Azure and Crimson, Under The Full Moon

Asuka looked down at the city she hadn't seen for six years. Her hair, as orange as the sunset, flew in the warm afternoon wind. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the castle, to those high walls of grey stone she once used to guard, and the sight ignited a phantom pain in her back. She hissed, and almost by instinct, touched her left shoulder blade.

The wounds of the whip had healed long ago, but they still hurt sometimes.

"So, that's your home."

Asuka looked to the side. Razo was now next to her, he too looking at the city. She still didn't know how he could sneak up on her while wearing heavy armor.

"Not anymore," she said. "Not for six years. And, once we finish the job, I won't see it ever again."

The steel-clad warrior let out a 'Mmmmh.' A sparrow perched on one of the horns of his helmet. "She must be very special to you."

"Yeah." Asuka looked at the distant castle again. A smile formed on her lips. "She's one of the few good memories I have of this place." The phantom pain on her back lessened.

Asuka's hands clenched into fists. Six years ago, they had been the hands of a teenager, battered and thrown into exile. Now, they were bigger, older, stronger. Her arms and legs showed a myriad of faint scars, which Asuka wore proudly as a testament of her long fight to survive. A fight that had taken her back to that place, to settle a score.

"Is everything ready?" She asked.

"Almost," Razo answered. "Squidhead is preparing his spells, but it won't take him long. Miri has finished sharpening all her knives, and now she's taking a nap."

Asuka looked back, at their small base of operations. Four tents that seemed about to crumble at any moment, around a tiny and almost embarrassing fireplace. Sitting on a wooden stool, a man in a tunic read his book. The tome rested on his hands, and he used the tentacles of his face to turn the pages.

Squidhead –that wasn't his real name, of course, but they had grown accustomed to call him that and he didn't mind– finished his lecture and closed the book. His cephalopodan eyes shone in blue light for an instant, indicating that his spells had been memorized and were ready to be used. He tucked his arcane tome under his tunic.

"Good show." He said, taking a sip of his cup of tea.

On the other side of the fireplace, Miri the goblin was sprawled on the ground, belly up, snoozing and snoring. Her long ears twitched every now and then, and she licked her lips, mumbling about cakes and freshly-baked bread.

The sparrow left Razo's helmet. "All we need now is the moon."

"Yeah." Asuka's attention went back to the city. "You should rest, too. We move as soon as I'm ready." They had to. If her informants were correct, tonight was the night. The deadline. If they didn't save her before the next sunrise, they wouldn't have another chance.

Soon, the sun disappeared under the horizon. The last red on the sky vanished, replaced by dark blue, and then black. The first stars became visible, and their sisters would follow them soon.

The full moon rose.

Asuka's body jolted when the first ray of silver light bathed her. She clenched her teeth as they sharpened. Her nails grew long and pointy. The noise of bones and muscles stretching under the skin filled the air. Blue human eyes closed, and when the opened again, they were the azure gaze of a beast.

Asuka rose in her new height, her silhouette against the disc of the raising moon.

She turned to her companions.

"Let's go."


She had been crying. How could she not, when she knew what was in store for her? That night it would be the end of her life, a life spent within the walls of a cold castle, as per her father's orders.

As they took her to the throne room, Rei wondered if anyone would notice the tear marks on her cheeks. She suspected that, even if someone did, nobody would care. She had no allies in that damnable fortress, they all had sworn loyalty to her father, either because of money or madness. The fact that she was walking in chains through her own home was proof enough. None of the four guards looked at her.

Rei was alone, even in what would be her final night.

I hadn't always been like that, but the memory of better times only made her cry again. She cried for her brother Shinji, whose father had sent away in some foolish mission years ago, to get rid of him. She cried for her first housekeeper, the kind woman who would bend the rules to give her a normal childhood every now and then. Father had fired her and thrown her into jail. Rei didn't know if that caring woman was still alive.

And she cried for her only friend, as well. That friend from long ago, in the gardens, who was whipped and exiled for the crime of treating her like a human being.


King Gendo had put guards in every entrance of the castle, with specific orders to stop any intruders, with deadly force if necessary. He would not have anyone interrupting his plans, not now, in the night of his triumph.

Thus, a man and a woman clad in heavy armor, and each holding an imposing halberd, stood in front of the small back door, scrutinizing the shadows and ready to pierce anyone that got too close.

A noise behind made them turn. They found the door open, and a goblin smiling at them from the inside.

"Hi there!" Miri said. "Sorry, but I got in through a window. Also, wire traps, seriously? Pfffff! That's so amateurish."

The guards raised their weapons, when Razo sneaked up behind them and banged their heads against each other, leaving them unconscious.

The adventurers made haste through the corridor, to the castle yard. Peeking from the shadows, they saw the many patrols coming and going. At the other side of the garden, the door to the main tower was heavily protected. Some of the guards had crossbows and flintlocks.

"We have to get rid of those first," Razo whispered. "Squidhead, you take care of that."

The mage nodded. He looked at Miri, pointing at the yard with one of his facial tentacles. The young goblin smiled, made an attempt at a military salute, and ran out of their hiding place.

"Hey, you bucketheads!" she yelled, blowing raspberries at the guards before making a dash for it.

Immediately, every armed person in the courtyard turned towards Miri and ran after her. The guards with ranged weapons loaded their projectiles, ready to shoot. Squidhead wiggled his fingers in their direction, whispering a spell.

One crossbow burst into flames. Other was cut in perfect little cubes by an invisible blade. A flintlock began to leak water from every crevice, and another one turned into a snake which promptly attacked the guard.

Still hiding in the shadows, Squidhead stroked the tentacles of his face, pleased.

"Good show! Jolly good show, indeed!"

The other guards, who were still running after the giggling Miri, stopped in their tracks when they clashed against the surprisingly stealthy wall of muscle and steel that was Razo. A little bit of whacking and a few slaps were enough to neutralize them. Miri jumped onto the warrior's broad shoulder. With no more immediate danger in the vicinity, Squidhead joined them.

However, it didn't take long for even more guards to appear. Razo shrugged and grabbed his battle mace. Miri giggled and unsheathed her two knives. Squidhead, nonchalantly, summoned an earth elemental to fight for him.

"Attack!" the captain ordered. "Kill these three intruders!"

A new battle commenced, but Razo smiled. The distraction was working.

He gazed up, very briefly, and saw Asuka climbing the main tower, blissfully ignored by all the guards.


His weapons had been taken. Two guards were holding him by his arms. At least they weren't punching him anymore.

He looked up, at the figure of King Gendo in the throne room. Cold. Distant. Just like he remembered him.

"So you finally wised up." Gendo said.

"You bastard!" Shinji raged, trying to free himself from his captors, to no avail. "This is why you sent me away! This was your plan all along!"

His father didn't make eye contact. He barely reacted to that accusation. When Shinji tried to move again, when he tried to close the distance to the throne and strangle the king with his own hands; Gendo snapped his fingers, and Shinji received another punch to the stomach. Rei's cries and pleads fell on deaf ears.

"You should've focused on your mission," the king said. "Settled down somewhere far away. Formed a family of your own. I was being merciful. All you had to do was forget about your sister."

Although in pain, Shinji snarled and spat blood at his father's feet, but such act of defiance meant nothing to Gendo.

"What fool I have for a son." He stepped down from the throne. "So be it. Stay and watch, if you want it so badly. I shall deal with you later."

Gendo didn't need to bark any order. The guards holding Rei immediately dragged her to the center of the room, to a circle that had been carved into the very stone of the floor, with runes in the outer ring and a five-pointed star inside. Acolytes in black cloaks, and holding black candles of black flames, began to chant. Gendo pulled a dagger from under his regal robes, much to Shinji's despair and Rei's horror.

The king cupped her daughter's cheek. She tried to resist, but his hand was far too big, and far too strong. Her red eyes ended up looking deep into the pool of uncaringness that was her father's gaze.

"At last." Gendo said, running his hand through his daughter's blue hair, although there was no love in that action. "This is your destiny. Your function."

The blade approached her neck.

A window shattered as something big and furious jumped through it. The creature landed on all fours, but quickly stood on her back legs, taller than even the king. Its sharp fangs evoked the ancestral fear of beasts, of the predator hidden in the wild. Red fur covered its whole body, which contrasted with its blue eyes.

Asuka opened her maw and roared.

"The Red Wolf?" Gendo asked, to no one in particular.

The name rang a bell in Shinji's head. He had heard about it, on the course of his journeys. A mysterious werewolf with fur like the sunset, and the ferocity of a volcano. It would appear on the nights of full moon, massacring bandit camps, killing trolls and ogres, and spilling the blood of anyone who dared to harm the innocent.

The guards ran to protect their king and his plan. Asuka grabbed the nearest one and threw him like a ragdoll, right at one of the men who held Rei's chains. The impact disrupted the careful planning of the ritual, and Rei, now a little freer than before, began to toss in her father's arms, trying to shove him aside.

With claw and fang, Asuka made her way through the guards. Their blades could barely cut her lupine skin, and their plate armors could not protect them from her ferocity. The walls, floor and curtains of the room were soon stained by the blood of those who had pledged their allegiance to the mad king.

Even the guards holding Shinji ran to fight the monster, perhaps confident in that the prince was too battered and damaged to be an issue. However, fueled by rage and by the desire to save her sister; Shinji stood on trembling but valiant legs, wiped the blood off his face and tackled the last man holding his sister's chains.

Rei pushed her father away; but alas, Gendo moved one last time, and the tip of the dagger cut his daughter's cheek. Not a very deep wound, nothing serious; but enough so that a few droplets of blood fell on the circle. Immediately, the carved runes and star shone in crimson light.

Rei ran to her brother's arms. Shinji took the sword from a felled guard and stood his ground, ready to protect her.

Inside the circle, Gendo's cold face, the same he had worn for years, was replaced by a smile. He cackled. His clothes caught on fire, but he laughed all the same. His skin turned red, and two horns sprouted from his forehead.

"Look!" He said. "This much power, with just a few drops! Imagine what I will do, my daughter, when all your blood is spilled, and the ritual complete!"

Gendo raised his arms, and the curtains caught fire. The guards' bodies exploded in gore, and their bloody skeletons rose to fight again.

Asuka just snarled and snorted. She had seen worse things in her travels. She pounced on the undead, slashing and biting, crushing skulls and shattering ribcages.

Shinji grabbed his sister's hand. "Let's get out of here!"

But, as they ran to the stairs, Gendo raised a hand and shot a beam of fire and hot white light at the ceiling. Large chunks of rock fell down, blocking the only way out of the room. The full moon shone through the hole.

With no other option, Shinji tightened the grip on his sword and fought back the skeletons. He soon found himself standing alongside the Red Wolf, two against a tide of horrors.

"Please," he panted. "If I don't make it, protect my sister."

Asuka nodded.

Inside the circle, Gendo waved his hands. Horned imps jumped out of the burning curtains and the shadows, and joined the few remaining skeletons. He laughed, feeling his victory ever closer.

Asuka licked her fangs. "We need to take him out first. Prince, you fight these runts. I'll kill your father."

"Eh." Shinji chuckled. "Be my guest. He won't be missed."

The Red Wolf was about to attack, when she felt someone tugging at her tail. She turned around, and met with Rei's gaze. The lust for battle weaned for an instant, and Asuka's throat grew dry. A nervous chill ran down her spine when Rei took one of her claws and lifted it up to her wounded cheek.

"Use my blood." Rei said.

"W-What?"

"Now that my father has begun his transformation, my blood is the only thing that can kill him, for it is also the key to his new power."

Warm. Her cheek was so warm. Her red eyes so deep, so mesmerizing; as beautiful as those days in the garden, so long ago. How much Asuka wished she could tell Rei that the beast was her; but she just nodded.

Save the princess, then go away forever. That was the plan. It would be best for everyone.

Alas, that momentary distraction was used by Gendo's minions. Two imps jumped on Rei and dragged her away.

It all happened in an instant: Asuka roared with unbridled rage, and in one mighty swing of his claw, she hit one of the little demons so hard that the vile thing exploded in cinders. However, the other one, holding to Rei's arm, bit her shoulder with malice, drawing blood. Rei screamed in pain as the imp laughed. Asuka tried to kill that one too, but the demon bounced away and spat some of the princess' blood into the ritual circle.

Red, fleshy tentacles burst from under Gendo's burning clothes. His height increased, his horns became twice as long, and his eyes shone in an infernal light.

"Yes! Yes! More blood!" He raised his head, opened his mouth and breathed a stream of supernatural flames which enlarged the hole in the ceiling. The mad king gazed up at the heavens. "Wait for me, Yui! I'm coming!"

Asuka leaped from the flames and the debris, like a starving and rabid predator. Gendo raised an arm, and the wolf's maw closed around it. Her fangs tore through the muscle and snapped the bone. Asuka retreated a bit, to study how much damage she had done.

Gendo laughed as the bone snapped back into place and his flesh regrew at an unnatural speed. "No mere beast could ever hope to kill me, Red Wolf. Not now. Certainly not you."

The flames climbed onto Asuka, burning her fur and her skin; but she didn't wince, she didn't yelp in pain. She would not give the king that satisfaction. Growling in anger, she took a defiant step, and then another, towards the center of the ritual circle.

Gendo snapped his fingers. More imps appeared and jumped on Asuka, biting and scratching her; but she didn't stop.

"So many fools in one night," the mad king snickered. "Very well. You too shall have my mercy. I will grant you one more attack, so that you die with peace of mind." He showed her his chest.

Thus, in one swift movement, Asuka pierced it with her claw.

The one stained with Rei's blood.

All the imps vanished in black smoke. The flames in and around the circle dwindled. Gray veins appeared all over Gendo's body, starting at the wound in his chest. He gasped.

Asuka took her claw away. The king fell on his knees, fighting to breathe. His hand released the dagger. Rei approached, ignoring her own wounds, and picked it up.

Gendo looked at his daughter one last time. His eyes asked the question his mouth could not articulate.

"You shouldn't have let me read those sorcery books." Rei said.

And she sunk the dagger into the king's neck. A chilling scream was shrieked by invisible throats all around them, as the light in Gendo's eyes died. His horns shattered and became dust. Black ichor spilled from his chest wound, and then his ears, and his mouth, and every orifice in his body. Finally, he crumbled like a statue of ash.

Shinji let go of his sword and ran to hug his sister, and they both allowed themselves to cry in each other's arms. Asuka watched them and sighed. The mission had been a success. Her job was done.

Grunting because of her itching wounds, and upset that some patches of her fur were now burnt; she turned around and began to walk away. However, after only ten steps, she once again felt someone tugging at her tail.

"Wait." Rei said.

"Don't worry about me." Asuka growled, not turning back. "I'm just a wolf."

But Rei walked around her, until she could look at her beastly visage. The princess' hands went up and cupped the furry cheeks. She smiled.

"You thought I wouldn't recognize your eyes?"

Asuka was left speechless. Her shocked expression must've been funny in her lupine face, for Rei giggled.

"It's you. I still remember those days in the garden."

"Please, don't tell my father! I'm not supposed to be here!"

"I won't. I don't like him enough to snitch on you. No offense, but he's an asshole."

Rei hugged Asuka.

"Do you ever wonder what's beyond the mountains?"

"All the time. And I'm going to go there one day."

"But you're a castle guard. My father…"

"I think we've established that I don't care about him, Rei. This job is only temporary."

Asuka didn't fight it. She returned the hug.

"And you know what? I'll take you with me. Your father can't have you locked up in your room forever! I won't allow it!"

"Thanks for coming back." Rei said.


Three days since the battle at the castle. The hole in the main tower was still there. The news of King Gendo's demise took the whole city by surprise. The revelation of his dastardly plans, not so much. Some already suspected that there was something fishy about him.

The full moon had come and gone. Now, under the golden morning sun, Rei hugged her big brother once more.

"Have safe travels," he said. "And promise me that you will come back."

"I will. Both of us. I just want to see the world a little."

"Don't worry, prince," Asuka said, back in human form, from the cart's driver's seat. "I'll protect her."

Razo, Miri and Squidhead approached.

"Things went better than expected, didn't they?" the big warrior chuckled. "It seems you will see your home again, after all."

"Yeah." Asuka smiled. "Eventually. Thanks for your help, guys. Thanks for being with me for all these years."

Squidhead offered a polite bow. Miri jumped on Asuka's lap and hugged her.

"We'll miss you, kid." Razo said.

"What are you going to do now?"

The trio shrugged.

"If I may suggest something," Rei intervened. "My brother is going to require a lot of help to rebuild the castle. Plus, most of the inner guard was loyal to my father, and died with him. He needs trustworthy and capable people that can replace them."

"Yes." Shinji stepped forth, and bowed to the adventurers. "I would be honored to have such resourceful warriors in my court."

Razo chuckled, and his laugh echoed inside his steel helmet. "Working in a castle, as the guard of a king? Who would've thought? But it will be nice to settle down after a life of questing, so you can count on me, your Majesty."

"Good show!" Squidhead exclaimed. "I say, jolly good show!"

Miri jumped into Shinji's arms and hugged him, her cheeks pink and hearts in her eyes. "You're cute!"

"Um…"

Rei climbed onto the cart and sat next to Asuka.

"Ready when you are," she said, and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

For an instant, Asuka's face became as red as her hair. Rei giggled, and rested her head on her shoulder. Asuka smiled.

"Let me show you what's beyond the mountains, princess."

The End.

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This is a present for Silvermoonlight_GJ, for her constant support and help. Thanks for being awesome, Silver :)

This is not a commission, and is not a request. I don't do those.

Also, Miri the goblin is NOT a reference to Mari Makinami. I only realized the similarities in name and behavior after I finished writing it.

Now, I return to my usual asushin.

EDIT: Apparently, there's a story by Random1377 with a very similar name. I did not know about it when writing this one, the title similarity is just a coincidence.