"Shoko-san?" Shou couldn't bring himself to say it. Every time he tried to bring up the subject of Kyouko to his trainer, he would freeze. Shoko had taught him how to kill. She didn't believe in hesitating when facing a vampire, or one of their ghouls. What would she do if he told her about Kyouko? The image of Kyouko beaten down, with one of Shoko's glimmering daggers plunged in her chest, made Shou turn pale.
"What is it Shou? You've been standing in here, trying to ask me something for ten minutes now." Everything about her professional demeanor and kind disposition was wrong.
He had seen her rip the heads off human children who were possessed by vampires. It was sad and regrettable but needed to be done. Children who were turned into ghouls wreaked havoc and couldn't even be controlled by the vampires who created them. There were also the psychological repercussions that being possessed had on almost every human mind. Shou only knew of two humans who had survived and went on to live happy lives after being turned into ghouls. And one of them was only made possible because the deceased blood king wiped their mind clean. The other, he'd been told, ended up giving birth to vampire children with her human husband.
"Shou?" He looked at her, careful to bury his fear beneath his cocky attitude. Shoko wasn't even a vampire and she was ruthless; he could only imagine what the higher ups at Akatoki would do. He had chosen this hunting society for two reasons - one, they opposed Tsuruga Ren as king, and two, they believed in using force. That pretend king preached benevolence, and attempted to save those who had been possessed, despite everyone knowing that it wasn't possible.
"I was thinking that after work we could go out for dinner. I know a nice little restaurant that keeps plenty of B blood on hand for me, and chicken liver for witches." That's all the old hags in his home would eat. They claimed it enhanced their powers.
"I was never partial to chicken. Do they serve rabbit ears or goat eyes? Those are a delicacy in my coven." Shou tried not to gag at the thought, he was a picky eater by nature. The Fuwa coven were Gaki vampires and lived on a diet of only the finest human blood, and Shou had always had Kyouko for that. It was considered an honor to be a blood doll for a prince such as himself. That was another thing that bothered him about Tsuruga Ren. The useless king didn't even drink blood. What kind of vampire didn't drink blood? As far as Shou was aware even the highest level Upyr needed blood to survive.
"Fucking Algul vampires. Low level and useless and…" Tsuruga Ren! Of course.
Shou patted himself on the back, that spineless king and his lame rules would save Kyouko. Even if he told Shoko, she wouldn't be able to do anything since Kyouko hadn't hurt anything other than her own digestive tract. Whoever caught her would only be allowed to question her. If he played his cards right, this could be his ticket to a promotion in rank, and he might even uncover the identity of the vampire behind the recent attacks. Kyouko fit the description of the victims after all, it had to be the same one. Conveniently, he forgot that Kyouko fit only the description of the young vampire girls who had been attacked, not the possessed humans. There was only one thing left for him to be concerned about.
"Shoko-san, is it possible that a human who has been possessed could avoid the psychological damage by becoming a witch?" His trainer scrunched her brows together, finding his random question suspicious.
"No one has ever successfully fully cured someone who has been possessed, though I suppose that could work if the human in question were strong enough. The vampire coven granting the powers to the new witch would also need to be considerably powerful; at the very least more so than the vampire they have fallen prey to. In the end though, that might cause the human to die. It would be much kinder to kill them quickly." Shoko supplied him with an answer she believed was most reasonable. She did not enjoy taking lives, but the mumbling, drooling mess of a vessel left after one reverted back from being a ghoul could not be considered human.
"A lot of power, like the power of a king? All she has to be is strong enough and I can save her." He was mumbling to himself, but Shoko heard every word.
"What are you hiding?" Shou shook his head, still afraid of what Shoko might do. He didn't want the guilt of Kyouko's death hanging over him for the rest of his life. "Tell me," she whispered, sympathetic. "If you do, then we might be able to save this human. There is a limited window of time before the vampire has complete control. If the human hasn't completely given their soul over, then they are not a ghoul yet and can be saved."
He knew that; that's why he was so desperate. Kyouko was already too far gone, he had seen it in her eyes. Any day now, and she would be ripping the heads off living creatures to drink their blood.
"I'm afraid that it's too late for that. She's too far gone." He hung his head, resigned to what they would have to do. Even with the laws protecting her from death, she would still never be Kyouko again. Shoko was right, killing her would be a kindness, and capturing her to save him from guilt would only make her a prisoner in the king's dungeon. She would be interrogated, exorcised, and experimented on, in the hopes of curing her severe mental damage.
Kyouko froze in the middle of cleaning up the bloody mess she had made. Slowly, she lifted her tongue from the floor, sliding it over the sharp fangs her teeth had formed into. The voice in her head was telling her that something was coming. It could smell the scent of a murderous intent walking through the door, climbing up the stairs, or boarding the elevator. Coming closer, closer, closer, and there was Shoutaro leading them straight to her. To kill her. Her, his loyal and submissive pet!
She could feel her teeth sharpening, as the thing inside her counted all the different pulses headed her way. He had betrayed her. She'd waited for him, like he'd commanded, and he brought people to kill her. Sniffling, she hung her head, regretting that she had done everything he'd ever asked of her.
Slowly, with an almost laughable caution, Shoutaro opened the door. Kyouko bowed her head, hoping that he would take pity on her if she was submissive.
"Shou-chan, who are your friends?" She asked in her sweetest voice. If she acted obedient enough, maybe he would make the scary woman who entered with him, and the hunters behind them, leave.
Shou didn't answer her directly. "Shoko-san, this is Kyouko." Taking a tentative step towards her, he beckoned Kyouko to him. "Come here, Kyouko."
Go to him Kyouko, like the loyal dog you are, her inner voice hissed, and Kyouko rose from the floor to take a couple small steps towards him.
The hunters rushed into the room and began to spread out around her. They could see it in her eyes, the strength, and the hunger of a dark and powerful creature. Kyouko flinched away and bared her fangs with a low growl. Her golden eyes started to glow as she stared the hunters down. Shou was shocked by the look in her glowing eyes. Something about her made him want to fall to his knees and beg for mercy.
"Kyouko, I told you to behave." No matter how hard he tried, Shou couldn't muster an ounce of authority in his voice.
Shoko lit a cigarette, needing to release the tension that had built up inside of her. She could see it, even if none of the other hunters could. Kyouko was not possessed, her mind was being taken over by her own hunger, a piece of herself that someone had concealed. Shoko could see why it had been locked away too, it was more than the girl could handle. Intoxicating power was coming off her in waves that would've been too much for almost anyone to handle. That was what always happened when vampires and witches produced children - the offspring was beautiful to behold, nearly impossible to civilize, and powerful beyond belief. If they waited much longer before killing her, only the king, and those closest to him in rank and power, would be able to subdue the girl. Shoko pulled out her dagger, glowing blue where the spells were cast into it, and motioned for the other hunters to captured Kyouko.
"What are you doing?" Shou panicked as he watched several hunters approach Kyouko. She growled but did not fight back as they seized her arms to shackle her wrists and hold her still.
"Shou-chan?" The innocence returned to her eyes. She put her claws away and her teeth returned to normal. "Shou-chan, don't let them do this to me. Please!"
"Shoko!" Shou grasped Shoko's wrist.
"It's a mercy Shou. If we don't take care of her now, she'll only get stronger. Eventually her own blood lust will eat her alive, trapping her inside the darkness in her head. She will go mad with hunger and devour and destroy everything in sight. If we don't end her suffering now, we'll be dooming her to a fate much worse than being possessed." Shoko remained calm as she recalled a man from her past, whose body was quickly taken over by the power he could not control.
"Shou-chan, please!" Kyouko cried, when Shou released Shoko and backed away. "Shoutaro!"
See I told you he would abandon us. Let me out. Let me have him.
"You're a half vampire my dear. I am sorry that your witch mother didn't have it in her to grant you the mercy of a swift death at birth. Most witch offspring cannot carry the vampire gene and those that do become worse than ghouls." Shoko explained advancing towards Kyouko. "I promise to make this quick and as painless as possible."
Kyouko looked up at her with large pleading eyes. She couldn't help but think that this was for the best. If she died, she wouldn't feel the hunger clawing at her stomach anymore. Then she looked at Shoutaro, who turned away, so he wouldn't have to witness what he had done. If he hadn't drained her blood daily than she would probably be strong enough to control herself.
"Shoutaro! Look at me you coward! You did this!" The chains binding her wrists snapped effortlessly, and she flung the hunters off. Shoko's blade narrowly missed slicing her throat, as Kyouko fell back and rolled away.
Kill them all!
"No!" Kyouko screeched, and every hunter in the room clutched their ears. All except Shou and a small female vampire, who was creating a shield around him. Kyouko stopped to stare at her doppelgänger protecting Shou.
He replaced us!
Everything hurt, her teeth ached to sink into flesh. Her fingers stung as her nails ripped up the carpet. Her stomach churned with disgust at the sight of such a frail vampire standing between her and her prey. There was a painful twist inside of her, like the turn of a lock, and Kyouko could feel the voice inside of her being released from its cage.
No longer in control, she felt her body leap forward, ready to rip Shou and the other girl to shreds. Shou recognized that Mimori, the vampire girl he had saved from a possessed human, would be no match for Kyouko. Her only ability was to create shields, and they weren't always effective. He threw his arms around the girl, wrapping them both in the large black wings that sprouted from his back. Kyouko's claws collided with his wings unable to penetrate the leather-like texture. With a growl, she prepared to try again, but was interrupted by a sharp pain in her back. Looking down, she saw the point of a glowing dagger sticking out of her stomach.
"Shoko-san!" Shou dropped Mimori, ready to catch Kyouko when she fell, but she never did.
Bewildered, Kyouko poked at the dagger. Pain shot through her as its glowing symbols seared her insides. Hissing, she turned on Shoko who, acting quickly, plunged a second dagger into her stomach. This one glowed red, signifying that Shoko had changed the incantations on it to kill a low-level vampire. Kyouko gasped in pain but did not go down. Blood began to seep from her nose and eyes, as the symbols worked their spell inside her. In shock, Kyouko gripped the ornate handle of the blade in her stomach and slowly eased it out of her. The wound oozed blood and magic, from the failed spell on the blade. She held the dagger up, and the room of hunters watched in horror as the magic in it was drained into her palm, momentarily causing her eyes to glow red as they stared back at Shoko curiously.
Shoko whispered an enchantment, and the dagger in Kyouko's back glowed orange, her features twisting as she shrieked in pain. Angry, she reached around, tearing the blade from her flesh, and plunging it at Shoko. It shattered before it could penetrate, and Kyouko was thrown back. Shou caught her, falling backwards with her, and crushing his wings beneath them.
"Kyouko, that's enough!" He hissed into her ear, grabbing hold of her neck as a warning. "Let us help you."
"Help me?" She chuckled sardonically, gripping his arm, and sinking her claws into it. "Kill me, Shoutaro. If you don't, I'll eat you all alive. You can watch as I tear your new little pet to shreds, and you can know, with every agonizing moment of her death, that you caused all of this." With a scream, Kyouko was torn away from him by chains, which snaked around her body and pulled her to their owner, a tall man with tan skin.
"So glad you contacted us, Shoko-san. We can take care of the child from here." Lory said and the room o hunters bowed to their former king. "Ruuto's chains are unbreakable and…" his words stalled as Ruuto dropped to his knees in pain, his energy being drawn into the small girl through her bonds.
"Interesting," Lory remarked, watching the girl wriggle her way out of the chains, "very interesting."
"Kyouko?" Shou pushed himself up on weak arms, as Kyouko shook her head and clawed at her ears. She wanted the pain to go away, why could none of them make the hunger gnawing at her brain go away? She was afraid. The fear she saw in their eyes, and the things she had suddenly become capable of, scared her, but she was most afraid of the pleasure something inside of her took in doing those things.
"Ruuto, contact Ren," Lory commanded, and his friend nodded, recovering quickly, and standing up on strong legs. Kyouko had only weakened him enough to escape, Lory noted. Even though she had little control of her powers or emotions, she had managed not to cause any real damage to anyone. Lory wondered if she even realized that she had shattered the dagger before she could stab Shoko.
Ruuto held two fingers to his forehead and concentrated on his king. He pushed passed miles of people walking around the city, going about their daily routines. His mind entered the LME hunting society headquarters, and floated up to the king's office, where he sat reading over papers.
Ren rose from his chair, seeing the ghostly figure of Ruuto hovering beside Yashiro. Without words, the man conveyed an urgent message into both of their minds. They could see the scene play out as if they were in the room with Lory, speaking to a frightened, hissing girl. The king studied the scene curiously.
"An Upyr? How?" He questioned aloud though he knew nobody had the answer.
"Ren?" Yashiro stood up, awaiting his orders.
"Let's go." The king was already halfway out the door before Yashiro had time to react.
