o o o
Shigeu regarded the abandoned mountain. Sunlight pierced the clouds, brushing the soil under his boot. He frowned at the wind roaring in his ear, tugging at the long strands of silk black hair against his pale profile. His black brows tensed but he did not speak a word and gaped at the surrounding pulchritude of sea far away and trailing hills filled with humans that were safe for the meantime.
"He left just like you ordered," The general remarked and turned around, a hand rested on the hilt of his sword, his cold green eyes floated about in curt calculation. "It's only a matter of time he figures out the sword you gave isn't real."
"Lord Toma isn't usually cooperative." Shigeu implied.
Asato sighed warily and stopped beside the pureblood, "The eastern border was attacked. He is following Ouji-sama. You might have tried to pacify Lord Toma, but his grudge against your kingship runs deep."
Shigeu nodded in silent acceptance.
"We can't let our guard down and believe he turned a new leaf." Asato worded somberly, "We can hope the council of war with Nobunaga is ready for ambushes. We've heard the last two attacks on his men damaged their regime greatly. Lord Toma might not know Ouji-sama wants to get to the Southeast and confer with the Hiou clan."
Shigeu looked up at the clouds, his eyes narrowed. "Kaname has a better connection with the rainmaker clan."
"After he returned from the Eternal Abyss, the Toyas reported often and trained their clan exactly as Ouji-sama advised."
"We know Lord Toma uses magic to shield his army. He uses illusions to avoid revealing his surroundings. The mountains here are the highest elevation with the exception of Eternal Abyss. I'll give him credit for packing up and cleaning house. Taisho, Lord Toma knows the magic of the wind and the sky." Shigeu raised a hand to feel cool air between his fingers, "He might as well be hiding his army in the clouds."
Asato speculated the cloudless horizon. "The cloud print is limitless and untraceable. He can be on several clouds, each one passes quickly. We won't be able to determine on time."
"Go to the rainmaker clan," Shigeu ordered, "Find me someone worthy of commanding the wind and thunder. They can locate the cloud if that is where Lord Toma hides his army."
"Right away." Asato nodded and flashed into mist, soaring through the sky.
An amalgamation of clouds formed near the Southeast, Shigeu could only speculate why. His eyes narrowed at the abhorrent torrent of gray in the wailing wind.
o o o
The falcon squawked before landing on the outstretched arm. Kaname met the illustrative maroon orbs of the shadow spy.
"A council of war waits. How do human warlords have the time to sit and debate? Humans are dying."
Kaname regarded the populous clouds in the near distance. "The warlords need to discuss the appraisal you made with Lord Toma. As the second in line to the Kuran clan, my presence is imperative."
"He is watching you closely. The sooner you infiltrate the Hiou's, the better. We need their army no matter the cost, you understand?"
"You hoped I'd barter with my life?"
"Bartering is expected. I'm willing to give whatever price they insist upon."
"You have your way of handling purebloods, I have mine." Kaname silkily murmured.
"We don't have the luxury to pick and choose. We need their help."
Kaname smirked in the chilling breeze, "I don't deny it but I refuse to let anyone around me pay the price for disrespect and isolation due to outdated belief systems."
"You will not lecture me." The pureblood king slurred impatiently. "I'm sending you a representative of the Toya clan. I suspect Lord Toma is using the clouds to insinuate his army in multiple states at a time."
Lightning crackled and a cluster of wind throttled around Kaname. The falcon snatched off his sleeve, winding around the brilliant vortex. A form stepped neatly from the fizzing scent of ash-hot thunder. The silhouette aligned in front of the crowned prince in a graceful bow, his head tucked in a generous dip.
"Kaname-sama, we meet again." Taka Toya raised himself squarely, "It is unfortunate we meet on a graveyard Lord Toma left to remind us of his treachery."
Kaname was pleased to see the member of the rainmaker clan. He let himself smile, although it appeared aloof and unmoving. He gestured to the destruction engulfing the land of burnt homes and buried bodies that flourished and echoed with life a mere three days ago. He hadn't been too far, just a swamp, and he had missed saving over a hundred human lives. The heaviness in his heart would not deplete. He couldn't forget the ruined farmland, the stench of coal and flesh, the mounds of human hair torn from decapitated heads. The smell of rape, fear, blood, and decay. Kaname stared at the listless smoke spooning the deserted well.
"The king claims Lord Toma implements magic of the wind and thunder. Is it true?" He inquired the stand-in leader of the rainmaker tribe.
Taka bent his head down respectfully, "The claim isn't fortuitous. The clouds move throughout the day, making it easier to hide a dominion in the sky. If the troops are hidden in them, it'd be easier for them to descend on land to attack and disappear behind the veil visible to them, not others. The Toya clan exercised the tactic in the Pureblood Wars and successfully defeated the humans. I have to remind you, the veil is distinctive to the pureblood who casts it, only he can deactivate it."
"The magic is created by purebloods, can't hunter weapons break it?"
"It can be tried." Taka murmured hesitantly, "But we have to locate the clouds he uses. There are millions of clouds floating around us. He can be on any of them."
Kaname regarded the vampire, "You can create rain and strike thunder. Change the weather to storm clouds and chase the Toma fraction down."
Taka nodded firmly, "As you instruct, Kaname-sama."
Yuki caught light trace Kaname's form, the imageless graph shot to the blue sky. She came to a reluctant yield a few feet from Kaname, assessing the creature that departed as soon as she neared. He sensed her the moment she'd woken up and hunted fresh water to wash her face and brush her fangs.
Kaname tilted his head to the side in languorous ease. "We missed the sunrise. I looked forward to watching it with you."
"You're in a good mood, wanting to take on quixotic activities." Yuki queried his profile.
He smiled leisurely as he faced the petite huntress. "Last night you were sleeping on me with a smile, I couldn't bring myself to wake you. It wouldn't be fair to watch it alone. Why don't we watch the sunset together tonight?"
Yuki pondered the smiling pureblood on a gnawing lip.
He was upset yesterday. Is he trying not to think about the death in the village? I should just go along with it to keep his spirits up.
"Sure, Ouji." Yuki bobbed her head readily. His brows swiveled and eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Not only the sunset, but we can also watch the moon and drink the night away. We'll stay awake so we won't miss the sunrise. You plan something, make sure it's bullet-proof."
Kaname brushed a strand of hair from her cheek and curled it around her ear. His eyes hollow and withdrawn. "I know you're tasked to get me to my destination. We have to make a detour." His knuckles brushed her chin. Nudging her face up, he bent into her wide, transfixed eyes. "I won't have less than two thousand sunrises and sunsets with you. Don't forget our agreement." The edges of his lips curved and he drifted in a noiseless motion toward the gate of the village.
Yuki's mouth had suddenly turned cotton dry. Her legs shuddered beneath her weight. Her vision curled in cyclones of shadows and whites. Hunger barked angrily at the back of her throat, her fangs sharply jutted against her lips. Red eyes hotly narrowed on the distancing pureblood. The satin relish of confined hunger sugared her bloodstreams, she licked her mouth and closed her eyes. The sensation of Kaname's fingers not only tingled but burned her cheeks and chin. She patted the blushing skin, her heartbeat wavering by a minuscule amount.
"We need to go, Yuki," Kaname called from the cross center of the village.
She nodded absently. Her steps shaking but managed to move down the road toward the waiting man. He had to be making fun of her. She couldn't spend two thousand years kneeling and abiding his order, yearning and hungry for his blood. Could she? A hurdle of fear, indecision, and excitement curdled in her veins, making her steps rougher and faster on the dirt. She barely managed to return to the Hunters Association and the requisite to marry a decent nobleman worthy of her heart was obligatory, either with Takuma Ichijo or Hanabusa Aidou. The two suitors were the wisest choices in her father's opinion. Where in the hell could Yuki fit two thousand years of serving Kaname Kuran? He might as well bind her by the wrists and drag her over the next century whether she liked it or not.
The strangest part was not that she didn't have a choice contending the crowned prince—but she wanted to abide. She wanted to please him. The cusp of condoning her inner freedom and self-preservation to honor a pureblood's bidding was earth-shattering and mind-numbing. Yuki felt her heart shrivel slightly, but not without a nostalgic revelation of wonderment and a sense of yearning.
She didn't want to run away. She wanted to walk with him. It didn't matter whether it was for a day, a month or two thousand years toward the twisted cervices of the universe, Yuki only wanted to accompany Kaname. Why didn't it upset her? She loved her freedom, being self-justified and on her own, never paying attention to the opinions of the world and relishing in the moment. Why had her carefree simplicity become incomparably subordinate to assuaging Kaname?
She looked up at the gate of the village they'd detoured to. Kaname presented no symbolism of royalty in clothing, but his dignified gait, unmistakable pale skin, and glowing crimson gaze sufficiently compelled the villagers to stare in paralyzed astonishment and slump aggressively in a bow. His pureblood aura was threatening to the common folk, and row upon row, one by one, villagers wobbled to the ground. The merchants closed the stalls, clearing the road for him to pass. Yuki didn't challenge him on stopping over to account for the affected regions. She'd seen him determined and forthcoming prior to the trip, but unnatural or menacing energy revolved around the mild-natured pureblood. He'd severed illusions of timelessness and repose to see the people in need of protection and guardianship it seemed. Yuki cut close to his heel as they arrived at the village leader's residence, which to her surprise was engulfed by vampire and human warlords. Vassals stood waiting in the courtyard, turning expectedly in Kaname's direction. Without fault, the population fell to their knees.
Lord Kisaragi and Aidou samurais were present and seated at the convention. Typically gatherings of the nature maintained its unique customs, and it wasn't largely welcoming of womenfolk. Yuki tarried at the door and was not surprised to be superseded by the human warlords welcoming the pureblood crowned prince. The left aisle was arranged for the humans and vassals while the right was occupied by Lord Kisaragi and Hanabusa Aidou who made up the variety of vampire lords.
Seeing her prompted Aidou to jump to his feet but he retracted the move and snuck a glance at the sea of critical glares from the warlords around him. He smiled widely and waved, but resolved to sit back down with a smudge of guilt coloring his face. The guards stepped in front of Yuki and began closing the doors.
Kaname had taken his designated position as the head of the council. He blinked at the closing doors. "What're you doing?"
The guard tensed, "Wouldn't it be better to close the doors to prevent unwanted interruption, my lord?" The eyes regarding him blinked and a mortiferous sheen reflected within seconds. "Or—we can leave it open, my lord. Is that your wish?"
Kaname's glare intensified and murder rimmed the taut knot of his mouth. "You tell me."
"To leave it open?" The guard trembled behind the door.
"Get inside."
"Ye-yes, my lord!" The guard jumped at the order and hurriedly waded toward the pureblood.
Kaname's brows furrowed at the approaching guard, "Not you."
The guard paled, "My lord?"
"Yuki," Kaname summoned musically. Exasperation erased to infuse a reverberating sweeter tone. "Come inside."
"Ah, ah yes, my lord. She is whom you meant." The guard could not have paled more but he nodded, bowed his head, and scooted back to the door.
She wedged in the male-dominant room. Aidou sat up an inch taller and patted the cushion next to him. She caught the signal and flowed to the beckoning seat with a formal bow of introduction. She tucked the hunter sword on her side and placed a firm grip around the dragon blade on her right. Aidou was beaming that it was hard not to mimic the sentiment.
"I was really worried about you, who knew we'd meet like this?" Aidou whispered.
Yuki leaned toward the smirking blond to whisper, "You're telling me? I thought we wouldn't see each other for another year."
Their heads bent together.
"Our luck is great, Yuki-chan. I read your letter, your butterfly really is made of light. You can use magic again?"
"My blood disease has gone into remission."
"That means Ichijo won't use it as an excuse to parade around you, great!" Aidou grinned.
"Wait, I missed something." Yuki blinked.
"He's in to you, you know."
"Takuma's heart already belongs to a pureblood." Yuki asserted.
"Keh. Don't tell me you have a blind-eye for these things?" He shot back in irritation.
"No, Takuma is madly in love with Ouji. He swears his heart and soul, his very bones and eyelashes—the whole works to Ouji."
Kaname's sensitive ears tingled from the train of the hushed conversation in the right corner.
"Are you nuts?" Aidou hissed in annoyance. "You shouldn't be ignorant of other's feelings."
"I'm telling you, you haven't seen how Takuma looks at Ouji. His eyes get round and shimmer."
"My eyes get round and shimmer, pay attention to me."
Nobunaga Oda stirred on the cushion. His brow heavy and glare raining with fury. "We defeated Lord Toma's faction but he strikes us repeatedly. We're short half of our troops and our people suffer. The great Shigeu Kuran, king of vampires, needs to have better control over the purebloods. We hear he gave the powerful sword 'Light of Heaven' to appease Lord Toma. How can he justify the disaster in our nation by exchanging a sword? Lord Toma not only has a powerful army, now he'll win the war. Humans cannot support another tyrannical pureblood on the throne."
Ieyasu Tokugawa nodded his head firmly, "We are in grave danger. Our nation will deplete in less than a decade if we don't take matters in control. The Light of Heaven shouldn't have been endowed to the pureblood."
Nobunaga's retainer and trusted right-hand, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, echoed fervently, "You gave our lord power to look after humans as a vow of trust between men, but all the work we managed to sustain will wash down as if it never were. Purebloods have always drained us of our life. You wanted to set another order to help us live longer. We need to change tactics."
"I hear you," Kaname breathed in their worries, nodding. "I will rid Lord Toma for you."
"How can you defeat the Light of Heaven?" The one-eyed dragon, Masaume Date, and ally of Nobunaga demanded. His one eye narrowed distrustfully on Kaname. "Isn't the sword ten times more powerful than Bloody Rose and Artemis? Hunter magic can't stop Lord Toma. We've heard of sealing villages using barriers but Lord Toma is knowledgeable in magic. Unless you have a much more powerful weapon on you, you can't stop him."
"You make an excellent point," Kaname approved, "I want to point out, you don't need to fight a pureblood with magic and weapons. All you need to know is his weakness. The imperial army, Toyas, Kisaragis, and Aidous are vampire troops that can overcome his faction simply in that we've infiltrated their armament."
"What Kaname-sama means is," Lord Kisaragi smiled at the attentive warlords, "Think of the Toma army fighting us with sticks and grass. We're better equipped than they are."
"What about Lord Toma's magic?" Nobunaga asked.
"Leave that to me," Kaname replied. "Protect the humans like you have been doing. My army will shield you." His eyes narrowed on the pair in the corner. "I'll bring reinforcements from the Southeast."
"My magic is hard ice. It'll never thaw unless I want it to." Aidou was replying to Yuki's question.
She nodded and summed a response in profound awe, "No wonder the hairpin you made is strong."
"I can make all kinds of things. First, I want to see you wear it. How about going on a picnic?"
"It's almost unfair to go on a picnic. The village is dismal on the verge of war." Yuki woefully frowned.
"I was going to distribute food later, join me?" Aidou suggested. "We'll make do with what we have."
"Yuki."
She sat erect at the call of her name, searching the panel of lords and stopping on the hardened glare of the pureblood at the center of the room. Kaname scowled in dissatisfaction as she unburdened herself of the attention with a deliberate bow over her cushion. "Yes, my lord?" Yuki humbly asked from the floor.
"Are you not devoted to me?" Kaname demanded.
The warlords cleared their throats and blinked at her messy hair sprawling the floor.
"I am," Yuki answered.
"Were you not designated to escort me to the Southeast?"
"I was."
"Who told you to leave my side?"
She picked her head up to spy on the inquiring pureblood. Kaname's eyes flashed in a warning. The warlords stared raptly. "No one," Yuki mumbled back at the floor.
Kaname glared at his left sleeve. "Come here."
Yuki gathered her hunter's sword and situated flat on her feet before stalking down the aisle obediently. She halted at the respectable, and appropriate distance primarily maintained by guards on his left.
"Not there," Kaname continued to stare pointedly. "Next to me." He patted his cushion.
She inched hesitantly close to his cushion and folded her legs. Her hands bunched on her knees as she bulked like a statue in front of the room, high and center stage beside the pureblood.
Kaname relaxed and resumed his answer, "I will command the reinforcements and confront Lord Toma. The king had his reasons for giving him the Light of Heaven, but you can rest assured, he wouldn't give the weapon without a plan. We wanted to prevent war but I'm afraid we can't pretend it hasn't changed our nation's future. Making sure all lives are safe and protected is still my utmost responsibility and desire. We suspect Lord Toma shifts his troops constantly in the sky. The rainmaker tribe will start by driving them down. I've already given commands to the pentagon. Clans Shirabuki, Toya, and Aidou will trap them on the ground. The imperial army will stand in defense. Your troops must eliminate the raiders."
"It sounds easy but the Toma army is a wily bunch of purebloods. The lord took several thousand humans. We know he'll toy us with their lives." Nobunaga claimed.
"I can't promise everyone will live," Kaname somberly replied, "The humans he imprisoned might not be alive."
Council of wars tended to continue for hours until the parties arrived at an understanding. Each lord was tasked with a particular faction and region to protect or assail. The council dismissed after midday. Kaname had to go over tactics with Lord Kisaragi, and Yuki was able to accompany Aidou and donate extra food in the village his troops brought from camp. Late in the evening, they sat down on the grass, eating leftovers.
"Kotaishi Kaname Shinno keeps a firm hold on you," Aidou remarked, "He can be scary."
Yuki heckled and bit an apple. "Ouji isn't scary."
"Not to you, but the warlords at the council were afraid. Truth be told, I'm not sure he's as gentle and forgiving as you believe."
"Purebloods aren't," Yuki did not object and nodded, "My father doesn't trust them either. I adopted his beliefs because I didn't know better. I met the Kurans in Kyoto. Each one is different. I want to believe they're evil. We're selfish and want to be right but I admit now I was wrong. Each pureblood there protected me."
Aidou hummed under his breath at the thought. He reclined on the grass next to Yuki's leg, tucking both arms under his head and watched the stars stud the rose-orange sunset. "You can say they're doing what they're supposed to do but under the facade, they're sadistic and murderous."
"Hard to believe a pureblood like Lord Toma has an inferiority complex and wants more power to wipe out others. He has everything vampires like we want and he's still unsatisfied."
"Unhappy purebloods are the scariest," Aidou muttered.
"Ouji isn't unhappy."
Aidou gave her a look, "He could've pulverized the room had you not gone to the front of the class. I wish he'd give me some attention. You're all he sees, no wonder you idolize him."
"I don't idolize him."
"It's fine," Aidou forcefully drawled, "One of the most powerful purebloods keeps you on a tight leash, so what? You can run around with him, I can flirt with as many women I want."
"Do we have to go there?" Yuki averted.
"I'm very popular, Yuki-chan." Aidou reasoned. "The women of Kurashiki adored me as do the humans here." He waved at a pair of ladies sauntering along the street. The pair simpered and blushed.
Yuki rolled him down and shoved him away. "I'm positive Nagamichi-sama'd love hearing about your coquettish rendezvous in each town."
"Our fathers believe you and I are perfect together."
"Things are far from the way it used to be. I'm not only practicing and studying feminine classics. I got a tentative position at the Hunters Association, and I won't let my chance to continue working there get destroyed."
Aidou rolled back, flat on his back. "When did you get your job back?"
"The pureblood whom you claim 'keeps me on a tight leash' changed the association's mind."
The blue-eyed vampire sat up in surprise, "Meaning you won't leave Kurashiki and move to Aidou Geyser?"
"Life is unpredictable." Yuki forewarned, "Your responsibilities as Ice Master is monumental and unavoidable. I can't leave the Hunters Association."
"Isn't there a branch near the North?" Aidou mumbled dispiritedly. His crestfallen gaze switched from Yuki toward the sunset. "I won't make you quit being a huntress. You worked too hard and lost someone you cared about. We can meet in different cities. When things are quiet in the North, I'll visit. Eventually, we'll choose someplace to live together."
Yuki heavily sighed, "The woman you imagined loving—"
"I'll face my responsibilities, you'll face yours. Each of us has things important to us. We don't have to break each other down. We can decide where to live hundreds of years later, can't we?"
"You can see being with me for hundreds of years?" Yuki waited in shock.
Aidou gaped, "Did you think we'd sign a marriage contract, have kids, and separate?"
Yuki propped a chin on her knuckles and hunted the grass for a suitable answer as she formulated some numbers.
How do 2,000 years of repayment fit here? I can't take advantage of Aidou's kindness for 500 years. Ouji saved my life. Judging by how seriously he considers our agreement, he won't back down.
"There's no pressure," Yuki whispered, "We can't live solely pleasing our clans but we mustn't disrespect them. The burden of echelon rigged us to stay within our limits. Isn't marriage compliance within echelon?"
"So what if it is?" Aidou shrugged. "As long as you and I are happy, living our lives, it won't matter. Aidou Geyser is a cold region and Kurashiki is warm year-around. We can live in the middle. I won't make you do anything you don't like and I will protect you."
Yuki hadn't moved but she finally tipped her head side-ways to regard his luminous and smiling profile. Blue eyes, saturated in wonderment and excitement, searched the village.
Aidou smirked back at Yuki. "We're equal in power and status. The Aidou clan will look out for you, so will I. I'm a likable person. It's only a matter of time you'll fall hard for me." He abruptly scanned the deserted streets and marketplace in the dusk. "Why don't we spice things up? I was in charge of unloading stocks to the village. There's a shack of liquor on reserve for after the war."
Yuki's spine tensed from the notion. She recalled their notoriously unorthodox find in the middle of the road. Before she leaped at the tantalizing memory of delicious wine, she steeled herself and asked. "Does it belong to palace officials?"
"No."
"Warlords?"
"It's from our camp."
Yuki fluttered to her feet as if she sprouted wings. "Which shack?"
Aidou wasted no time leading her through the locked doors. He unraveled barrels and jars that were sealed tight. At the oldest and favorable wine, he uncorked the seal.
o o o
Chills swiveled down his spine. Kaname lowered the paper he'd been vigorously analyzing, eyes narrowing and blackening by the second. The bowing aide across the room managed to lower himself by another two degrees. "My lord, everything is written in detail. Your aide gave specific characteristics and provides us a perusal that is distinctly exhilarating."
Kaname glared at the frail calligraphy of black on white. It was hard not to chew the inner lining of his mouth but he refrained the chagrin. "Exhilarate me, Mitsunari Ishida, how does Hideyoshi get work done with you around? 'Fat guy in black said eighty-two boxes of pistols unloaded yesterday but Cockroach-face sent word in the morning to bring additional sixty boxes. Apparently it didn't sit well with Chimpanzee-breath and One-eyed Ogre - something about pulling each other's pants in public and braiding chest hair - Not only does Sleeping Beauty Oda want to take on Lord Toma, he worries any day he will get ass-rap' —" Kaname crumbled the scroll and incinerated it with his claws.
Mitsunari mutely winced. "But I supplemented your aide's diligent notes in red ink for clarification, my lord. The exchange between Lord Nobunaga and vassals lasted five hours. Your aide's stamina was stupefying. She scribbled non-stop."
"Yuki has more power in her small finger than the guards in the halls." Kaname retaliated.
"Certainly, my lord." Mitsunari pulled out more scrolls from his sleeve. "She went on to write, 'A thousand armors unloaded, everyone is protected. One-eyed Ogre worries about losing another body part. Too bad it can't protect his manhood from getting cut off' — I-I supplement, of course, that it was not as she believes! — "The warlords need all parts of their appendages, limbs, and functionality of those, to ride and roll."
Kaname glared ominously at the wordy fool.
He choked on his breath. "My-my lord, I shall re-write the report."
"Where is she?" He growled.
Mistunari bowed, "She went to pass food in the village with Lord Aidou." He hadn't finished speaking but footsteps thundered around him and the doors slammed in the lock. The pureblood's silhouette stepped in the corridors and general courtyard.
Villagers already retired home and boarded their doors for the night. Sentries were posted across the gates and promenaded the borders. Troops were camped in the Northeast, a little distance from the village, guarding the back. The wind twisted with a temper of thunder. He sensed the clouds rummaging layers above. Kaname didn't need to briskly hunt for Yuki. He heard the awkward slurs weaving between uncontrollable laughter from a shack. He opened the door to the largest one and intruded upon a pair snickering vivaciously on the floor.
Blushing and glowing, Aidou stared animatedly at the immutable-looking pureblood. "Kotaishi Kaname Shinno!" Hands raised, he deposited reverently on the floor, "Kaname-sama, praise be to you. It is me, Hanabusa Aidou, ready to serve you for life."
Redder than Aidou but slower to register, Yuki had yet to cease gulping from the jar. She wheezed after it had finished, shaking the bottle for leftover drops.
"Order me, I must serve you, Kaname-sama." Aidou slurred drunkenly, bowing twice.
"Don't be mad," Yuki waved a finger around the shack. "There's plenty to go around."
Kaname's gaze narrowed on the panting red girl swaying on the right of the mechanically bowing man. His jaw taut and his eyes flickered blackly between them. The smell of blood wine was sharp. Ten empty jars rolled toward various corners of the shack. "I thought you'd make a righteous suitor who claims to love her for many years and would do good by her." Kaname towered Aidou, "But you're worse than her. The blind cannot be with the blind."
Yuki pawed Kaname on the leg. Her heavy, tired hand dropped against the floor. "Don't yell. You'll wake the village."
Even though Kaname spoke without raising his tone and stood immaculately uncolored and disenchanted, according to Yuki and Aidou's tunnel visions, the pureblood had practically and outrageously kicked through the door and knocked down the shelves, roaring.
"I will give up drinking," Aidou groaned in his bow, "Burn my breweries, dump the barrels and break the jars. I cannot see you upset. How else can I please you, Kaname-sama?"
"Stop drinking with Yuki."
"I won't even look at her, huhuhu." Aidou wept in his sleeve.
"Hey!"
Kaname glared at her scowling indignantly up at him. "Say goodnight, Yuki. We need to resolve your insubordination."
"Stop bullying, Hanabusa." She could hardly maintain her balance. On her knees, she determinedly set her hands on her hips, swaying like a flag in the wind, "He is kind, has good taste. Soon, we will marry."
Aidou sat up promptly at the declaration, "Yuki-chan!"
"Hanabusa!"
They embraced.
Steam oozed out of Kaname's ears. Fangs gritted at the sight of the pair clumsily fumbling on the floor. His black eyes flickered distastefully at the mirage. "Aidou."
Instantly, the blond dropped Yuki and dove into a submissive bow on Kaname's boot. "I didn't look at her, Kaname-sama. My eyes were shut the whole time."
"Go sober up in your room," Kaname ordered.
Aidou nodded and darted out of the shack.
Kaname turned to find Yuki glaring. He approached her soundlessly, each step slinked like seeping shadows, swooping around her on the floor. "If you can't use your legs, I have no problem carrying you out in front of the town." He knelt.
She wobbled to her feet, brushing her collar and hair aside. "I can make it."
He had Yuki bathe, cool her head, and eat food. After she finished, she was instructed to his room where he reviewed reports with Hideyoshi's aide. The dark-eyed human saw her, flinched and ducked back around. The insubordination wasn't bright to the imagination. She had to rewrite her reports. The human aide, Mitsunari, scribbled away and departed after completing his share. She sighed apprehensively at the mundane task. Writing or copying was not in the slightest part of her forte. She could've dribbled run-on sentences as long as it made a point, but Kaname demanded concise and complete sentences for the king to read. Half of the words were jumbled. For starters, she did not care why the interaction between the lords was relevant. What Yuki did care was why it was imprudent to make a noise as the pureblood spoke over her head, err, decadently in her right ear.
"Writing 'It doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense' won't make the reports end faster." Kaname counted her fifteenth shiver. Her cheeks and neck flushed. Her hand trembled on the paper. The ink clashed on the crinkling edge and sliding brush.
Yuki turned her head. She was petite between his elongated torso and limbs. The pureblood sat in a looming perch, hovering over her, a hand cradling his chin. "Don't you have anything else to do?" She wondered.
Kaname raised a silencing brow in her direction.
Yuki whipped back to the paper, dutifully.
"You mean drinking with someone in a locked room and agreeing to marry them, that sort of thing?" Kaname hissed between fangs.
Her stomach was about to turn to stone from his ominous vibe. She should avoid irking his fury further. She twitched at the hot slither of breath licking her neck. "Hehe, you're rumored to have a pregnant bride so that would be redundant." Yuki dapped the ink and ran the brush fluidly across the paper.
The cold black ink diluted before she repeated the motion and rehearsed the next statement. Last time she'd jotted everything that came to mind. It was not her fault the vassals carried eccentric and illustrative features. The king'd benefit from discerning the individuals at first glance. She paused on the word, unable to decipher the following character. As she returned, ink dipped and proper, she hesitated. Her arm suspended above the paper.
Kaname could see her wheels turn.
Yuki shook her head and stabbed the paper with ink, rolling down the space and lifting her arm to beam proudly at the finished glyph.
"Wrong letter," Kaname reviewed her wording critically.
Overwhelmed by the weight of his judgment, she slumped on the knee-high desk.
He snatched the paper out from under her. "I'm surprised you graduated from Nagoya Imperial University. You can't form a basic elementary level sentence. Do I have to teach you how to write too?" Fretfully he frowned at the dripping letters. "Your handwriting resembles a kitsune's claw marks. I can see why. Juuri-sama's vampire essence is a kitsune."
Yuki scrunched her face, "Are you done?"
Kaname tipped the paper down to peer at her dismally covering her face. "Looks like we won't finish the report tonight."
Yuki stole the paper back and shredded it with a vengeance. "I know how to write above the elementary level. I don't like remembering every kanji possible. My philosophy is to keep things simple: 'yes' or 'shut up' wraps things up nicely."
"Then you said 'yes' to marrying him because he lured you with liquor?"
Flabbergasted, Yuki backed into the table at the crimson accusation. "Wh-"
"Seems to me," Kaname cut the excuses short, "Whenever liquor is involved, you gain a husband."
" 'Am I to believe you're his woman? Kotaishi Kaname Shinno is reserved and diplomatic. He doesn't entertain women, especially those who steal from him.' "
" 'I am as precious to Ouji as his eyes. I am the jade and fine wine of his life.' "
And, earlier:
" 'Stop bullying, Hanabusa. He is kind, has good taste. Soon, we will marry.' "
She whirled back around and ironed a fresh paper with a paperweight. "You promised my father you'd see I get married someday. Hanabusa is understanding. It's not every day a noble-class vampire accepts a huntress as a wife. All I know is with the right person who doesn't dismiss or undervalue what I want in my existence, I can build a family with him, could be in a few years or a hundred years."
Kaname pushed the hair from her neck to the side, bending against her carotid pulse and licked the smooth, warm skin. The brush rolled out of her grip. Yuki turned limp, but his arm captured her in a cradling fold. Kaname raked his fangs on the flesh and sucked the fluttering and desperate rhythm of her life, her breath. Her widened eyes swallowed in a sheen of black haze and hunger. She closed her eyes and shoved. His grip clenched tighter in a rigid balance. Kaname pulled back to peer into the rippling melt of red-black and white excitement burning within her eyes. She gasped against his lips.
"Does Aidou know you drink from a pureblood?" Kaname studied the fluster of hunger and satin desire fanning her cheeks, vibrating down her sternum and gripping her low in the belly. "How will he react once he finds out?" Kaname smirked evilly, nudging her face forward until her forehead rested on his. "Do you think he'll challenge me?"
Yuki pried away, wringing thirstily and shaking down to her bare-bones as she peeled out his arms. Her vision blurred but she kept her face straight, her motions automatic. As if she was formless or lost strength in her vessel, she heaved, swayed, and stared dizzily at the standing pureblood. Kaname bent down, never averting from her tearing and hungry gaze. His arms snaked around her narrow waist and hoisted Yuki off the floor.
"We both know he won't defy me," Kaname placed her in the futon. She shivered at his alluring hover. His hand combed through her hair, traveling down her neck and collarbone. The sound of her fervent heart banged. Kaname smirked knowingly, "Does he know about the secret places in you that belong to me?"
Yuki's face strained as she recalled how to form words and thoughts. Her eyes narrowed and her lips quivered.
Kaname traced her mouth. He raised her chin to study her properly in the lamplight. She pulsated vigorously, wildly, like a famished cheetah. Her cells and blood flittered like thousands of stars in the black night. Her eyes darkened with craving only he aroused. Her chest rubbed quickly against his. Kaname clenched her hair and hungrily caressed her lips with his.
"We're under attack!" The doors jolted and men darted inside. "Kaname-sama!"
Yuki made a light but meaningful shove at his shoulders and he sat up, refined and stately all of a sudden, prior to shielding her and turned toward the vociferous vassals.
"They're coming from the back." The vassal relayed.
o o o
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