"No, no…" Ruby tapped White, agitated. "Come on. Hang in there…!"

"What's wrong?" Mizore circled back with Su.

"She's lost his trace. We're not going to find Haruhiko this way."

"I thought you said you had enough?" asked Su, peering down at the Shikigami. Her eye seemed more cloudy than usual and, rather than pointing in any one direction, now stared straight up into the blackened sky.

"We did—we did! Yukari and I checked, but something's interfering with the spell. She's not able to find Haruhiko's traces."

"Too many people?"

"That's nothing," Ruby chewed her lip, "Something extremely powerful must be throwing her off, drawing her attention."

A flash of lightning exploded overhead. Thunder crashed, its roar the herald of several other noises.

A distant chorus of screams caught their attention, Su and Mizore's phones rang simultaneously, and Ruby yelped as her heart was yanked violently against her ribcage by a lancing, icy emotion. She clutched her chest.

Su answered first. "Sasaha—Moka!? I can't hear you, wh—what's that noise!?"

Mizore picked her phone up next. She spoke quickly and calmly as a voice screeched out of the speaker. "Get Marin to safety and call the centre. They'll get the word out."

The first drops of rain began to fall. A rumble from ground level drew further screams from the distance. "Moka? Moka!?"

Su lowered her phone, looking fearfully Ruby's way. "S-something's happening by the centre. I don't—I couldn't hear."

"It's down by the beach, too," Mizore added, "Kia's getting Marin away now."

"Fairy—agh!" Another chilling jolt cut Ruby short. She gasped, eyes bulging with the strain. "Oh, gods…"

"Su, get to the Centre," Mizore said, pushing her away, "We'll handle things at the beach."

She took off at a sprint, disappearing into the crowds. Mizore reached for Ruby, seizing her shoulder. "You okay?"

"Ikko," Ruby panted, "I think it's Ikko. He's in trouble."

"How can you be sure?"

"I just am!" Ruby cried, "Trust me, Mizore. We need to find him, quickly."

Mizore's phone rang again. Seeing Ikko's name, she answered and jammed the phone against her ear. "Ikko?"

"No, it's Yukari!" she yelled, "That damnable fool fled the moment he figured out where the storm is coming from!"

"He did what?"

"I'm trying to find him now, but it's chaos over here. Something by the centre—"

"We know, we know!" Mizore yelled. "Keep looking."

She hung up, turning back to Ruby. "Do you know where he is?"

"I-I think I can find him," she breathed, shaking herself, "We have to hurry. This feeling, Mizore…"

"If we need to hurry, then shut up and lead the way!"


"The password, kid," sneered the stranger, tapping his foot, "C'mon. We're on a bit of a schedule here."

"R-right, sorry." It took every fibre of his being to keep his weight from collapsing his weakening knees. Ikko pulled every sparse thread of information he had on Fairy Tale. A password. A password… "We will wash over the world, o-our roar the thunder heralding the end of falsehood."

For a handful of breaths, Ikko thought he'd nailed it. The stranger's smile brightened into a full grin, exposing sharpened canines.

Then his fist crushed the wind out of his lungs, and Ikko knew he was done for. He slumped to the ground, the pain causing him to vomit in agonized heaves. His vision sparked. He barely registered the second hit, feeling only the dust as his body careened across the floor, bouncing off the chainlink fence.

"Bzzt," said the stranger, "Wrong answer, but I like your spunk. You can watch."

Ikko struggled to open his eyes. When he did so, the stranger was right in front of Haruhiko, who looked more afraid with every passing second. "Now then, kid. You'd best not screw it like your friend over there, else I'm liable to do something you'll regret. The password?"

He whimpered, unable to look away. Haruhiko scrunched his face up, balling his fists. "I await the storm that marks my curtain call! Take me backstage!"

"Hey, you got it!" he laughed, patting him on the head, "I don't get to pick them, unfortunately. They're always a little bit lame. What's your name, kid?"

Ikko opened his mouth to speak. A croak escaped where he longed for there to be words.

"I'm Haruhiko Yashiki."

"Oof, that's a mouthful. I'm gonna call you Haru, and you can call me Kiria Yoshii. How's that?"

"Mister Yoshii—"

"Ah, just Kiria." He waggled a finger. "Mister Yoshii was my dad. Probably."

Thunder roared overhead, its rumble carrying through the ground that scraped against Ikko's cheek. No, he thought. That can't be right. Something else shook the ground.

Haruhiko nodded. Tremulously, he asked. "K-Kiria… what happens now?"

"You said the password, so I'm to give you this."

Ikko heard the tiny clink of bottles jostling together. Kiria placed something in Haruhiko's palm. "Is this…?"

"It's a very expensive, incredibly rare cocktail called the Kirilua Claret. Your ticket backstage, to steal from the password's metaphor. Drink it, and everything you want will be yours."

"Really?"

"Every bit." Kiria's sincerity sickened Ikko. He tried more desperately to move, but his body refused to obey. "You're special, y'know. Only a handful of humans get their hands on a chance like this. You wanna survive your extinction, then you drink that."

He heard the pop of a cork.

"Whoa, whoa! Not so fast!" Kiria laughed. "We've gotta set terms first."

"Terms?"

"Yeah. You're joining the family, Haru. Gotta lay down some ground rules."

"Okay…"

"First things first."

Ikko heard the crunch of dirt underfoot. The first drops of rain landed on his cheek. "Fairy Tale doesn't leave witnesses. We leave statements."

"Wh-what does that mean?"

"It means that when you drink that, you're gonna do us all a huge favour and tear that kid apart."

"You mean…" he gulped… "Y'mean I have to kill him?"

"Well, d'uh. We're not giving you this power to sit on, Haru. You gotta use it, like a muscle. It only works if you practise regularly."

Adrenaline set his body on fire. Ikko pushed himself up, struggling to one knee.

"Hey, look at that." Kiria's mouth parted in a mocking 'o' of surprise. "You're tougher than you look, huh?"

Ikko spat. He couldn't talk and move at the same time, and so was forced to grit his teeth and glare at Haruhiko. He saw the Kirilua Claret for the first time, a small glass phial containing a rich red liquid. As it sloshed, the liquid hugged the glass, slicking thickly across the bounds of the phial. The rain began to lash more heavily. Lightning forked across the sky.

"Whoops." Kiria looked at a bare wrist. "Time's up. Haru, you've got this, right?"

"I—" The boy looked up at him.

"Yeah, you've got this." He grinned. "You know what it takes. That's why you're here. That's why we chose you."

Haruhiko bowed his head. He clutched the Claret to his chest.

"Alright, I'm gonna head off and see to the rest of the family. Come to the beach when you're done here. I'll have someone pick you up."

He leapt, vanishing into the sky. Ikko watched him disappear, bounding effortlessly from the floor to the roof of the nearest building.

"I just drink this…" Haruhiko whispered.

Ikko snapped back to him. He opened his mouth, forcing all of his strength into a single syllable. "Don't!"

Haruhiko jumped as if jolting from a dream. His face creased, distressed. "Shut up! You just wanted it for yourself!"

He shook his head, forcing himself to stand up properly. "That's not—you don't understand…"

"You're the one who doesn't understand!" he screamed, "You don't know the first thing about me! With this, I can finally… mom and I can finally…"

Ikko lifted his left leg, falling forward in a clumsy half-step towards Haruhiko. "You think—" he groaned, gritting his teeth, "You think your mom'll forgive a murderer?"

"She's a monster. Monsters kill their prey all the time." Haruhiko held the Claret up. "And as soon as I drink this, you'll be my prey."

"No!" Ikko yelled, but the phial was already at Haruhiko's lips. He drained it in a single gulp.

The rain covered the first moments of the transformation. Ikko forced himself to watch. Haruhiko's entire body stiffened, the hand clasping the phial splaying at first, then bending backwards over itself. His entire left arm softened from the shoulder down, then sharpened into long, slender wings. They split at the joint, dividing into three. His hair lightened, taking on light blonde roots. The pain of the change wracked his body with convulsions, his chest trying to fold in on itself.

"Haruhiko…" Ikko groaned, straightening out. "Don't do this…"

"Shut up!" he sobbed. Blackened tears streamed from his face as he rounded on him, waving his new appendages. They didn't obey him, twitching and warping, fusing and unfusing. "Work! WORK! KILL HIM!"

One of the blades extended, lancing across the space between them. Ikko braced, his magic responding to his fight-or-flight reflex. A pale green bracer sprang to life around his arm, deflecting the strike. As it slinked back, Haruhiko's rage boiled over. He lunged, his newfound strength carrying him far over Ikko's head. He crashed into the fence, giving Ikko crucial seconds to build distance between them. "Listen to me!" Ikko yelled, strength returning. "You don't have to do this!"

Haruhiko wailed. Two of the blades were now growing longer, piercing the dirt and lifting his body off the ground. His right arm transformed now, joining the assault. Ikko blocked one blade and ducked another. His mind trembled. They were barely stronger than Ruby's feathers or Tsukune's punches, but they landed quickly and without relent.

Ikko shouted his name, to no avail. The howl of the rain and Haruhiko's crying drowned out any noise he made. Two of the blades struck at once, glancing Ikko's legs. Pain brought him to his knees. Another blade drove towards his chest. Ikko swiped his arm, his barrier shattering as it knocked the attack just shy of his body.

Haruhiko stalked forward, his legs kicking uselessly in the air. The blades carried him, sprouting like thorny pustules from his chest and neck, controlling his every movement, and all the while he sobbed. Tears flowed in a great torrent, mingling with the rain like streams of ash.

"Please," Ikko whimpered. He tried to conjure his barriers again, but no light answered him, "Please, don't do this."

Haruhiko shrieked. A flurry of blades cleaved from his chest, all but consuming the boy who hosted them. Ikko balled his fists, threw his arms up. Regret sapped the last of his fight, knowing that he had brought this on himself. If only he'd waited…

A sickening crunch filled his ears, but no pain that he didn't already feel followed. A wave of cold washed over him. Ikko opened trembling eyes.

Ice glistened in the rain. Shadows of the blades strained in the wall between him and his demise. Hands gripped his shoulders, stopping him from falling forwards.

He looked up. Ruby's pink eyes smiled down at him, her wings fully outstretched. "Found you."

"Ruby…"

Movement in the periphery caught his attention. Mizore drew up to full height in front of him, her hands sharpened into great talons of ice. Hair fell like icicles, continually melting and reshaping in the heat. She swiped one claw, effortlessly shattering the wall and the blades contained within. "Remind you of anyone?" she said, looking at Haruhiko.

Ruby stood, bidding Ikko remain where he sat. He watched on, useless, as the women stood side-by-side. "I've no idea how it's possible, but yes. The resemblance is uncanny."

"I'll try and pin him down," Mizore said, flexing her claws, "Think you can manage a lock?"

"It's our only shot." Ruby held out her hand. Feathers coalesced into the shape of a staff, which she twirled. "Our only chance to save him. I'll do what I can."

Haruhiko's screaming was consumed by the scraping of organic metal. Sharing a silent glance, the pair advanced. Mizore led the charge, dancing nimbly between the blades that sprung forth to cut her down. Each spike that pierced the dirt was frozen in place, the swipe of her claws conjuring tendrils of ice to lock them down. Ruby twisted her staff, an incantation on her lips.

Ikko watched on, amazed. They moved in perfect concert. Mizore commanded the battle with practised grace, her every movement either antagonising the possessed Haruhiko or setting the stage for Ruby to cast her spell. Every blade that dared near the witch was frozen solid or severed before it could so much as draw her eye. She focussed her entirety on the spell she cast, trusting her all to her comrade.

He tried to move, but his legs didn't budge. Paralyzed by pain and exhaustion, he was consigned to watch his saviours swoop in and resolve the mess he'd made. Uselessness gnawed at him. His fingers curled in the sodden mud.

"Ready?" Mizore yelled. She slid in between the bladed legs of the creature Haruhiko was becoming, freezing them both in place. He could no longer move.

"Ready!" Ruby flourished one last time with her staff, driving the spike of the tail into a nearby patch of ice. Dark lightning arced up the blade, striking what remained of Haruhiko's chest.

The frozen limbs shuddered and shattered, beginning to wither. Shrieking metal gave way to infantile sobs as the blades slowly returned to a human shape, retracting back into his body. She continued to channel the spell, grunting with the effort, until the boy lay curled in the dirt, shivering and sobbing.

"Ikko!" Yukari's voice sounded numbly at his back. She rushed to his side, magic at the ready to tend the worst of his wounds, but he barely registered her presence. His eyes were for his guardians, Ruby and Mizore, as they tended to Haruhiko.

Their battle, swift as it was, seared itself into his memory. He stared at his battered and bloodied reflection in the puddle swelling between his hands, pooled by conjured water.

He never wanted to feel like this again.


Etsuko swept her arms, fanning the flames forming a ring around her and her comrades. She strained to keep the walls high, to better hide them from the swarming, panicking mob of the streets, whilst at the same time keeping the flames from consuming any of the nearby buildings.

"Is it done?" Gin snarled, clutching a bloody arm.

"It's over!" Tsukune confirmed, landing at his side. Black wings curled into his back, disappearing. Silver hair faded to brown. "Moka's dealing with the body."

"You mean…"

"Yeah," he scowled, "She didn't stand a chance."

Gin cursed. Etsuko's heart sank.

"Tsukune!" shouted a voice from beyond the ring. Etsuko divided the wall to allow the voice entry, revealed to be Su. As the flames closed behind her, she hurried over to the site of the battle. "I made the call. They're on their way."

"Good…" Tsukune exhaled, "This is well out of our hands."

"Yanase," Gin called out, "Draw the flames in. We need to get out of here."

Etsuko did so, pulling the walls closer and steadily backing towards them. "What about her?" she asked.

"Nothin' we can do," he growled, "Moka's taking care of it now."

She dared not ask what that meant. Tsukune directed them to an alleyway just off the main street where the chaos began, which Etsuko funnelled them towards with the cover of her fire. When they were safely inside, she let the flames sputter out, heaving a sigh of relief. Su placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing tight. "You did well, Etsuko."

"Thanks," she exhaled, wiping her brow, "What happened to her?"

"That's what we need to find out," Tsukune replied, "But that's not for now. Can you co-ordinate through the Huangs and see if everyone's safe?"

Etsuko reached for her phone, dialling Lingling. She picked up almost immediately. "Yes?"

"It's me. How's everyone else?"

"The creature at the beach is subdued," she reported, "Kurumu has the locals charmed to quell their panic and drive them away, but it's slow going. Koko has Yukari on the line. They're safe, and Haruhiko has been located."

"That's good," she said, relaying the news to the rest of the group, "Is Haruhiko okay?"

"He's alive," Lingling confirmed, "Okay might be stretching it. It sounds like whatever transformed our other two victims also got to him."

"What!?"

"Ikko has the details, but he's being treated at the moment. We'll have to wait before he can talk properly."

Worry swelled in her chest. She relayed this news as well, which did little to calm the tension coating the air around them.

Tsukune's brows pinched in a frown. "Let's get everyone back to the Kawamoto Inn. We can co-ordinate cleanup from there."

"Did you hear that?"

"I did." Lingling hung up, leaving them in silence.

"This is the worst they've been in a long while." Gin noted, ruffling his soaked hair, "What's provoked 'em?"

"Us." Tsukune replied. "It has to be. No way this is a coincidence."

"Will we be safe at the inn?" Etsuko asked.

"Safest place to be is together," Gin assured, "Some of the strongest monsters and most powerful mages are squished under that roof, and we're about to be joined by folks who are even more so. Fairy Tale wouldn't dare make a move."

"They might," countered Tsukune, "But it'd be for little gain. Whatever harm they'd manage to inflict would be dealt back tenfold."

Etsuko nodded, clutching her phone. She worried for Kia and Ikko, but knew how little it would achieve. Getting back to safety without drawing any more attention had to be their first priority.

"Let's move," said Tsukune, finally. They took off at a run.


From his vantage atop the roof, Kiria saw very little, so he tuned his ears to the fading chaos instead. "All done," he sighed, "How boring."

"I don't know what you expected," a cool voice resounded at his back, "The Claret's still under development."

"What can I say? I was excited to see our progress."

"Uh-huh. And the fact that a certain pair of vampires just happen to make this their holiday home has absolutely nothing to do with it."

"You're very perceptive, Ikakawa."

"You're too obvious."

"Maybe, maybe," Kiria grinned, "You can kill the storm, by the way. I'd say we've shaken things up enough for now."

Ikakawa exhaled. The sky immediately above them began to clear. "Wasting my effort."

"Come, now. It wasn't a total loss." Kiria laughed. "We found Yokai's new pressure point. I'd say that was worth a couple of phials of Claret."

"We did?"

"Yeah. That human who showed up at the last drop. No doubt that was some witch's magic he was stealing. It's gotta be Yokai's doing."

"Fine, fine. If you're so sure, I'll relay the news."

Kiria smiled down on the city, turning his ear to their cries once more. "And the curtain falls."