a/n: haha. I forgot to post this here. Its been weeks. Im so sorry
have some art I made (delete the spaces):
twitter. Anahhzp/status/1250167871839391745?s=20
twitter. Anahhzp/status/1255285251250716673?s=20
Mika unceremoniously tossed his sword aside once he got to his—their—room. Even after hours of relentless sparring with barely willing opponents, he was still on edge—a constant state at this point.
It's been four days since Ferid had been taken to the lower levels—another four days in which Yuu was at the humans' mercy—but, of all times the bastard could have kept his mouth shut, this was the worst possible moment. Krul had little patience left with Mika's multiple escape attempts, and seeing as they finally got a small lead of what happened to Yuu, he decided to give them time before doing anything rash again. But, after days of nothing, he was getting more and more restless.
He stomped over to the bed, flopping face first on the mattress with a frustrated groan. He asphyxiated himself with the artificial smell of fabric softener and a scent that slowly grew dimmer. Thoughtfulness, he gripped the sheets that he barely touched these days and greedly inhaled the familiar scent, which burned his lungs with longing. His fists tightened and he squeezed his eyes shut—they stung, but no tears rolled down his cheeks.
Any composure that he still maintained in front of the others peeled away completely at that moment. He shamelessly sobbed, deaf and blind to the word around him as he suffocated with the growing emptiness in his chest that clawed its way through his guts. His guilt-filled thoughts were loud, too loud, and his heart ached in his chest—it hurt so much.
Because it was his fault.
Yuu didn't want to go, and if Mika hadn't told him to do it none of this would have happened. Yuu-chan would still be next to him, safe, al—
He had no idea how Yuu was now. And it was terrifying—another sob escaped his lips and his whole frame trembled. He allowed himself to wallow in the pain for just a moment longer—he deserved it and more, but…
He sat up, his body stiff and raging thoughts suddenly dwindling away. With a now blank mind, he stared down at the wrinkled sheets. He had no idea of what to do.
He took a last, shuddering breath—only a whiff of Yuu's scent present in the air—and stood up. He mechanically fixed the sheets before turning around and heading to the door without a precise destiny in mind. A glimpse of something from the corner of his eyes made him stop.
He hadn't noticed when he stormed inside the room, but above the small table lay an envelope. Mika hesitantly reached it, flipping front and back to find both bare of any text. He could also faintly feel static at his fingertips—as if the sheer existence of the envelope wasn't suspicious enough, the possibility of it being spell-bound only aggravated the situation—but a careless, desperate hope for a clue compelled him to open it.
Inside it, rested several loose pages. He pulled the bundle, eyes widening as he skimmed through the first one: it contained detailed directions and schedules; a perfect escape instruction. He moved to the next page, becoming confused by the drastic change of subject—until a few words stood out. He halted, read through that one line again, and his slow heart rate picked up, if only slightly. It was about the Seraph of the End.
He flipped through the pages—not that many and all text filled—and then went back to the first one, this time reading more carefully. By the time he reached the last page, the paper was crumpled at the edges from how strongly he gripped the sheets. Several burning questions popped in his head along with newfound dread, restoring the cacophony in his mind. Despite reading and rereading several lines, many details were lost amidst growing panic, making it so only some key information was retained.
Mika was about to read through it all again, but as soon as he finished he gasped, the paper catching fire right in front of his eyes. It burned with a green-ish glow for just a second before disappearing completely, leaving no traces that it ever even existed.
He stared at the empty space.
A clue, but as fleeting and confusing, it was the most he got in weeks—and it could be from only one person.
Mika was approaching the throne room when the door opened. Black cloak flowing, the vampire spared Mika just a glance before heading further inside the city; Mika didn't think he was just a city guard.
Without lingering any longer, he walked in. "Did you get any news from Ferid?"
"Did you come here just to ask this or is it because of the guard that just left?" Krul questioned back, not looking particularly affronted by the lack of formalities.
"You could say both," Mika answered as he stopped at the bottom of the few steps, already feeling impatient by having his question misdirected. "So?"
"Well, I'll have you know that they send me daily reports," she spoke slowly in a way that could've been leisurely, but her calculating eyes were trained on him. "And no, he still didn't say a word." Mika hadn't come here because he hoped for an update, but the twinge of disappointment that he still felt was almost an automatic response.
Krul remained quiet, waiting for his reply. He was hit with an unnerving feeling that she was hiding something between the lines, but despite the alarm bells going off in his head, he decided to bite the bullet. "Let me speak to him."
Just like that, her eyes narrowed and her casual tone became strained. "What brought this up?"
Granted, Mika had said days ago that he didn't want to talk to Ferid—but him changing his mind shouldn't prompt this reaction. There was no way Krul knew about the envelope, so what was this about?
Mika wasn't inclined to tell her about that information just yet—or ever—so he did his best to squash down his apprehension. "It's been a week," he snapped, pouring all his worry and impatiency into his voice. "I've let you deal with it in your way, but I can't stand sitting still anymore!"
Krul frowned. "Don't you have any remnant of critical thinking left? You'll accept whatever information as truth—he knows it very well and is just waiting to use you!"
Mika pressed his lips into a thin line. She might be right—she probably was, but still…"How can you be so—"
"Mikaela," she cut him off, standing up from her throne and walking closer. "He refuses to talk to anyone except you. And he seems particularly eager to see you today."
Oh. Oh.
Her reactions now made a lot more sense; even he had to agree that the timing looked awfully suspicious. Although, he was now sure that somehow Ferid was indeed the one to send the envelope, and despite the high chances of this being another one of his plots, Mika really couldn't ignore it.
"Well," he started, feeling the weight of her stare on him. "If that's the case, shouldn't we take advantage of it? We did want to get him to talk, right?"
He held her stare, trying to decipher the expression she was now making, until she finally spoke. "I thought you were the sensible one."
He stared, opened and closed his mouth, and decided to press his luck.
"...Is that a yes—"
She sighed, breaking eye contact at last and bringing her hand to her hips. "Fine."
Mika blinked, momentarily surprised that she actually relented. Before he could say anything, she just walked past him.
"If that will make you shut up…" She stopped a few meters ahead, turning around to face him with a single raised eyebrow. "Are you coming or not? Don't make me change my mind."
"Yes," he hurriedly said as he followed her at last.
He was brought to an interrogation room. It was built with spells so not even a vampire's sensitive ear could hear anything from within these walls—something that Krul wasn't particularly thrilled with, but Ferid had insisted that no one should listen.
Said vampire was already waiting inside, cheerfully waving at Mika with an impressive casualness, considering that his hands were shackled.
"Mika! What a delight to finally have you visit me. I was starting to think that dear Krul wasn't passing my request—"
"Cut off with the crap, you know why I'm here." Mika went straight to the point, sitting in front of him by the table.
"Ah, I take it you received my message then." His cheerfulness twisted with knowing satisfaction—Mika didn't think he needed any confirmation though.
"'Message', you say." What a way to put it. Mika wasn't sure how Ferid—chained and under surveillance—could deal with such matters so casually. "That information...how did you get that? And how was this just lying in my room?"
His smirk only widened. "I have my ways."
Mika stood up, walking to the door.
"Wait, wait! Don't be so sour, we have so much to talk!"
"Do we? Are you actually going to say something useful?" Mika didn't even turn around.
"Tsk, so impatient." Mika remained still. "Yes, of course."
Mika went back to his chair, a single eyebrow raised. "So?"
"The means hardly matter right now"—Ferid flickered his hand dismissively, the movement slightly awkward with his wrists restrained—"you read it all, right? I made sure to add some extra information too along with the research—"
"Side exits of Sanguinem with the complete patrols schedule, plus how Yuu-chan and the others infiltrated Shibuya," Mika listed, still mystified by the information.
"Yes, perfect," Ferid remarked, almost dismissively. "I can't tell you where exactly Yuuichirou is being held, but I can assure you that he is alive for now." Not even sparing a provocation, Ferid did just go straight to the point, now just staring expectantly at him with his usual smile. Mika was almost baffled.
"I'm sure I don't have to mention how shady this sounds."
"Aha. Maybe so." The metal clinked noisily as Ferid laid his hands on the table, but he didn't add anything else. Mika noticed the angry reddish marks on his wrists as silence filled the room.
That's it?
"Why are you telling me this?"
Ferid let out an exaggerated sigh, his eyes closing. "Things didn't go as planned...more so than it seems." He glanced at Mika at the last part and he missed the previous lack of jabs.
"So you admit you tricked us." His tone was probably more bitter than he should let, but he didn't care.
"I had an agreement with my funny partner,"—the chains clinked again as Ferid lifted his hand once more, unsurprisingly ignoring the accusation—"but I didn't expect the stolen research to have a small piece of information—don't get me wrong, it is dreadfully incomplete, but it did include a very pesky detail—"
"Get to the point."
"My partner might be very tempted to use this information, and by the end of the day your dear princess will be dead."
Mika wasn't even embarrassed by how an off-handed comment hurt. He felt a pang on his chest and was filled with dread, suddenly feeling incredibly cold. He didn't let it slip in his face, but the bastard knew what he was doing.
"Well," Ferid started, gaining back Mika's full attention. "Not dead, more like getting his memories and free will stolen—but I'm sure that you wouldn't like that either." Mika wished he had brought his sword.
"And why should I trust you?" He didn't want to get precipitated, but cursed himself when his voice came out so meek. Ferid's lips twitched and it gave him just enough fire to continue. "You just admitted that you lied to us and that it's your fault that Yuu-chan got captured. I could just tell Krul all of that so they can judge your crimes properly."
Very amusing, empty threats these were.
"Yes, but you see…" Mika saw the sparkle in his eyes—he was pleased with the remark. "This is not a targeted curse that we are talking about. It has a domino effect, and it also just happens to be in the best interests of the queen."
Mika frowned. Ferid could have attacked a very obvious flaw, but instead went for this. Why try to frame Krul again? "The same excuse won't work twice."
"Is it really an excuse though?" Ferid continued, unperturbed. "Maybe I did take advantage of this once, but you and I know why she turned you two. I'm sure that she mentioned the seraphs and the Hyakuya sect, otherwise you would have had a different reaction to the information I provided." He held Mika's stare, as if challenging him to refute that. Mika remained silent. "But here's the thing: I bet she never actually told you what she wants with you."
He was right, of course. For all he knew, Krul could be trying to use him and Yuu just as much as the humans. So, at a lack of better argument, he just offered another weak cetic remark: "I know what you're doing."
He snorted. "Well, I surely hope so. I tried to be as clear as possible after all."
That's it. "What's in for you?" Mika spat. Ferid practically made himself to be doing a favor—sure he said things didn't go as planned, but what did he plan?
"Ah. Let's just say I can't let that information be put to use, which means that right now we have a common interest."
So all he wanted was to take Yuu back from the place that he had led him to. Incredibly trustworthy.
"You're done?"
"Yes." He flickered his hair over his shoulder, his smirk once more becoming awfully cheerful. "So you can doubt me and tell her, but it's your beloved's life at stake." Oh, how he wished he could just slice his neck, blood splashing on the walls and head falling— "But cheer up! Wasn't I the only lead you had? Well, I just told you all I know. What you're going to do with it is up to you."
Mika furrowed his eyebrows. "You didn't really give me much of a choice though. I don't understand what you'd want with all of this…" What could be his true intentions? Could this really be the truth? "...Unless you're really that desperate."
He laughed, short and mirthlessly. "That would make two of us then."
"Mikaela," Krul called the moment he left the room. "How did it go?"
He passed by her, avoiding her gaze. "A waste of time. I should've known better than to hope for any straight answer."
"Nothing?" He wasn't looking at her, but the doubt was visible in her voice. "This little chat of yours took this long for what then?"
"You know how he is…"
She pulled his wrist and Mika finally stopped, meeting her eyes at last. "Don't let him get to your head."
"I won't." He suppressed the urge to press his lips, waiting as she searched his eyes for a lie.
She let go of him. "Don't do anything stupid." He simply nodded before turning around and making his way back.
He had something stupid do.
"What do you mean I still can't see her?" Shiho practically snarled, his hand resting on the counter in a tight fist.
Yoichi watched from the side, fiddling with his sleeve as he wondered if he should intervene—in any case, the hospital's receptionist didn't look all that concerned, maintaining a neutral expression and mild tone as she replied: "Kimizuki-san is currently in a section—"
Or tried to.
"And can't receive visitors, yeah, I'm aware," Shiho cut in, his voice rising as he continued. "But it's been almost two weeks! Did something happen?"
Even though Yoichi cringed slightly at the lack of manners, he did share the sentiment. Shiho had told him about Mirai's current situation and what the staff had said about it, which did give the impression that her stay in another section should be brief. So, the fact that not only was she still there, but also that Shiho received no further update, was odd and best—not to mention concerning.
"We assure you your sister is in stable condition—" Once again she tried to speak, only to be cut off by Shiho.
"Then why the hell is this taking so long? What are they doing to my sister?" He was now openly yelling. Yoichi flinched, noticing from the corner of his eyes that the only other patient (a girl with an arm cast) was also squirming on the seat where she waited. This went far enough.
"Ah, Shiho..." Yoichi stepped closer, moving his hand to pull Shiho's sleeve, but his words trailed off as a door opened, drawing his and the others' attention.
"Is there a problem here?" The doctor inquired as he stepped in the room, his eyes narrowed and his voice stern yet polite.
Quick to recompose, Shiho straightened up, his tone becoming calmer. "As a matter of fact, yes."
"He is asking about the patient Kimizuki Mirai," the attendant chimed in, her voice finally acquiring an emotion that Yoichi couldn't quite pinpoint.
At that, the doctor seemed to relax as well, his eyebrows unfurrowing and lips curving into a placid smile. "You're her brother, I assume." There was understanding in his words, but Yoichi couldn't help the feeling that something was off.
"Yes," Shiho promptly replied, his hand sliding from the counter to rest beside his body. "And I have the right to know what's going on—I thought those tests should last only a couple days."
"I understand," the doctor nodded, his eyebrow knitting together. "It seems that there was some miscommunication here."
"How so?"
"Walk with me," he said, moving past them and towards the entrance. Shiho glanced at Yoichi, to which he nodded, and they both followed the doctor outside to the front garden. The quiet hum of the fan was replaced by distant chirping, and Yoichi had to narrow his eyes, momentarily assaulted by the late morning sun. "I've heard you've been recently promoted to the vampire extermination unit, yes?"
Shiho hummed curtly, moving to the doctor's side as Yoichi remained a few paces behind. "What does this have to do with anything?"
"You see, while we managed to keep your sister stable in the main section, she didn't show any signs of improvement." He paused, eyes fixed on Shiho as he gave an hesitant nod, and only then proceeded. "After all, we don't have here the right equipment and staff to look into matters such as her disease. But since you were promoted, she now has access to these more expensive procedures."
"...So they are treating her?"
"Precisely."
Shiho stopped walking then, his stance much too somber for the petunias and daisies just beside him. Yoichi remained behind, while the doctor took another step before noticing and looking back. Yoichi couldn't see Shiho's face, but the bitter determination was clear in his voice. "I want to know what these procedures are."
The doctor smiled once more, as mechanically as the words that followed. "I'm afraid this is confidential information that I cannot disclosure—"
"That's not good enough." Even though he wasn't yelling again yet, his voice was barely contained. "I want to see her, I need to make sure she's fine." His fists closed and opened, anxiety clear; Yoichi held back from taking his hand.
His declaration had no effect.
"She isn't in a section open for—"
"I don't care!" He finally snapped.
"Shiho—" Yoichi stepped in, this time actually grabbing his hand and gaining his attention for a brief moment before the doctor spoke again.
"You can file a request at the administration—"
"Like hell they will go through it—" Yoichi, who had been frowning at the doctor for his unhelpful addition, snapped back to the task at hand at Shiho's heated reply.
"Thank you doctor! We will do that," Yoichi blurted out with an overly cheery voice, stunning both for a moment—a perfect opportunity to end this exchange.
"Yoichi, don't—" Shiho tried to protest the moment Yoichi pulled. He stumbled forward, but Yoichi just kept walking, looking back at the doctor—who watched them with a single raised eyebrow.
"We'll be taking our leave!"
"Yoichi, what the hell?" Shiho once more inquired, this time sounding more confused than annoyed—even though annoyance was still there.
Deeming themselves far enough, Yoichi finally stopped, letting go of Shiho's hand and holding his stare instead as he explained. "I don't think he can do anything about it, he was just repassing information."
"Then what am I supposed to do?" He huffed, briefly breaking eye contact and bringing his hands to his hips; his frustration was painfully clear. "You know if I go to the administration we will just never hear of it again."
"...Maybe," Yoichi conceded. "...But we need to think this clearly. Yelling at the staff won't do anything."
Shiho stared at him for a few seconds longer before sighing, his gaze dropping to the floor. "...I know that they are treating her but I just can't help but feel like...I don't know. I'm just worried."
Yoichi's lips curved into a sad smile. His hand went to Shiho's shoulder, capturing the other's attention and troubled expression. "Hey, it's okay feeling worried. It's your sister, after all." Shiho's lips pursed and his furrowed eyebrows twitched; Yoichi knew that reassuring words wouldn't be all that helpful, but he wanted to support his friend in any way he could.
"Yeah...I suppose." Shiho straightened up and Yoichi's hand slipped from his shoulder. "You're right, that guy probably couldn't solve anything—"
With crackling, a small piece of paper came into existence in the space between them. Yoichi's eyes widened as he watched the suspended sheet, flames cutting through its middle and leaving two charred halves to float down for just a second before being caught by Shiho's hands.
"Is this—" Yoichi started, his heart beating faster.
"The spell, yes," Shiho hurriedly replied, eyes fixed on the talisman. "It's the southeast entrance—the closest one to us right now."
Yoichi's stomach dropped with anticipation. "Do you think it's him?"
"Him" being the other vampire—Mika. Yuu believed he would come, and while they didn't think it was likely, they couldn't just scrap the possibility. After all, other vampires managed to pass the barriers unnoticed somehow. So, while they decided how to get to Yuu themselves, they decided to prepare for this possibility as well.
"With a bit of digging around I think I can find other possible entrances—I think it's safe to say he wouldn't use any of the two main entrances," Shinoa offered.
"But what then? We can't keep watch, how are we supposed to know if someone pass? As far as I know the alarms didn't go off last time," Mitsuba cut it.
They all fell silent. It was a while before Shiho spoke up. "What if we put a censor there? I don't think I can come up with a spell that reacts only to vampires, but something that reacts to anyone is doable."
"...Well, I probably can help you with that. I never actually did something like that, but I know a thing or two in theory."
"But wait, Shinoa. If the actual alarms didn't work, why do you two think this will work?" Mitsuba interjected.
"Well…." Yoichi started, earning everyone's attention. "Like Shinoa said, Guren is possibly working with a vampire, right? Then he probably did something to the alarms. Otherwise, how else would have they disarmed them?"
Shiho hummed. "Yes, that's what I was thinking too."
Mitsuba leaned back, crossing her arms. "...I guess that's a possibility. You might still be wrong but…"
"It's still worth a shot," Shinoa finished.
"If it's him, there's only one way to find out," Shiho spoke, snapping Yoichi out of the memory. He started walking, his pace fast, and Yoichi rushed to his side, heart drumming on his ears.
"Wait, the entrance is the other way—" Yoichi called.
Shiho didn't glance back as he answered, "I don't have my weapons."
"Oh no, we don't have the time." If someone else finds him before… "Should I go ahead?"
Shiho halted, meeting Yoichi's gaze with wide eyes. "What? No, I'm not letting you go on your own."
"Shinoa and Mitsuba are on the other side right now; we must act quickly. Besides, I don't really plan on engaging, but I do have my bow with me."
Shiho hesitated, pressing his lips as he quickly contemplated; Yoichi was right and he knew it.
"...Fine. Be careful."
Yoichi smiled. "I will." Not wasting any more time, he set towards the entrance.
Cool metal was colored red only by the blood of the fallen soldiers—no need to waste his blood with someone so weak. And now there were two bodies.
Mika looked around the wasteland, seeing nor hearing any other human; it was safe to say that no one would find the bodies so soon. He didn't mean to kill anyone just yet, but the soldiers had been pacing around near the entrance for long enough that Mika didn't think they were going to leave. He'd rather pass unnoticed, but the closest coverage was at least a mile away and he couldn't risk letting the humans be alerted of his presence so quickly. Infiltration successful, he supposed.
Now what?
Ferid said he didn't know the exact location where Yuu was being held, a detail that he had overlooked as well till now. Well, if Shibuya was any similar to Shinjuku, it was likely that the population would be concentrated in the center, so sticking to the border wouldn't do much good. Picking a direction, he set off.
The landscape progressively changed as he went further in, tall grass and broken concrete giving way to dilapidated buildings until finally he neared an area that wasn't entirely reclaimed by nature yet. He slowed down his pace, seeing as he was nearing the population.
Keeping his guard up, he took in his surroundings: no human in sight and no scents carried his way by the slight breeze. He heard the rustle of leaves in the wind, but also another soft, quick beating. He strained to pinpoint its direction, nearly missing the shift in the air as an object cut through it.
He jumped back, green fire erupting before his eyes; it wasn't large, not trying to engulf its surrounding. It was a warning.
There, several meters ahead, a single boy descended from a two-story building where he had been perched—a cursed weapon user. Mika hesitated; he could deal with a single soldier, but that's the thing: they didn't tend to come alone, but this one wasn't even wearing a uniform. The boy also didn't move. Despite his first shot, he didn't seem to be attacking. Either way, Mika couldn't just let him there when he had already been spotted...
So he lunged forward. He was in front of him in a second, sword at ready. The boy took a step back, opening his mouth, and spoke.
"You're Mika, aren't you?"
Sword inches from his neck, Mika stopped.
"What?"
The boy's olive eyes were wide and his heart rang fast and loudly, but he stayed still while holding Mika's gaze. "You're after Yuu, right?"
Mika didn't waver, but million questions ran through his mind. "You know Yuu-chan?" He asked at least—he knew Yuu's name, he knew his name; chances were he talked to Yuu directly. The boy, hesitantly, dreadfully slowly, nodded, and Mika was firing another question immediately. "Where is he?"
"I can show you—" Mika's eyes narrowed.
"No tricks."
"It's not." Despite his soft features and round eyes, his stare sharpened and his voice held nothing but conviction.
"And why should I trust you?" Besides the fact that his behavior was certainly not protocol and that he didn't make a move to use his bow after that warning shot.
The boy didn't answer right away. He opened and closed his mouth, seriously considering his words. Mika didn't move, but he became hyper aware of his surroundings as he waited—-the rustle of the vegetation, a distant chirping and branches scraping against concrete—itching to bolt away from there, to find Yuu—but if this boy knew where he was, then the fastest way was to wait.
"I...well, you could say it's in my interests that you save Yuu."
Mika wasn't sure what to make of it and the fact that this boy so casually said Yuu's name was starting to get to him—though he did lower his sword at last.
"So you have a good enough reason to betray the army and let two vampires go?" He gripped the handle of his sword tighter, his own words echoing in his mind. But that was the truth and that was all they were to these humans—well, not all, but a test subject was no improvement.
"Would I be betraying them if one vampire wasn't taken in by official orders?" The boy refuted with another question, looking a bit too cheeky. Mika raised a single eyebrow at his reasoning.
"I don't think it would make much difference for most humans." The boy frowned, as if he were displeased with the statement. "Why doesn't it bother you?"
"I—" His eyes widened then and he inhaled sharply. "Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't hesitate to kill any other vampire but…"
Mika's eyes narrowed and he watched the boy squirm under his gaze. If anything he was glad he didn't have a twisted sympathy towards bloodsuckers, but why was he an exception in this boy's eyes?
"But…?"
Lips pursed and brows furrowed, the boy looked straight into his eyes. With determination in his gaze and honesty in his words, he boldly confessed: "I owe you my life."
The boy's heartbeat was the loudest sound in the vicinity. A particularly strong gust of wind blew and Mika felt like he could slip away from reality.
"What?"
"I-I…" He broke eye contact and his hands moved, fidgeting. "Two years ago the vampires came to the village where my sister and I lived. Even though she died for me, I probably would have died too, left alone." There was shame in his word, but then his gaze lifted up and he looked at Mika not with fear or disgust, but gratefulness. "But you told me how to find this place. And I never forgot your names…" And then he smiled, as brightly as the sun shining up ahead, even though its warmth was something Mika no longer knew, only the slight discomfort from claiming something that was not meant to be his.
The memories came back to him. He remembered clearly that day and the nightmares that plagued his sleep afterwards—for the first time in too long and the last time since. He felt a pang in his heart, reminescending something he thought had faded, a small bit of humanity.
He had changed since then. He could clean his sword—that suddenly felt too heavy in his grip—but his hands would remain stained with blood.
At this point, he had little regrets of cowardly ridding himself from most of the mortal guilt that accompanied his very existence. But time ticked by and he could feel the walls closing in the longer he stayed away from his only anchor; his home.
He sighed, slid the weapon back in the scabbard and spoke so softly the words were nearly carried away with the wind.
"Just tell me where he is, please."
The building was just at the edge of the populated area, which made it easy enough for Mika to approach unnoticed. He caught whiffs of humans' scent and heard steps on concrete and beating hearts in the proximity—more guards, likely—but no one caught sight of him moving in the looming shadows of abandoned buildings.
He stopped at the doorstep. There were guards a couple hundred meters away and two just a few steps down. Is this far enough that they won't hear…? No matter, I just gotta be quick.
Sword unsheathed, he glided down the steps. Monstrously graceful, he cut through the first guard in one swift motion, not giving the second one the time to finish a gasp before having his vocal cords cut as well. By the time the heads and bodies hit the floor, he was already gone.
The entrance lead to a corridor full of narrow and dark cells, the stent of cinders laced with neausiating sweetness permeating within these walls. A clawed hand shot through the bars, only barely scraping the fabric of Mika's cape before he sidestepped. Vampires, on the edge of demonhood, snapped from the corners where they recoiled by the scent of freshly shed blood. For a moment, Mika panicked, searching through every cell for a familiar face, but he was nowhere in sight.
Still, a thought struck him: in which state would he find Yuu in? Starved and rendered to near animalistic instincts or fed—Mika shook away the thought, deciding that there was no use pondering about that now.
So, ignoring the desperate cries and groans, he kept moving. Still from the corridor, he analyzed the ample room it opened into: brightly lit with an artificial light and impregnated with the strong scent coming from every sterilized surface. The closed ambient only helped cultivating the smells, crisp and so overwhelming with another scent that Mika could practically taste it.
He could pinpoint the exact location of each loud heartbeat, some farther and others closer, but one so close, too close, rapidly pumping the blood—he stepped into the light, in front of a man clad in white and heading towards the sudden commotion.
Eyes going wide and mouth opening, no words came; Mika's hand was around his neck, constricting his windpipe just hard enough that only a small gasp left his lips. He leaned forward, staring straight into the man's terrified eyes, and spoke slowly. "When I let go, you will quietly tell me exactly where he is, you understand?" There was no need to clarify who 'he' was.
The man wheezed, eyes starting to turn red and fill with tears, all while his heart beat impossibly fast, distractingly so—Mika tasted a bitter liquid in his mouth and let go of the man.
He swallowed the venom and waited as the man struggled to cough as quietly as possible, the sound still reverberating through the room—though not loud enough to be concerning. A small eternity passed before he finally replenished the oxygen lost, slowly looking back at Mika with still teary eyes. "The sub—" He coughed again and Mika's face remained a mask of neutrality, even as his patience ran out. "...The subject is in the room in the back right; you can see him through the glass window. The code is 83174."
Mika's hand moved to loom over his sword, a deliberate movement that was just fast enough to catch the man's attention. "Anything else?"
"N-no," the man stuttered at the visible threat and the sight of Mika's elongated fangs. "The code deactivates all the alarms in that room." The man shuffled in place, hands twitching.
Mika hummed. "Good. Thank you for your cooperation."
The man nodded, taking a step back and gasping the moment he glanced away, Mika's sword pierced through his heart. He looked down at the blade, red spreading through the fabric around it; and coughed blood. With a wet, gurgling noise, more came, dripping from his mouth with a mixture of saliva and into the white coat.
Mika pulled the sword and it glided out of the wound, coated in deep crimson. The man fell to his knees as his hands shot to his chest, more blood sliping from between his fingers. He tilted forward and Mika took a step back, watching as the man hit his head on the tiles. He was still convulsing when Mika finally turned around, heading to the back.
He had no problem reaching the room. Being so loud and hard to miss, Mika managed to easily avoid every other scientist going around with whatever despicable business they had—little did he care about the starved bloodsuckers at the entrance, but they dared to keep Yuu in their clutches.
Yuu-chan…
He turned around one last corner the moment the lights went out, replaced by an emergency light that bathed the room in an eerie flashing red—ah, they found the body. The alarms went off, blaring an unholy symphony that grew into white noise in the back of Mika's head. Frightened gazes and white coats waltzed in slow motion at the corners of his eyes; the images blurry and the screams hardly registered.
Mika stepped in front of a wide window, fingers gingerly touching the glass, not quite believing the sight before him. There, curled in on himself, chained and so thin—
He pressed the numbers on the pad with probably a bit too much force. Regardless, the dispositive beeped once, a soft click following. The door was only halfway through sliding open when Mika sprinted inside, both despair and relief clinging to every fiber of his body.
He slumped on the floor in front of him, hands so softly caressing his cheeks they were barely touching. Yuu, who remained frozen amidst the pandemonium, stirred. So slowly, he raised his head, tired green eyes widening the moment their gazes met.
Mika froze at the sight, being hit with the realization that Yuu most likely didn't have a drop of blood in over two weeks. Mixed feelings threatened to suffocate him—even though he was greeted with the most beautiful emeralds, in how much pain must Yuu be in?
"...Mika?" A single word, uttered so quietly, brought Mika back to his senses. Metal rattled as Yuu hesitantly raised his hand, fingers brushing Mika's skin with a feather-light touch. "Is that really you? Or did I finally go crazy?"
Mika chuckled just as his heart twisted inside his chest. "It's me. I'm here, Yuu-chan." As if to prove his point, Mika took Yuu's hand, lacing their fingers together. Yuu's gaze followed the movement, eyes filling with wonder, and he smiled—it was a tiny thing, pained and genuine, his eyes glistening. Mika's vision blurred too.
He wanted to hold Yuu and never let him go.
But even though the fabric of his reality knitted itself back together, the world around them continued to tear. They had no time now.
Mika took both of Yuu's hands, taking a look at the chains binding him. His eyes narrowed as he took notice of the marred skin around his wrists that would not heal. "Enchanted…" A logical measure to contain a vampire, though in the state Yuu was at the moment, Mika doubted he had the strength to even break regular chains.
He stared at the reddish patches of skin, considering. He took the chains, Yuu's eyes following his every move. "What are you doing?" Mika ignored, pulling the metal in an attempt to snap the chains.
"Ack—" He let go at once; the moment he had applied more force, he felt like his palms were on fire, even though he hadn't even touched the metal with his bare hands.
"...Is your curiosity satisfied?"
"...Yes." The pain had already subsided, but breaking the chains like that clearly wasn't happening.
"The swords won't work either." Mika raised an eyebrow at that. He was about to comment on it, but the words died on his tongue as he noticed Yuu's unfocusing gaze. He looked exhausted.
So he looked around in search of anything of use, but there was no key and no nothing. He looked outside, but he already knew there were no humans in the proximity, and fetching one to deal with it would take too long. He had no way of breaking the chains.
…
A dreadful idea crossed his mind.
Breaking the chains wasn't the only way to free Yuu.
But no, he couldn't—but there wasn't another option—maybe if he looked again...nope, a second scan through the room was useless.
Time ticked by. The alarms kept going.
Mika made up his mind.
"Yuu-chan," Mika satarted, softly, as he crouched in front of him. Yuu raised his head, looking at him with questioning eyes. "...You trust me, right?"
Yuu's brows knitted together. "Of course, why…" Yuu's words trailed off as Mika stood up, taking a step back and unsheathing his sword. Yuu's confusion then turned into concern. "Wait, Mika, what are you doing?"
With his free hand, he caressed Yuu's cheek, flashing him an apologetic smile—and how cheap it was."Yuu-chan," Mika started, voice steady, smile straind. "I'm going to chop off your hands." Mika felt awful.
Yuu's eyes went impossibly wide, but he didn't have the time to protest as Mika was already swinging his blade.
And down came one hand.
Yuu took a sharp intake of breath, eyes fixed on the floor. Mika stared too. "Well...at least it worked."
"...My hand…"
"One more to go," Mika reminded as he readied the sword once again.
Yuu's head snapped back up to stare at him with still wide eyes. "Can't we just wait a sec—"
"I could also cut off your whole arm, maybe you're more used to that—" Yuu made a strangled noise, no wonder remembering not-so-fond memories—even if he agreed they were at least a bit amusing. Even so, Yuu did stretch his still chained arm, giving Mika access to his wrist.
Mika honestly couldn't believe that was his life right now.
The second hand came down and so did the chains. Mika sheathed his sword—there was no blood to clean, something that Mika noted with a small degree of concern—and kneeled in front of Yuu, collecting his hands as the boy just stared at him dejectedly.
Yuu offered his arm and Mika aligned the right hand, holding it in place as the flesh and skin reattached.
Except it didn't.
"Please tell me I won't have stumps forever—"
"You won't," Mika cut him off—cut—he groaned, swatting intrusive thoughts in order to focus. "You probably just need blood."
Mika reached the pouch attached to his belt, fetching a vial with Krul's blood. The moment he unclasped it, Yuu hissed. He bolted forward and Mika almost didn't have time to pull away from his reach, else he knocked it out of his hand. "Yuu-chan, calm down—"
"Give me!"
"I will!" Mika pushed him back, still surprised by Yuu's sudden behavior—which should have been expected, but he did act more coherently than the other vampires...the scent of blood really was a powerful thing.
Mika held his shoulder until he finally stopped struggling, his eyes trained on the vial with his pupils reduced to dots—it hurt Mika to deny him what he so desperately needed. At last, Mika brought it to his lips, tilting the glass as Yuu drank it in seconds.
"More," Yuu demanded, licking a drop that dripped from his mouth.
He complied without a word. Once more he brought a vial to his lips, but startled when almost immediately Yuu gripped his hand, tilting it further and drinking faster than the first one.
Well...at least it worked.
"Better?"
"Yeah." Yuu let go of him, going to reattach his left hand himself.
Mika was sure that Yuu would have drunk a third vial, but unfortunately he only had two—that's all the stock he had left, and obviously he wouldn't have asked Krul for a refill and raise even more suspicion. "We should get going then."
"Yeah, just—I need to go to the other room real quick. They left my stuff in a cabinet."
Gaze going down the—very short—gown that Yuu was wearing, Mika nodded with no hesitance.
Yuu hurried out, turning left and right until he reached said room. Mika stopped by the door, waiting. There was a crash and shattered glass tinkling on the ground, with some rustling and a few groans from Yuu following.
A minute later and Mika was starting to get antisy.
"Man, I never thought I'd miss this stupid complicated uniform."
"Yuu-chan, hurry up." Mika sighed in exasperation, though he really couldn't blame him.
"I'm coming, just a sec—" There was a bit more of shuffling before clicking footsteps approached.
Yuu came into view, belts askew and cloak only thrown over his shoulders. His eyebrows were scrunched as he looked down, trying to tie the ribbon.
"...Need help?"
"Nah, I got it." Yuu moved past him in the empty corridor and Mika took his word, coming to walk by his side. "There."
Mika stared at what was possibly the ugliest bow he had ever seen—and promptly ignored it.
"Let's just go." With that, Mika took his hand and they sped through the section. Yuu glanced at him, a smile on his lips that reached the eyes, and Mika gulped.
His heart beat faster than the blinking lights, a giddiness bubbling in his chest while tears threatened to spill—because Yuu-chan is here, by my side.
And no one will take him away from me again.
Having a quite limited staff, the section had been evacuated quickly; as Guren entered the building, only corpses remained inside. Sword at ready, he waited.
"Would you look at that...he made a mess out of it." The ghost touch of cold fingers on his shoulders made him shiver, but he didn't budge. "Do you think you can deal with them?"
Without sparing a glance, he just hummed in acknowledgement.
Giggles sounded beside his ear, a deceptively heavenly sound amidst the inferno. "Of course you can. After all, you have me."
The hands moved to his face and he could almost feel their empty carasses.
"Do as I say and everything will be fine," the honey-sweet voice commanded.
He went rigid, thinking about the missed opportunities of what would unfold, but he could only nod at the order.