o o o
Heat trickled Ruka's cheek. The balmy sensation rippled a nostalgic caress of a caring hand and a blanket morphed a chasm of relief. She hadn't realized how tired she was. Her eyelids dripped dewily before catching a faint shadow close the door to her bedroom. Her father headed downstairs to the tavern. Kurashiki nights were serene, perfect to sleep without a care in the world.
The horse neighed to a lurching yield on the rocky turf. Hot air steamed densely on the ridge. Kain scanned the winding edge with clenched fangs. Ruka wrestled in his arms, shaking off fatigue to peek at the shadowed structures of ash and whirling smoke. They stood by a volcanic crater, sizzling moisture curtained the steep dry and molten hills.
"You're up," Kain murmured over her head, "You were out for some time."
Ruka frowned at the acerbating lava pooling below the ridge. "Why are we stopping here?"
He sighed emptily, eyes closed in certain defeat. "They have to lead us in."
Ruka inspected his shadowed profile. "Who?"
"Akatsuki, eh?" A melodic voice reverberated through the lava canyon.
Beyond the blurring heat and melting sediment of soil, stone, and bones, black smoke coalesced and seeped from the vigilant hills. The figures stood valiantly grandiose, the slime of sweat and steam glistened their bare chests. Ruka stealthily backed into Kain at the sudden but scrutable pressure of the knife on her neck. The shapes dripped out of the wall next to the horse. Their swords angled and poised.
"What brings you back here?" The masculine voice carried a fluctuating pitch of a soft whistle, a poem in the blistering heat that wove across the molten ash. "Didn't we cut ties already? You swore to forget about us. Is the delicious looking girl an offering?"
"No." Kain firmly glared at the armed men assessing Ruka hungrily. Some licked their lips and one hazarded to grope her thigh.
She whacked him with her elbow. The vampire hissed and swung the sword down to cut off her leg.
"Knock it off," Kain warned. The guard stalled reluctantly and turned to the silhouette descending from the hill on the left.
The lord landed in an intangible glide on the crumbling ridge. His red hair whirled in a delicate sway around his shoulders as he approached the traveling pair. Crimson eyes focused on the inquisitive girl in Kain's arms. He stroked his chin as if interpreting a foreign language and nodded after several seconds. "I will happily take her off your hands. You know the secret to enter the volcano. Only blood of fire can fight fire, don't tell me you've forgotten such an important custom." He chuckled, stroking his chin, and flung back around, "Or you can try it yourself. Do you want to risk turning her to charcoal? It's been years since you tapped into your blood fire, Akatsuki." He purred.
"Onii-sama," Kain calmly took a deep breath, "We're avoiding the main roads Lord Toma and his raiders use. There is no place to find refuge. You can shoo me away, but take Ruka to the caves and keep her safe."
Ruka gasped incredulously, "You're leaving me here?"
The long-haired vampire blinked surreptitiously over his shoulder.
"I have no choice," Hollowly, Kain answered without meeting her in the eye, "I cannot protect you here."
Ruka clenched his arm determinedly, "Make all the excuses you want, I'm not staying. Either I go back with you or you stay. Don't leave me here alone, Kain." She hissed.
"Yes, Akatsuki," The lord wound a strand of hair around the index finger in ennui, "You may want to give her a listen, she makes a fine point."
Kain glared at his older brother, "You know what will happen if I go inside."
"Oh," He flicked hair over the shoulder before turning, "Just some awkward family reunion, I'm sure it'll pass. We aren't in the mood to fight and break each other's bones. We've been occupied shielding the ports and keeping our side of the country intact. Most of our army joined the imperial army, but if you want to warm up before going in, I'd be happy to play." He pinched a wound in his palm with a sharp nail, blood spurted and fused into coils of fire.
Kain glanced at the wide-eyed Ruka. "You should take her."
"What?" She screamed.
Kain unlatched her knotting hands. "It's for the best."
In an oscillating glide, the smirking vampire lord neared the horse and halted, raising a graceful brow. "Excellent, but I'm shocked by how much you trust me."
"You can do many things," Kain affirmed, "But you aren't conscienceless."
He smiled generously and raised a hand out to Ruka gallantly, "Come with me, delicious girl."
"No way!" Ruka shrieked, smacking the hand and snatched Kain's collar. "Take me with you, Kain, or I'll tear you to pieces."
"He's stronger than I am," Kain grunted in her tightening claws, "I just want you to be safe. I promised Yuki nothing will happen to you. Ayame will protect you!"
"Don't pawn me off to your brother. We came together, we leave together!"
He turned a ghastly shade of blue but not to a terrifying degree. Ruka released him simply because he complied not to leave. She didn't know where he pretended to head off to afterward. Ayame waited for the pair to catch up at the bottom of the volcanic ridge. Despite there was no wind, his red hair streamed in echoless circles around his back and shoulders in an insatiable rhythm. The tall vampire waved to the guards smeared in ash and sweat. They receded into the very walls of the hill and mountains, armed as they had first appeared.
"What are they?" Ruka mumbled confusedly under her breath.
Ayama's lashes fluttered in appreciation. "I created them using the soil and bones in the canyon. Intruders tend to run away quicker, less work for me." He gestured to the creek of lava, "Akatsuki." The emptiness in his tone struck them to be detached and coerced. His crimson eyes snared the younger Kain. "Comply with her demands and all should go well."
Kain stood next to Ruka composedly. Ayame bristled the left arm elegantly in the smoke. Across the lava creek, the black hill shuddered, rocks fumbled, and a black door opened its wings like a moth. A red volcanic cave appeared, the boiling heat triturating Ruka. She cringed, hiding her face behind a hand. Kain and Ayame stood motionless from the burning hearth.
"You don't have blood fire, delicious girl, or the volcano will take you for itself." Ayame relayed, swinging around and bending gracefully.
Ruka gasped as the vampire lord gathered her carefully and picked her up in his arms.
"Men of the Kain clan carry their women to the caves and isolate in the heat for ten days," Ayame considered her widening eyes, "Do you think Akatsuki will mind if we disappeared?"
Ruka was flustered and averted, "I'm not interested."
"Eye candy," Ayame whirled toward the fuming younger brother. "Well done."
Kain bitterly glared and without losing his patience, uttered heavily, "Hurry up and take Ruka through."
"Don't you regret not using blood fire? You could've carried her yourself." Ayame chuckled musically, "Imagine how romantic that'd be." He leaped over the creek and strode into the volcanic cave.
He unleashed a layer of gold flame, coating Ruka like a shield. She hid in his chest from the beating fire but he whisked through the lapping volcano into a stoned hall. Ayame glimpsed over the shoulder at the desperately running silhouette. It dashed through the fire and skidded next to his ankle, breathlessly.
Sprawled on the floor in burnt clothes, Kain panted and stared deliriously at his smirking brother.
"Serves you right," Ayame placed Ruka on her feet. He observed her warm cheeks and luminous gaze. "Delicious girl, you're in our layer, everything can burn you. Don't get too curious and snoop around. I'd have to share my blood in order to heal you. I'm all for blood bonds, but I doubt Akatsuki will like it." Ayame caressed her bright cheeks.
Kain reared his head up, brushed his clothes, and picked himself up irritably. "Stop touching her."
"It was only dirt," Ayame innocently revealed the ash he'd wiped off her skin.
"Ruka and I will stay for a few days, no more." Kain laid out. "The sooner we leave, the better."
Ayame delicately crossed his wrists across his waist, eyeing his younger brother. "You're coming from the west, it seems. You made it on time. Father took the rest of our men to battle. The night is ominous, a tragic haunt upon us. The Tomas attacked the village near the Southeastern border. The crowned prince and the Devil King were staying there. You won't get your wish, unfortunately. You had better adjust your plans and extend your stay." Ayame began to stride toward the hallway lit in scones. He waved them over the shoulder to follow.
Kain braced himself and glanced at Ruka. She was slightly pale. He cautiously touched her arm, "Are you okay?"
"We've never dealt with war before. I wonder if Kurashiki will survive it? My father has no one." Ruka dubiously shook her head, "I should've stayed home."
"We didn't know it'd come to this," Kain replied, "We're seeing the Toma rampage every village first-hand. No one will come here. Once it's over, we'll go to Kyoto."
Ruka clenched her teeth, "Who cares about Kyoto right now. We should go home."
"Your dream was to travel," Kain sighed, "As long as I'm around, I'll help you fulfill it."
"Brava, brava," Leaning on the wall, Ayame applauded, "Splendid show of emotion. Masculine dedication and devotion, nothing rivals your love, Kain. Good work on the tears, delicious girl."
"We're having a private conversation, do you mind?" Ruka rasped.
The smirking lord shook with mirth. "I couldn't help but overhear. I can't resist a good show. You both need alone time. How about I arrange a cave, included with silk sheets, fluffed pillows, and warm milk?"
Kain grimly approached the tall vampire, "Don't push it. Ruka has been going through enough. Can't you see she isn't up for your jokes?"
Ayame folded his arms, "What d'you know, you're still perceptive. I'll set up a private cave for her." His crimson eyes narrowed coldly, devoid of amusement and jests, "Now go and pay your respects to mother this instant. I'll take extra care of the eye candy."
"My name is Ruka," Behind Kain, she glowered, stamping a thumb at her chest resolutely. " 'Ru - ka' Got it?"
" 'Ay - can - di'? " Ayame sounded out.
Kain incoherently muttered under his breath. She grabbed his shoulder in an attempt to resist arguing with the lord. "I should join you or I might hit him."
Ayame dipped his head, chuckling against the wall. Kain reluctantly extracted her hand, "You can't, only clan members can."
"So we've decided to refer to ourselves as 'clan member' again?" Ayame murmured.
"It's been years we saw each other," Kain explained, "I might not get killed in the initial five minutes." He frowned.
"You can't die and make me live off of fumes and coal until the war ends," Ruka exclaimed.
"Not fumes, my blood should be sufficient," Ayame implied, "I'm ready when you are, delicious girl."
"Go easy on her, Ayame," Kain warned, trailing the corridor.
"I will." He gracefully nodded until, "Pick a place, the neck, wrists? How about the extra special on-the-bare-chest package?"
Ruka mentally whimpered at Kain vanishing within contact of the iron door. She glared at the laughing man, "Does your clan have blood in the veins or fire?"
"It is blood that turns into fire," Ayame humorlessly supplied, "And it goes the same for our cousins, the Aidous. They must be in a battle with the Toma about now." He ruminated longingly.
"Why didn't you go?" Ruka asked.
"Then who would've carried you past the volcano?" Ayame smirked. "Come this way, I have just the cave for you in mind. The roads must not have been enchanting as you imagined. You can rest until it is time for you to embark. Akatsuki is keeping his temper in check. I thought by now he'd throw a tantrum and runoff. He'd never show up unless it was the last resort. You must mean a lot to him if he was desperate enough to crawl back here." Ayame led Ruka along the hot corridor.
On the opposite wall of the iron door Kain disappeared into, Ayame slipped his arm over her head to protect her from the dripping fire. She ducked her head and strode into the wall. It promptly disappeared and she entered another corridor. The heat fanned her cheeks, burning her eyes. She felt light-headed but braced herself. Ayame took her through a flight of stairs where the temperature began to debilitate. She was relieved and waited for him to unlock another iron door. The stairs took them down instead through a narrow opening. The cave was relatively cool, darker, but enormous.
Ayame waved his palm and the candlewicks flicked to flames. There were no windows but a decorous red-silk bed and a night table. He floated into the room, opening a stoned door. "You can access the bathroom from here. No one likes to come this far down the caves. Lucky for you, the majority of the clan members are gone. You have it all to yourself. I will find some clothes for you to change into." He wandered back to the stairs.
Ruka turned hesitantly toward the lord. "Why does Kain avoid home?"
Ayame smiled conclusively, "You care about him."
"I am curious, now that I think about it, he never mentioned home or having a brother."
"Akatsuki deserted us. We were in the eye of the storm when he left us to deal on our own," Ayame whispered. "Our great lord and clan leader wanted to pass his fire breath and ashes to Akatsuki. He'd inherit ancient powers and transform into the Four Winged Phoenix, but he'd be forever bound to the mountains and fire. Come his time to return to ashes, he'd have to pass his fire breath as well. We're noble-class vampires and consume blood, but if we don't have the Phoenix's fire breath amongst us, the Kain clan will perish and the pentagon will turn chaotic. The elements will become imbalanced. I doubt his royal highness, Shigeu Kuran, wants to fashion a set of purebloods to produce fire. Our clan sees Akatsuki's desertion as unforgivable. He left without a word and wasn't seen until today. I guess I should thank you to justify his return home."
Ruka sank in the bed heavily. "I had no idea he'd gone through something so tough. Usually, he goofs around and does not take a thing seriously."
"Our clan is no longer in danger. What's important is you freshen up and rest," Ayame announced, "I'll come to check on you in a short while."
o o o
Darkness greeted Kain. Echoing, never-ending, piercing, it wasn't the type of darkness normal in the night. It was distinctly cavernous, tumbling farther and farther inside of the hot earth. The single noise was the sound of his heart pumping. His crimson eyes roamed the eternal void, a gloom as dreary as the inside of a coffin. He supposed it was suitable. He came to a silent stop at the large casket spread before him. His night-vision granted him the distinguishable knowledge and feel of the crystal dagger, chiseled by fire and refined diamonds. Kain unhooked the latches and opened the lid. The sight was not welcoming. He didn't expect it to be at all, but even in the swallowing dark, he detected the pool of hair, red like his.
Her face was refined and pale like the crystal knife in hand. She had full lips and her eyes were curtained shut, smooth, and wrinkle-free. Her long arms were draped evenly across her chest. Kain slit his wrist and squeezed the blood onto her lips.
Five minutes of depositing blood, he placed the knife back on the pedestal at her coffin. Kain sat down on the floor, counting the reviving echo of her booming heart. Not long, he heard the rustle of clothes, fabric and hair tossing, and a brief quiver of the breath. Kain glimpsed at the frozen-faced woman glaring down at him. Her hair galloped down her shoulders and thighs. She whisked out of the coffin with ease and fruition uncommon of people that had risen from slumber. Judging by her remorseless crimsons eyes and thin beautiful face, she hadn't been in slumber to turn necrotic.
"Mother," Kain bowed on the ground upon her approach.
She hovered over him, her eyes darkening with appalled grim.
"I have returned," Kain whispered.
The elegant line of her shoulders straightened and her back became erect. The efficacious mother of the fire clan chimed to a looming hold above her son. "You are alive." Her soft, chirp-like voice rose and left full lips, "Akatsuki."
He kept his head down, burying his words in the bow. "Yes, I've been living in Kurashiki after leaving Nagoya."
"Let me see your face." She said.
Gingerly, Kain lifted his eyes to meet hers. Her brows scrunched in instant disfavor. Claws seared hot air and hooked his left cheek, scratching the skin. Blood trickled down his cheek, into his neck. Kain did not blink or avert from her enraged red orbs. His flesh stung in the molten air and from the poison in her claws. "I wasn't trying to live in hiding. I found a chance at normalcy."
She huffed inconsolably under her venom breath, "What is normalcy? Mediocracy and suppression. You were born of fire, made to erupt and create new lands like the volcano. Ayame had to take on what you abandoned. Our great lord and leader chose you, but you spat his humbleness and consideration in his face and disappeared. You were a star of fire and earth. Now you're just an empty sack of flesh, no different from a common vampire. Can you use blood fire anymore?"
Kain sagged into a listless kneel, "No, I lost my abilities a long time ago."
She glared silently and turned, her long hair scrolled her heels with each step. "You disappoint me, Akatsuki."
He nodded sincerely, "Forgive me, mother."
"Why did you return?" She curtly demanded.
"The Toma troops threaten cities around us. I was traveling and came in search of refuge."
"I merely went to slumber eight months ago, looks like I'll need to wait for the dust to settle first. Shizuku Toma will cry as a Kuran will dissolve his life-force forever." She declared as if reading the future. "That nonsensical bastard shames us."
"Ayame says, father dispatched our army at the Southeastern border. There aren't many guards protecting our fief. He's using illusions and puppetry to scare runaways and intruders."
"That is fine." She relented softly, "Ayame cannot leave the caves. He hones the Four Winged Phoenix. He will turn to ashes and depart us forever. His fate is not like ours, we can slumber and revive however long we want. Your blood fire has turned dormant, Akatsuki," Her crimson eyes gauged him intently, "If you change your mind and want to ignite the fire, bathe in the volcano and drink from Ayame, you'll be linked back to our lineage."
"Mother…" Kain quivered.
"We are bound by fire unlike other vampires," She murmured. "The less you use your abilities, the farther you fade from us. I don't want to see my children become helpless." She growled.
He dumbly nodded.
"Don't just sit there," She spat irately, "I must see you dive in the volcano or I won't believe it happened," She sped past him into the dark corridors. Her steps profoundly steady and surefooted regardless of the tangling hair dispersing around her toes.
Kain launched to his mountain height and followed her out.
"Makes no sense to have a full-fledged vampire unable to employ blood fire," She scathingly muttered. Thrusting through the iron walls toward the larger halls, she called out to her first-born, Ayame.
o o o
Agitatedly Rido rubbed his chin on the shoulder and scanned the field. The imperial army stood gaping into the galloping mist, frigidly wistful as shivers caressed down their backs. The nullifying wind tugged the tassels on his sword, the hairs on his horse. He listened for thunder, for earthquake and sought the sensation of frostbites eating his bones, but he did not find any. Rido turned toward his collected and well-oriented neighbor shimmering in silver on a white stallion, at that.
"After we're done here, want to get some courtesans and make a night for ourselves?" He grinned.
Zero sluggishly stared at the pureblood toward his left who flashed a set of fangs. He stared back at the clouds the Toya clan fanned. "Help yourself." He replied without a thought.
"Don't die a virgin, Kiryuu," Rido advised.
"How I die is up to me."
"If this were your last night alive, wouldn't you regret not having tasted a sweet hibiscus or a camellia?" Rido inquired.
Zero rubbed the shell of his ear absently.
"You haven't lived long enough to understand how lonely wars get. We're not made to go without tasty-looking flowers for centuries. We need it like sustenance."
"Are we making a bouquet?"
Rido closed his heterochromatic eyes and dwelled in the frisk cold air. "You are no fun without your little friend. Is she why you don't touch other women?"
"I have far greater things that take priority," Zero interjected casually, glaring into the cluster of white ahead, "Were it up to Yuki, she'd pay the courtesans for me."
"You have an outstanding relationship. The woman I love rejected me a thousand times, but I never took it to heart. Except, she despises my time with courtesans. How do you get off easily?"
"I don't treat women like chew-toys and ignore them later."
"It's not out of coercion, typically, they fall at my feet, squealing like delirious pets."
"No wonder you fail at winning the woman you love," Zero uttered grumpily, "You haven't realistically won a person's interest, forget their heart."
"What credits you to speak? Have you won your little friend's heart?" Rido retorted.
"Yes," Zero simply looked at him in the eye, "I take up a big space in Yuki's heart. It's so big, she'll turn me into a vampire to keep me alive. Has anyone ever loved you that much?"
Rido closed his eyes submissively, his mouth flexing in a grisly frown. "You win this round."
Thunder crackled, lightning flashed and rain gushed on the imperial army. Zero and Rido nudged the horses at the signal. Surveilling from the clouds above, the Toya clan sent another ripple of lightning and thunder.
o o o
What is the pureblood doing to me?
Yuki gaped at the contour limed in an ocean of gray lightning and rain. She couldn't remember having a mere inkling to turn him away or charge for indecency. Even from memory, Kaname's ardent eyes and touch sawed her interminable willpower apart in place of anticipating shivers. If she wasn't hungry, she needed the sensation of his substantially warm arms. The pulse on her neck throbbed, the epicenter of his tongue's indulgence. The hot breath and the naked sting of pureblood fangs, a coaxing reminder of eternal prowess and danger, and the vortex to what it'd be like to be bitten by him. Her body trembled with desire. Yuki crouched low on the mud, beneath the irruptive blur of cold rain and wheezing thunder, but she couldn't detect a thing.
She clutched her chest, fighting the harrowing pulse crippling down her sternum. Shadows poked her vision, she rubbed the rain from her eyes and stopped at the sight of his dark form. His back was turned, facing the oncoming attackers.
Thump, thump.
Kaname searched the grass and picked a pebble. He had only to reach down, long arm dangling for the mud, such an unexceptional behavior, and act, but she found it all the more fascinating. Her eyes widened as hunger gargled the back of her throat. If he could just pick her up, if he could just throw her down...if he could just touch her one more time…
I'll know for sure.
Yuki did not want to wait, however. Kaname straightened, his black jacket floated in the seamless thunder. She gulped her parched throat, austerely dry and scratchy. With half a mind, she wondered if she asked for blood before battle, would he refuse her? Or would he pull her to him, dance his tongue down her throat and smother her in his arms? Would he tug her hair again? His lips had been so close, she had felt his breath. Yuki gnawed her lips as the estranged truth became certain.
Thump, thump.
"Yuki-chan!" Within seconds, footsteps weaved into the corner of her eye range. She was yanked from the ground by a pair of cold hands. Aidou's face shot into view, panting from the run. He heaved a deep, satisfying breath, "Why are you on the ground?" He demanded. "Yuki-chan!"
She blinked awake from her reverie of the pureblood at Aidou's frantic and vigorous shake.
Oh, Hanabusa, I needed your distraction.
"Are you in pain?" His eyes widened from shock. "You're lips are bleeding."
Yuki promptly slapped a hand on her mouth and cleaned the layer of drooling blood with a lick. "Sorry, I-I was hungry."
"Do you want my blood?" Aidou asked.
Lightning flickered like dying stars, drizzling in the net of clouds. Kaname glared over his shoulder. Yuki stiffened at the eyes smoking with a disastrous haze from afar. Thunder chiseled the trees on her right. Kaname's eyes narrowed in acrimony as Aidou protectively guided them to an appropriate distance.
With his arm around her shoulders, he said, "Come with my troops around the side. It's not safe back here."
I don't think that lightning was the Toya clan's doing.
Yuki frowned just as Kaname reverted moodily. He clenched the pebble he kept under penetrative custody and released it toward an immense mountain in the East. A fissure of terrifying silence passed before the mountain detonated. The earthquake vibrated under their feet. Dust, hissing fire, and fraying smoke spurted like a tornado, beating the waves of rain and thunder directly toward the village.
Aidou grabbed Yuki by the arm, forcing her numbed feet to run. "I told you, he's a scary pureblood!" He shouted over the blistering roar of the earthquake. Yuki flung an arm over her head to ward off the shower of dust but the grizzling force flattened them in the mud.
The vibrations tossed the trees and sent the horses of the troops in a scurry. The human warlords mumbled in concerned awe, pointing hysterically toward the once sturdy mountain, now crumbled to dirt, that had been part of geographical history before they were born. The vibrations loomed to a solid stillness, but neither took the chance to move and listened to the temper of the rain and blasting thunder. A few tumultuous minutes passed, finally Yuki picked her head to scout the impact. The Toma army stood beyond Kaname, bleating war cries.
Aidou collected himself, snatching her arm sturdily, "Come on."
Yuki snuck out of the grip, whipping in the direction of the Toma army racing toward the lone pureblood. "No, Hanabusa,"
"You'll get—"
Her eyes flashed back at him in a stern warning, "I won't leave him by himself." Yuki dashed over the rubble of trees, squeezing her hunter's sword and slung it upon reaching Kaname's right.
He didn't look at her, but an omniscient smirk wrinkled the corner of his mouth. Kaname whispered, "Your fiancé is terrified about your getting hurt. Why don't you heed his warning?"
"And abandon you?" Yuki rebuked, "I'm supposed to protect you."
Kaname's eyes narrowed at the approaching vampire army. "You just saw me reduce the mountain to dust and you still think I keep you for my protection?" The pureblood smiled at her like she was a butterfly in a meadow. "I won't hide my real powers. Time to wisen up and say goodbye to the bookworm pureblood you fell for at first sight."
"Who fell for you at first sight?" Yuki shrilled uncontrollably at the accusation.
Kaname sighed triumphantly at her reaction, "I had only meant to pull your leg, but your whole heart shines on your face."
Blushing, Yuki clenched her fangs, "Don't stand and talk leisurely. The Tomas are charging at us." She raised her sword at the line of vampires a meter away.
Kaname did something inexplicable. He moved one hand, and the land the vampires straddled, split. They collapsed begrudgingly in the swallowing depression. "I don't like killing because it'll be extremely easy to form into a habit." The Tomas leaped over the rivel and darted toward the pureblood.
"I don't like the thought of you reeking of blood," Yuki conceded solemnly, "I wished you'd never have to kill a person, but the Tomas need to be stopped."
Kaname showed no emotion and lanced the assailing vampire with a resolute strike in the neck with a claw. Dust feathered in the rain, slapping flat on the ground. Three vampires hopped and swung their swords at Kaname. He moved in an unstoppable and unrepeatable slither, contacting the Tomas at the jugular, the heart, and the most definite and conclusive, decapitation.
If we don't kill them, they will kill a hundred innocent people.
Kaname bunched the hair of a decapitated head and swung around, the head instantly dissolved. Yuki struck a looming vampire dead-center in the heart with the hunter's sword. Her speed and reflexes were coherent as ever, swiping the chain of doggish attackers. Five ringed Kaname, without a weapon, he twisted their necks and tore their hearts from their corpses, letting their dust fester on the ground. He sensed three flanking from behind. She kicked the vampire on the left, punched the vampire on the right. The one in the middle was notched in the fringes of Kaname's talons, that had formed out of blood. Yuki slashed a vampire in the stomach. He gurgled a curse and struck her across the face.
Red eyes bore threateningly on the Toma. Kaname grabbed the vampire by the sleeve and twisted his wrist.
"Argh!" He groaned painfully, reeling his sword at Kaname's neck.
The pureblood sliced his hand through the ribs and yanked his heart out in front of his eyes. The stunned vampire blinked once and dissolved at the sight of his organ. Kaname dropped the heart and licked his fingers.
Thunder throttled, rumbling loomed from the sky. A carousel of cumulus clouds filtered over the field. Rain thickened as black forms stood in formation between the cusp of blaring thunder and freezing rain. Kaname looked up at Taka Toya and his army. He channeled a torch and struck lightning on the fifth cloud. White forms skittered like larvae out of home. Kaname toothily grinned at the hidden Toma faction. The Toyas cried out and bolted in beams of electric light, thundering upon the vampire troops.
A burly soldier flung a boulder on Kaname's head. The rock shattered, crumbling like grain off his shoulders and hair.
Yuki removed her sword out of a vampire, bewildered by the rivulet of blood dripping down Kaname's temples. She gritted her fangs at the larger assailant, screeching, "How dare you do that to Ouji? What the heck!" She winged her right arm and thrust the blade in the vampire's shoulder.
Kaname placed a gentle but poisonous hand on the back of the vampire's neck. His eyes fused into an abnormal shade of green and his teeth defanged. His nails sloughed off and the flesh of his body began to shed.
He gasped in horror, stumbling back, "Wha-what's happening to me?" The soldier screamed.
"You're rotting," Kaname answered.
His bones deformed and splintered. He slouched on the ground, yelping in pain.
Kaname found an expression of disconcerting astonishment on Yuki. She hadn't ever come close to the scene as a hunter. The vampire burst into dust within a matter of seconds. Could purebloods do that sort of thing? Yuki turned her head to meet candid crimson eyes, blazing in the dark rain.
"Don't think too hard," Kaname caressed the cut on her cheekbone, "I'm not holding back anymore."
A stampede of vampires on horseback charged from the West, toppling the Toma army on land. Rido hollered the imperial army, urging them in decorative banter. "Kill these good-for-nothing lards. I'm sick of hearing about Toma, Toma, Toma—" Galloping on a stallion, Rido slashed his sword, cutting heads down the line. "The quicker we make them scarce, the faster I can sip blood wine from the belly button of a courtesan. Who's joining me?"
The army raised their weapons, chorusing in agreement.
The Tomas defended with a shield, coating themselves with a barrier. The seal knocked the charging imperial army two feet back. Vampires and horses toppled. Rido sat up in the mud as a white stallion raced by. Zero reached into his armor, fixing a gloved digit on the trigger of Bloody Rose. The hunter shield could only be broken by hunter magic or weapons. He fired the invisible shield. It frizzled into thin air. The imperial army cheered and rode behind Zero in a triangular formation. Swords glinted and arrows soared over their heads. The frontier collided with the Toma army, rummaging on mud and horses. Zero pillaged the bank of Toma soldiers, his sword whisking below the chest plate of the armor, a narrow uncovering under the arm where the heart was easily penetrated. Vampires fused to dust as he rode into the rummage.
A petite figure drenched in mud knocked a vampire down, hooking her weapon around his throat and slicing him to ashes.
Yuki deflected the towering vampire smiting her down with an ax. Bullets pierced the vampire's forehead. His eyes rolled back and he whizzed into dust. Four surrounded her but each dropped momentarily. She searched the rain, focusing on the advancing white horse. Bracing herself, Yuki clenched her sword and waited for the collision.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Zero growled from horseback.
Yuki stared in wonder at the silver-haired riding up in the darkness, "Looks like we're crossing paths again. How are you doing?"
A screaming vampire launched toward Yuki. Kaname wrung the Toma by the throat, crunching his windpipe.
Zero looked back at her pointedly, "I see." He said immutably.
"Don't give me that," Yuki spat, "We work for the same person."
"Good for you, Yuki," Zero crisply droned, although, it sounded like a lid rattling over a boiling pot on a stove. "You have the pureblood wrapped around your finger." He regarded the imperial army slashing the Tomas vigorously. They made quite the performance and remarkable timing. Rido's night out stood a chance at coming true.
"You're here to protect him too." She reminded.
"I can protect him fine with Bloody Rose but he worries about you day and night. You'll just get in my way," Zero chided, "Only one of us needed. Get off the battlefield."
Yuki pointed a nail at him. "I'm kicking you off the horse."
"Incoming!" Rido bellowed.
The Toyas were forcing the Tomas from the cloud. The faction seared through the dense rain, dropping with a significant impact on the imperial army. Two thousand rained on the imperial army, their swords and arrows punched through the defending men on horseback. Another five thousand soared and landed on the Aidous and Kisaragis. The human warlords were gridlocked by nine hundred bridging toward the village gates. The force of the faction stomping the imperial army radiated in waves, limbs and horses were ripped, vampires tearing each other, and swords smashing rigorously. The Toyas sent another piercing thunder on the Tomas. The impact sent the agile imperial army seeking cover. Zero was tossed in the mud by the destructive power. Yuki flew, but a pair of arms snatched her on time and rolled her under. Fire crackled and hissed between ashes and dead horses.
Yuki stared at the tight arms, finding relief in that she knew whose arms protected her. The imperial army sprawled dead around them. The Tomas raced toward the second and third columns, Lord Kisaragi and the Aidou factions bolted ceaselessly in the offense. Kaname had yet to release her, but he managed to stand up as the Tomas breached their vicinity, swords up. In cold drilling rain, Kaname swiped at their necks. Yuki whisked her sword through a vampire's abdomen. The Toyas landed from the clouds, thunder circulated around the clan.
Upon landing, Taka and his army charged at the Tomas engulfing Kaname and Yuki. Gunshots crisscrossed swords. In silence, the vampires faded to dust in the mist. Zero grunted from the ground, aiming at the assailing Tomas targeting Kaname solely. Yuki slashed another pair next to her meticulously.
"Kaname-sama!" One of the Toya troops darted toward the bloody pureblood. It had a distinctively slender and lighter frame in the armor but the pale face became crystal when its arms clung around his neck. "I'm glad you're okay!"
Kaname wiped the blood from his forehead before peering at the woman in the rain. "Rima." He gaped into her fretful eyes in perplex.
Yuki gruffly kicked the raging Toma, her sword pitched into his heart. She looked up as a Toya cut off another Toma's head. Claws grasped her throat from the back. Shots whistled in their direction, the vampire frazzled behind Yuki. She turned to find Zero weary and out of breath as he lowered Bloody Rose. Yuki nodded in appreciation. Her gaze shifted on the figures standing closely amidst the whirling Toyas and Tomas.
"You shouldn't be here, Rima." Kaname dissuaded, his eyes gelid by the second.
"I'm well aware, I won't look for you to protect me," Rima touched her sword, but kept her head high, "I heard you were here, and I couldn't do nothing. The Toya clan is still bringing another seven Toma factions to the ground. We don't have enough people to fight them. It's a losing battle."
Yuki's eyes widened in realization.
The orange-haired woman Ouji is infatuated with is part of the Toya clan?
Zero snagged her tensed arm, his grip, however reassuring, trembled. "You can point your jealousy on the Toma if it makes you feel better."
"Fold, fold!" Cries shrieked from the human army.
The Tomas had infiltrated the village gates. Nobunaga's troops could not withstand the vampires. She could see the Kisaragis and Aidous occupied by the newcomers. She did not have time for jealousy and nonsense, humans were dying. There wasn't manpower to cover now that the human army had submerged by the Tomas oozing out of the clouds. She whirled into a sprint.
With no one to trust but him, Yuki shouted, "Protect Ouji, Zero!" Yuki jogged toward the mayhem circling the village.
Bolts of thunder blasted the battlefield, bodies of man and animal squished under Yuki's boot. Fire arrows throttled over her head, she ducked at the column crossing the field from the left. The phoenix emblem glowed between the trees, a stream of blue and red fire trailed the slinging thunder. The fire clan's aim was near perfect. Each fire arrow struck a Toma in the heart. White spiders streamed in bundles amongst the fire, rain, and ice. The fifth and final column assumed the gates, over the fallen humans. Shirabuki army rippled into formation with shields and hissing spiders, barricading the village from further invasion. Yuki slid on the mud, slicing the looming opposition out of her way, her thrust, and kicks automatic. An ice wall boxed a dozen Toma inside. Icebergs submerged another dozen like bugs. Yuki frantically darted toward the Shirakbukis.
Kaname clenched his jaw and glared at the firing shinsengumi. "Kiryuu, stop Yuki. We can't have the fool throw her life away."
Zero clocked Bloody Rose. "I was going to get her anyway."
Kaname looked at Rima stonily, "Lord Toma is up there. Can you lead me to him?"
"Taka-sama said, Lord Toma is using an invisible barrier only he can penetrate," Rima replied, "He won't be with his army but he'll be watching."
"The Toma are trampling our troops. I need to reach him myself." Kaname muttered in cold fury.
Rima nodded, "Fly with me." She wavered into a vaporous cloud. Kaname's form dissolved into bats, gliding through the white rain of Toma soldiers.
The Shirabuki white spiders launched on eighty Tomas, but their pureblood abilities allowed them to thwart the spiders' poison and break the shield. The gates sundered, and Nobunaga's vassals had been dismembered obdurately by cackling Tomas. Screaming humans ran for safety. Yuki dropped on her elbow, her trembling blade locked in a spar with a towering vampire. She kicked him on the shin, but he sliced her in the ribs, instantly kicking her sword. Pulling his own sword back, the Toma grinned malevolently and aimed at her heart. Yuki was a few seconds ahead. She groped for the gold dagger soaked in blood on her belt. Ensnaring it raptly, Yuki pitched it into his heart, missing his sword by an inch. The gasping vampire dissolved like a waft of white powder as the dagger throbbed between her bloody fingers. Yuki gripped the open wound on her side, rolling over to stand. The dragon blade flashed violently, burning her veins.
Blazing, hot white light burst out of her hand, throwing Yuki back in the mud. She screamed against the blistering light, exploding straight into the clouds, incinerating the flying vampires. Their screams stormed through the sky. The Shirabukis ducked and the Aidous' ice wall shattered. The fire clan's arrows were sucked into the obliterating white ray.
o o o
Shigeu felt a drop of his ancestral blood clog in a festering boil inside his chest. The strength of the reaction had him clutching his chest suddenly and doubling over, gasping in sharp pain. He tasted blood on his fangs and glared at the bubble of white ballooning the village.
Kaname must have activated the dragon blade.
Straightening back up, the Kuran king turned to his general as a silver-white-gold dragon hovered over the village.
o o o
Lord Toma snickered at the depressing scene from the clouds. Another twenty-thousand pureblood Toma soldiers loomed at his heel, smirking condescendingly at the dying vampires belonging to Kain, Shirabuki, Kisaragi, and Aidou.
"Our pureblood army overpowered them without effort," Lord Toma grabbed the Light of Heaven from the sheath, "Find me the heir to the pureblood throne. I can kill the coward tonight and take the throne by sunrise."
One of his soldiers nodded from his left, "We didn't expect the Toyas to push our brothers out. They're onto our residence, we're their next target."
Lord Toma swiveled the Light of Heaven to detach the invisible barrier shielding them from eyes. "We're winning. I'm not worried, I can defeat the Kuran any moment. Let them find us."
A torpedo of white ripped into the formidable seam consisting of the Toma troops. Light flashed ten times, followed by the screams and stench of ashes belonging to vampires. Lord Toma searched the abundant layers of cold mist. Not only the Tomas, but the Toyas fell to the earth, their forms fraying into smoke and dust in the rain and wind. He blinked curiously at the roaring light annihilating all life forms. The Light of Heaven pulsed in his grip. Lord Toma raised the luminous sword. The light soaring from the village swept into silver-white-gold, a fire erupted and white canines fused through the clouds. A silver-gold dragon extended its wings, diving over the Toma soldiers, burning them as it passed by.
Lord Toma braced himself with the Light of Heaven, pointing it toward the mammoth creature. In front of the silver-violet eyes of the howling dragon, the Light of Heaven splintered to thousands of dust particles. He gaped incredulously, his soldiers fumbled out of formation fearfully.
"My l-lo-lord?" A soldier trembled against his elbow, "What happened to the Light of Heaven?"
Lord Toma glared at the dust cropping his boot and hopelessly up at the silver dragon rocketing toward him. "Protect me." He commanded his men.
Reluctantly the men gaped at him. The ferocious dragon dove deep into their cloud. It blasted white lightning, scorching the Toma faction. Lord Toma leaped off the cloud, dropping into the stratosphere of Toya clan members.
"Kaname-sama!" Near the tenth cloud, Rima shouted over her shoulder, pointing, "There he is."
Kaname's eyes narrowed at the sneaking shape. His bats reoriented and dove toward Lord Toma.
He landed dizzily on a battlefield that was still and frozen as a forgotten metropolis, buried by time. Lord Toma stared in disbelief at his dead army. A white shield engulfed the village, brighter than the Light of Heaven. His eyes stung and blood tears oozed from the corners the longer he gaped. At the front of the village was a petite figure, brown hair. He recognized the screaming girl as the white light ripped out of her hand, crafting a protective drape around the humans. The dragon screeched in the clouds, flapping its wings through thunder and lightning. The remaining imperial army and vampire clans gaped at the monstrous creature burning thousands of vampires in the clouds.
Lord Toma watched in transfixed silence at Yuki wielding what was the mythical dragon blade. Shigeu Kuran had never given him the actual Light of Heaven or it wouldn't have shattered. The wind rustled behind him, hundreds of bats engulfed the lord. He was kicked and thrown on the ground, pressed under Kaname's boot. Red eyes narrowed disdainfully down at him from streams of black hair. Kaname gripped his throat, his claws ripping into his windpipe.
"So, Lord Toma," Kaname growled, "Have you learned your lesson yet?"
He blinked as more blood tears slipped from his eyes. "He never intended to surrender the Light of Heaven to me." Lord Toma gasped at the poison injected in his vocal cords.
"Why would he?" Kaname hissed in sardonic revulsion, "The real Light of Heaven can never be wielded by you. You are not a direct descendant of Kuran. The light is made of the souls of my forefathers. One day my soul will also go to the Light of Heaven for the next generation of Kuran."
Lord Toma clenched Kaname's talons. "How can she su-summon—?"
Kaname's gaze shifted on Yuki cringing from the force of white light. "The Oracle Dragon protects the souls of Kuran and was summoned by Yuki's blood—Kuran blood."
Lord Toma's eyes widened in bewilderment.
"I left the dragon blade with her for her protection, waiting on the day you tried to touch her. The Oracle Dragon'd kill you if you harmed Yuki. Now you understand why I can't let you go after her." Kaname tore his vocal cords slowly. The lord grimaced in pain.
"Seiren." Kaname called. The dragon roared and descended on the battlefield at the summon obediently.
Another white light rippled on the field directly in front Yuki. Shigeu's widened crimson eyes teared from the shock of the bleeding girl. The dragon blade had consumed most of her blood and powers, squeezing her life force from her forearm. Her skin had turned black. The white light that destroyed vampires did not burn or sting Shigeu, Kuran king, who approached Yuki. He snared the wrist clasping the dragon blade. His red eyes glimmered a wrath extreme than a winter storm. Shigeu glared at the brunette girl, shriveling in a pile of idle skin and bones. The white dome of light hovering the village managed to repel the Tomas, but it was a contemptible defense against their army as well. Shigeu glimpsed the maroon dense blood dripping from Yuki's wounds.
He confiscated the dragon blade from Yuki. She stumbled flat on the ground, wheezing for dear life. Her red eyes rolled uncontrollably. He clamped the handle and raised the dragger toward the sky, eyes narrowed bitterly on Yuki. "Return, Seiren."
The dragon cried before diving into the tip of the blade, disappearing until its next command.
Yuki swayed as she sat up, visibly enervated, moribund. "Ou-sama." She panted.
"I asked you this before," Shigeu grunted pensively, "My answer has never been clear." He leaned down at her eye-level, seizing Yuki by the collar. "Like the Light of Heaven, the dragon blade cannot be used by a non-Kuran."
o o o
Lord Toma's blood spurted through Kaname's claws. Despite the current of blood soaking in the ground, the pureblood did not seem affected and continued laughing maniacally. He lifted his head, feeling Kaname's claws dig deeper in the column of his throat. The strange and unforgettable reality of pure blood was its magnificent healing attributes. No matter how much Kaname tore into his flesh, Lord Toma continued to heal.
"She's an aristocrat, eh?" Lord Toma chortled, "The King abhors half-purebloods. What do you think he's going to do to her? You worried I'd hurt her. Let's face the facts, the Kuran king will do much worse to an aristocrat vampire than I ever will."
Kaname's face turned remote. He whisked his claws out of the lord's throat and punctured the wall of his chest.
Lord Toma sliced into Kaname's ribcage, cupping his heart. "You're too late." He spat at the paling crowned prince.
Gunshots ripped into the night, beating into Lord Toma's back. Ten rounds went off successively before Zero clocked again and pointed at the pureblood's head. "The next one is for your head."
"Kaname-sama!" Rima landed on the rubble behind the pureblood. She was momentarily joined by Taka Toya and their surviving clan members.
Lord Toma smiled snidely at Kaname, feeling his heartbeat vigorously in his palm. "Your heart is anxious. Are you afraid of dying young?"
Kaname glared at the towering silver-haired vampire. His gaze was undefeated but regretful. "Kiryuu, didn't I tell you to go to Yuki? The king might do something, I don't want her to feel alone."
"Kaname-sama," Rima snapped exasperatedly, "Now isn't the time to think about other people! Lord Toma, let him go."
"Only if you let me walk." Lord Toma waited unblinkingly on the pureblood.
The Toya clan surrounded Lord Toma readily. "Unlikely," Taka added his sword to Lord Toma's healed throat. "Release Kaname-sama at once."
"There's only one thing that can happen. The crowned prince and I will both die after ripping each other's heart out or I walk a free man." Lord Toma droned.
Kaname lowered his head in acceptance. "I'm willing to die if the world is rid of you, Toma." He gritted, "But you're more mischievous than I am." He hissed knowingly.
Lord Toma's eyes brightened at the accusation. He spiked his claws inside of Kaname's heart, grinning acrimoniously and leaned toward the red-eyed pureblood to whisper. "Revert." Simultaneously the purebloods morphed out of their physical forms at the spell. Lord Toma flocked into a herd of black bats as Kaname lurched, forming into a black wolf.
Zero fired at the fluttering bats. "Coward." He mouthed unsympathetically, "You weren't dodging his attack. He realized you weren't joking and ran as soon as he could."
"My lord? You're a-" Taka knelt politely before the wolf, grasping a behemoth paw sorrowfully, "How long will the spell he cast last?"
The wolf's ears perked at the question. His brilliant red eyes zoned on the sky.
Taka understood, without wasting a second, he signaled Rima and his watchful clan members. "Don't let him get away." They changed forms as well to fly in the direction of the escaping bats.
Zero hadn't stopped sizing the large wolf. "Does this mean you can't talk if you're a wolf?" He demanded. "How can purebloods transform each other?"
The wolf turned its head toward the pureblood king snagging Yuki by the arm until she swayed to her feet. Shigeu leashed her by the collar and turned. In the night, their shadows diluted into nothingness. Zero's eyes widened at the empty spot where only the silhouette of the general appeared. The wolf distressfully ran ahead, winding out of his four-legged form into spy-bats.
Asato stunted Kaname with a repellant shock. "There's nothing you can do." He warned.
The electrocution trickled and suspended his transformation until he returned to a wolf. Cold wires of shock glistening his black hair. He bore his canines agitatedly at the general.
"He's a pureblood who ripped out the heart of the woman he loved more than the universe—what makes you think he can be stopped?" The general demanded. "He won't listen to your whines and complaints. You've been reverted to your original vampire essence, you can't fight until you return to your human form."
Zero marched behind the wolf, "This is Yuki we're talking about. He can track the Kuran king's flight. If Yuki is hurt in any way, it doesn't matter if it's the king, I will kill him."
"Think twice before you threaten the king. You transformed into a vampire from his blood. You're incapable of killing, let alone disobeying the blood that gave you a second life. Your link to the hunters was severed the moment you tasted his pure blood." Asato huffed at the shinsengumi. "He has to do this, she is an aristocrat."
Zero clocked the gun at the general's green eyes. "Go." He said to the wolf. "You worry about her as much as I do, but you can get to her faster than I can—even in that body."
"You mustn't, Kaname-sama!" Asato shouted.
o o o
On the mountain Shigeu watched the battle from, he appeared with Yuki dangling under his fist. The emotion in Shigeu's eyes twisted into revulsion the longer he gazed at her. She did not squirm or beg to be released. She held her head up, dignified, and unscathed by the lack of blood after activating the dragon blade. Her eyes closed in surrender. She continued basking in her final breaths, moments before the death blow.
"You're very weak," Shigeu calculated her defeated expression, "The dragon blade consumed a great amount of energy from your blood in order to release Seiren. Your ability to heal and transform out of your body has been diminished. It's like you're no more than a human who can't heal, can't fight, can't free from the control of a pureblood." He dropped her on the cliff.
She staggered at the edge. The wind howled against her back, fluttering her great hair around her face and shoulders.
"You know what offends me most," Shigeu muttered, "You asked for my help to save Zero Kiryuu, I did. My tiercel protected you from the Toma when they should've watched over Kaname. Hah, I see it was because of the Kuran blood coursing your veins. This secret you harbored from the moment we met is like a stain. The Tsunamasa clan betrayed me. If you don't confess the truth, I will torture it out of your father." He growled sinisterly. His red eyes wide and fangs hung over Yuki threateningly.
Yuki clenched her tearful eyes and shook her head, silent.
"You think this is an interrogation like how it's done at the Hunters Association." Shigeu grabbed her by the throat, pushing her back another two steps until she stood on her tip-toes on the ledge. "You seem to forget I'm not questioning you on the accounts of a hunter. You're an outlawed, unwanted, aristocratic Kuran vampire." He slurred angrily. "Who…bore…you, Yuki Hanako?"
She sobbed instead, shaking her head once more.
Bats pirouetted, looping around the pair and landed behind Shigeu. A wolf emerged, darting forward. His canines flashed aggressively at the king.
Shigeu frowned at the wolf. "If reverting to your original vampire essence is a trick to avoid giving me answers, Kaname, you can have your way. She is as stubborn as you are, but she can't transform. Her powers were used up by the dragon blade unless she receives sustenance. Did you want to give her a drink? You helped harbor her secret for years, feeding her and keeping her from dying in prison. You should know her mother very well."
The wolf prowled toward Shigeu, growling.
Shigeu took Yuki's wrist and licked the blood, tasting the innocent truth. He stared unamused into Yuki's peeping eyes. His lips flattened mournfully. "You promised me anything if I saved Zero Kiryuu, remember? Now, Yuki—" He nudged a light palm on her chest, tipping her into the voluminous free space below the cliff. "Die."
Yuki gasped as she toppled back.
The wolf skittered at ferocious speed past Shigeu's leg, jumping off the cliff after her.
The pureblood king clenched his fist. Another shadow glided on his right when the wolf spilled into the clouds. The general looked shaken up. He surveilled the endless haze of clouds and terrain. "Ou-sama, Ouji-sama was spelled by Lord Toma. He can't transform back for some time."
"He is a pureblood." Shigeu replied in famous serenity, peering into the rolling clouds, "He will live. Whereas she will die for all I care." He glared at the startled fear weeping into the general's countenance. "Find Juuri."
"She hasn't been at the palace for a number of days," Asato informed, "Before I go, I needed to tell you the Toma factions were cut down in tantamount by activating the dragon blade. It created a barrier around the village and protected the locals. Lord Toma escaped by binding himself and Ouji-sama into their original essences. The Toya clan is at his tail."
o o o
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