Early morning gave rise only to fog as the sun wasn't likely to show itself till later. Cloud cover had made the forest even darker and even more foreboding. If anyone where there to see it, they would probably choose words like "eerie" or "spooky" to describe the sight, but as it happened, only two people were in the forest at that moment, and they were too focused on snoozing and each other to really care how it looked out there.

As the first drops of rain began to fall upon the house, Hikari lazily drew circles on Shinji's chest with her thin fingers. Both were still naked as they were most of yesterday, but rather than sharing another lovemaking session, they were simply bonding with a cuddle. It was going to be a rainy day today, so they weren't likely to spend a whole lot of time out of bed.

V: Seeing the Forest for the Trees

"I love the rain," Hikari mused in a low voice, barely above a whisper. Never-the-less, Shinji was awake for the most part and opened his eyes to see the light of morning trying desperately to cut though the cloud darkened skies. The rain was falling in earnest now, and Shinji could agree that the sound had a calming effect.

"What about it do you like the most?" Shinji asked, genuinely curious.

"It cleans the air, and nourishes the ground. Plus, the sound of it falling is relaxing, especially in a forest."

Shinji purred an agreement. "What's it like, being able to hear nature?"

"Mostly like I described… unearthly crystal melodies, the animals adding their own vocals in their own subtle ways… I can almost feel the pulse of nature and life… odd for being a creature that is basically a murder rose."

Shinji chuckled. "Alura Une wants to protect you, and she'll do anything she can to keep you safe. But I only think that will last until you fully claim the power as your own."

"I truly hope she doesn't go away," Hikari noted with a touch of worry in her voice. "I know she's barely within my range of senses as it is, and it's not like I'm directly talking with her… but I would know if she was truly gone, and I would desperately miss her."

"She talked to me when she was mine," Shinji noted. Hikari looked up at him with interest. "She's so much different than I expected. As one of Dracula's minions, she was entrusted to obscure but important parts of his castle like the caverns leading to the catacombs or passageways leading to hidden storage areas. She told me there were never more than a few of her kind in the castle, as she was one of his strongest minions. He admired her beauty, but never really associated with her or her sisters. She felt it was because he missed his wife."

"Dracula was married?"

"So I learned," Shinji noted. "They even had a child together… they named him Adrian."

"Dracula has a son…" she mused. "I wonder what he's like."

Shinji sighed. "She said he hated his father. He was moody, and introverted. After his wife died, Dracula really turned up the dark, and Adrian fully turned against him. He even defeated him in place of one of the Belmont clan a long time ago. Adrian is a Dhampire, half-human and half-vampire, all the power, but few or weakened drawbacks. She wasn't sure if he was truly immortal, but noted he has not been seen since the time he slew is father."

Hikari sighed. "You know… I did dream about having a family one day… maybe a little girl, though I think I'd be just as happy with a boy."

Shinji stayed silent.

"You really don't want kids, do you." It was statement, not a question.

"What kind of life would they have?" Shinji noted. "I'm slowly but surely becoming the literal Lord of Darkness, I have a quickly expanding harem of powerful and beautiful young women who are all somehow linked to me, I'm constantly being hunted by cults who either want me dead or want me to ascend, and my list of enemies grows every day. Even if I wanted to bring a child into this world, which I don't, how could I raise a child in this situation right. It's impossible."

"I know it seems bad now, but one day… maybe things will change."

"Maybe…"

They were silent for a few moments, just enjoying the rain.

"So, I'm in the Harem them?" Hikari asked matter-of-factly.

"I'd like you to be," Shinji agreed. "You're beautiful, intelligent, and ironically normal compared to the other two."

"Normal," Hikari chuckled out. "First time being plain was an advantage." She laid her head back against his chest. "I wonder what Asuka is going to say."

"Like I said, she is likely going to love this. Mari got her into having sex with a girl, so your first lesbian encounter is likely to be with her."

Hikari blushed slightly but also smiled. "As I predicted. But being normal has another advantage as well. I can go to all those places the three of you can't."

"True," Shinji replied. "Though that makes me worry about your safety. I was apprehensive about asking for your help yesterday."

"I know… do not worry, My Master, I will not fail you."

"And now you're calling me that," Shinji noted with a slight chuckle in his voice.

"Yes," Hikari replied. "Alura told me to."

Morakami Financial, The Next Day

"Well… your resume is beyond impressive, Miss Horaki," the gentleman observed. "I can see you will fit right in with Morakami Financial. Do you have any questions for me before we begin the tour?"

Hikari smiled sweetly. Her skin, hair, and eyes all appeared completely normal, no weird skin tones or oddly colored hair and eyes. Only her freckles stood out as an unusual trait, though one she always had.

"I'm sure all of my questions will be answered by the tour," she replied. "Shall we?"

"Of course," the man replied. He was enchanted with her, a young woman both bright and beautiful in a down-to-earth kind of way, and was all too eager to show her around the multi-story building and spend as much time as he could with her. Of course, this was all part of Hikari's plan.

Hikari being literally part plant, knew instinctively which flower fragrances would give the best results, and so adjusted her own pheromones to produce those scents on a subtle level. This man would show her everything, and she with her brilliant mind would memorize it all…

The tour took the better part of an hour and she was shown her office. She got to work, and her new boss was quickly impressed with her capabilities, taking to the new software like a fish to water, and creating complex predictive algorithms with her own programming knowledge. Within just a few hours, she had managed to point out several weak points in their finance strategy and propose modifications that would greatly benefit the company. She lived up to her resume and her reputation.

That night, as the last two members of the staff left the building, leaving only nighttime security, Hikari arose from the large planting area around the fountain located on the first floor. She already knew where all of the cameras were so she emerged from within a giant rose in a section that wasn't monitored. She was now wearing a pair of black shorts cut above mid-thigh and green t-shirt that clung to her closely. All of her previous changes were back such as hair, eye, and skin tones, and she wore no shoes of any kind, her hair tied in its normal fashion.

Quietly, she stepped out, as a large rose the size of a volley ball clung to her back just right of center near her shoulder blade, and extended multiple vine tendrils. Carefully, she made her way towards the stairwell and entered. She listened carefully in the corner of the space here and as soon as she realized there were no guards in the stairwell, she began her ascent. The vines from her rose grasped the rails on the way up allowing her to ascend through the space in the center, making no sound at all.

"So far this is pretty easy, but my heart is racing…" She thought to herself. "I'm scared but excited at the same time. I've never done anything like this before."

Suddenly she heard a sound from below, a door opened. She looked down seeing a cultist in red, but he wasn't going up, he was going further down.

"Something's happening in the basement?"

Quietly, she moved back down in the direction the cultist went. She watched him look over his shoulder, but he never bothered to look up. He put a code into the door's security panel there and entered the room. Hikari however, managed to memorize the code. She waited a good 30 seconds before lowing herself to the floor and entering the 5 digits code; 2-6-9-8-6. The door unlocked with a satisfying click.

Hikari peeked in, quickly moving into the dark hall as she saw no one, but then noticed the oddity of the place. It wasn't like a normal basement; it was flat concrete and drywall for the first few meters but then it gave way into a more of a castle dungeon aesthetic, weathered bricks, bloodstained sections of wall where manacles were anchored into the stone, and even an archway near the point where the hall turned right covered with bars. She waited a moment as she saw movement in the darkness, seeing some poor wretch grasp the bars and shake weakly before retreating back into the gloom from whence he emerged. The entire place felt wrong to her, and she could sense lots of plant life in the walls and even beneath her feet. There was no way enough foundation remained to keep the building stable, and she couldn't fathom how something like this could exist under a modern building at all. Quietly she moved along the walls until she could hear voices speaking, though she couldn't make out what they were saying. Sneaking closer, she finally made it out.

"I can't believe we're this close now," a man's voice came.

"Soon, Rastur will complete the artefact and bring us one step closer to bringing about the downfall of civilization," another replied. "This city will burn, and it will only be the first of many. Tomorrow night, Mistress Carmilla will be here to oversee its activation. I hear she's already moved what remains of her cultists from the city."

The voices receded again, so she moved closer, suddenly hearing whimpering. Pressing on, she finally reached the entrance to a room on the left wall. The door was opened and the room wasn't well lit, allowing her to carefully approach the doorway and look in. What she saw almost made her gasp.

There was a sacrificial altar set up in the room. A young woman, probably in her 20's was forced onto it, naked as the day she was born. One of the cultists produced an obsidian bladed sacrificial dagger and approached the altar. Hikari was about to make a move when she heard several sets of footsteps approaching. Biting her lip, she carefully slipped into the shadows of the room itself, having nowhere else to go. Luckily, the room as designed with several niches inside and she was able to seclude herself within one. She watched seven more cultists enter the room, Rastur leading them.

Hikari's heart slammed in her chest as she was now less than eight meters from one of the most dangerous people she knew to exist. She had no idea how he didn't sense her presence or even notice her.

"This is the last one," Rastur stated with finality. "The Challis of Aguni is almost complete. Tomorrow, this city will be the first to feel its wrath."

Two cultists behind him held a huge pewter challis in their hands, bigger than any cup had a right to be. Embedded into its side was a large flame agate in the shape of an eye. Hikari was so entranced by the sight of it she didn't realize the girl was being murdered until she heard her scream as the blade cut into her. Hikari watched the blood splatter from the struggling form and held her breath. The sounds of breaking cartilage soon followed and the sacrifice as finally still.

Hikari watched in horror as a still beating human heart was pulled from the sacrifice and placed within the challis. The gemstone began to glow as it lit from within by a fire, hues of red and orange flickering across is faucets.

"It is done," Rastur declared.

"Praise the Dark Lord!" the cultist yelled in unison.

"Our labor is complete. Tomorrow, Tokyo-4 will burn."

The cultists soon filed out of the room, leaving a horrified Hikari still inside. She quietly stood up and walked towards the altar. Her sorrow outweighed her horror as she looked upon the woman who lay there. The girl's face was a mix of shock, confusion, and pain. It expressed her last moements perfectly; she knew not why she was had to die, only that it was for some dark purpose. Hikari's eyes slid to her chest, cut open, ribs spread apart, and a mess of blood. She couldn't tell what she was even looking at, save for the fist-sized hole where her heart used to be.

Hikari held back her tears.

"I couldn't save you," Hikari whispered. "But I swear I will avenge you… you and everyone else who has been slain by the cult."

Hikari tried to exit, but made out the shadow of cultists approaching the room. Looking around, she noticed that opposite the door was a staircase that led down. Silently, she slipped into that darkened stair and tried to stay ahead of the cultists.

"I thought I heard something," she heard a cultist say, and continued down, finally reaching a lower level. The air here was cold but the ground and walls were mostly dirt and rock.

"Time to leave," Hikari thought to herself as a huge rose opened from the ground. She quickly jumped into it and it sank whilst closing around her.

By the time the cultists reached the area, there was no trace she was ever there.

"Are you sure?" Shinji asked.

Hikari nodded. "It's exactly what Rastur called it."

One of Hikari's powers she learned was the ability to travel through dirt and soil whilst within her rose at very fast speeds. It allowed her to make her way both to the city and back from it, and she surmised it was how Alura took her from the city to the forest the first time she emerged from the rose.

"This isn't good," Shinji noted. "And if Carmilla is going to be there, that's even more dangerous for us."

"We should call the others back," Hikari suggested.

"There's not enough time. The girls are doing their investigation in northern Hokkaido; they'd never make it in time."

"We have to do this ourselves," Hikari realized.

"We don't have any other options. If they activate the challis, the city will be incinerated. Can you get both of us inside that building?"

Hikari nodded. "You might find the trip a bit claustrophobic but it'll get us inside."

"After being in an EVA plug on and off for the better part of 18 months, I think I can handle it.

"Rest up, you'll need all your strength for the battle to come."

Hikari nodded and went inside. Shinji watched her go; her new outfit didn't leave much to the imagination, and her flower was a nice touch. He also noted how she seemed to prefer being barefooted now. Alura Une and Hikari had become a composite entity, stronger than either would have been alone.

He hoped that strength would be enough…

Burn to burn… Burn to flow…

Burn to burn… Burn to grow…

Burn to burn… Burn to flow…

Burn to Burn… Burn to grow…

Static in sound, Static in sound

Delusional

You plant the seed, you fill the need

We give to take, we give to take

Our hands, they learn

Sensing the feel, feeling the real

"So… it comes to this… for the sake and the millions of people living in Tokyo-4… we can't fail… I couldn't save the girl, but I will save the city."

Next Chapter: Force of Nature