manner, preferably before he recovers a body of his own."

Tomaya rolled his eyes at Reisi's theatrics. "He already has a body," he rationalized. "Once he's up to snuff, you can probably kiss Suoh goodbye. He'll be nothin' but a repressed memory."

"Is that so?"

"Vampires have weak-ass minds," Tomaya grumbled coldly. "They're easy to fuck with. S' probably why Kagutsu decided that was what he was goin' to stick 'em with."

"But Kagutsu himself is not a vampire."

"Never was," Tomaya established. "Frankly, he could do anythin' he wants with 'em at this point. When Suoh finally breaks, it's game over, so I hope you had fun while it lasted. You shoulda just jabbed 'im with your sword when you knew Kagutsu was back in the ring."

Reisi's expression furrowed doubtfully. "You refer to Tenrō?"

"Depends," Tomaya challenged. "That what you're callin' that fancy toothpick of yours?"

"It is."

"Then yes, your fucking highness," he scowled. "Mince the bastard up with that and be done with it. At this point, the bloodsuckers probably got a fifty/fifty shot at livin' afterwards."

"How could you dismiss the situation so casually?!" Seri thundered ardently. "Think of how many lives are at stake here!"

Tomaya seemed unconcerned as he flopped onto his cell floor with a disgruntled snort. "Wow, dude must be one hell of good lay to have a human bitch all riled up like that."

"You fiend!"

"Calm your tits, already," Tomaya groaned through his teeth. "Trust me, I don't like it either, but when you live for as long as I do, you learn to roll with the punches. Honestly, when it's all said and done, if Tsukiyo ends up ash, I'm gonna tear you all to pieces, Kagutsu or no Kagutsu."

"At least he's honest…" Saruhiko grumbled.

Tomaya rolled his eyes again as Reisi held out his arm to steady his second from striking in her stupor. "Oi, fork over the goods," Tomaya initiated. "I don't mind if you lock me up in a fuckin' icebox, but I'd pretty much gut you all for the nicotine in your pocket."

Despite the severity of their situation, Reisi smiled faintly and pulled out his cigarettes, much to the salivating mongrel's delight. Not only that, but he casually knelt before the man as well. "So, you're saying that this sword is the sword that stopped Kagutsu all those years ago?"

Emitting his closest attempt at a purr, Tomaya gratefully received the cigarette offered to him for his obedience. "Yep," he supported. "Stick 'im with that thing, and you should be golden."

"Should be?" Saruhiko pried.

"Look, kid, what do I look like to you? Some kinda psychic? Fuck off." He growled lowly as he ignited his smoke and let it calm his irritated nerves. "I don't have a damn clue what's gonna happen when you kill him, but that Habari guy used it to seal him away a lifetime ago and now you got the fancy stabby-thing so do somethin' with it other than shovin' it up each other's asses."

"You said seal that time."

Tomaya cocked a brow at Saruhiko's sharp observation. "Really? That's what's got you put out over what I just said?"

"Fushimi, Awashima-kun, let's leave Tetsuko-san to his cigarette," Reisi commanded pleasantly. "We've done all we can here."

Reisi led their trio back out the way they came, his thoughts wandering with the newest addition of Tomaya's puzzle piece.

"Captain?" Saruhiko knew that Reisi was deep in thought, but he didn't have the slightest faith in their informant. "You aren't seriously considering what he said, are you?"

Suddenly, Reisi stopped, turning to face where Seri also halted worrisomely. "Carry on, Lieutenant," Reisi ordered kindly. "We'll only be a moment."

"Y-yes, sir…"

With Seri departing, Saruhiko almost winced with the pressure of his king's eyes turning to connect with his. He could only imagine he was about to be annoyed by questions regarding his relationship with Seri until he found himself forced to expose that the maiden was friendly with one of his old associates. 'Here it comes…'

"Would you care to know something interesting, Fushimi-kun?"

Saruhiko seemed hesitant. "Uh… sure."

Reisi lowered his attention to his sheathed sword, offering it towards Saruhiko's observation. "This sword reacts to some vampires when they are near. To this point, I had no idea why, however." He raised his analytical gaze towards his subordinate. "It began with you. That menacing aura of yours that you carry around… This sword dispels it in an instant but not without my notice." He dropped his sword back into place and continued walking, expecting Saruhiko to follow. "Since then, I've tested it against each vampire we encounter, learning that it reacted to very few. The night we apprehended Tsukiyo Neirah, the sword ignored her as it would any other." He paused. "But when I interrupted the two of you the other day, something changed because Tenrō now acknowledges her presence."

Saruhiko seemed startled to comprehend his divulgence. "Are you serious?"

"Tetsuko may have confirmed my theory that this sword can sense the presence of Kagutsu in your kind, and some exhibit that reactive quality more frequently than others. Say, that old friend of yours, for example. He has never triggered Tenrō's ability." Reisi's tone quietly flattened. "I do not contest that this sword is imperative to Kagutsu's defeat, but I think there was more to Habari-san's sacrifice than what we are aware of." He returned to facing Saruhiko with the utmost confidence. "It is for that reason that I would humbly request you journey to the site of Kagutsu's initial defeat."

"That doesn't make any sense," Saruhiko rushed out impatiently. "That site has been searched numerous times-"

"By humans," Reisi reasoned. "If Tetsuko was more agreeable, I might've considered recruiting his service as part-canine, but I can only imagine that would bode disastrous, given his nature." He offered his associate a kind smile to reassure him that it was not his intent to banish his interference. "Perhaps your search will yield no detrimental results, but I would request your cooperation in this matter. I, too, am skeptical that this demon could be dismissed so easily, and I will not risk a weak attempt at banishing him a second time. Even if we knew what our predecessors did to ward off that evil, it wasn't enough. Something is undoubtedly missing."

"Okay," Saruhiko conceded. In the end, all he could do was trust in the genius that was his king, knowing that the game had raised to the highest of stakes. "If you think it will help, I'll head out first thing tomorrow."

"Excellent," Reisi purred contentedly. Shortly after, they returned to their trek through the halls in awkward silence until Reisi spoke again. "So, Fushimi-kun," he prompted. "I never knew that you and Awashima-kun were in a romantic relationship."

"Sir, please…"

From down the hall, Tomaya erupted with howls of laughter to the sound of Saruhiko's bitter snort. "Bahaha! You're welcome, asshole!"