Cry, Little Sister

Enjoy:

"I am longing to be with you, and by the sea, where we can talk together freely and build our castles in the air."
― Bram Stoker, Dracula

3 days later.

After a hard day's work, the hooded figure finally was allowed the luxury of collapsing on her bed. The door was locked, her tasks were complete; no one would bother Akua for the rest of the day, she was quasi-certain of it. It took years, but finally, she had come this far. Her self-appointed task finished, the seal was now softly glowing blue a few hundred meters beneath her own feet. In the bowels of the flying fortress was one of the most complicated annulment fields ever created, put in place in the event that, should Moka be resealed after they've made contact, there would be a backup plan just in case. The vampire sighed, all these years of work for this single moment of accomplishment. So much sweat and blood went into that clunky thing, and she knew that, if she had to do it all over again, she would happily repeat the procedure as many times as necessary. She would do anything for Moka; anything to free her from that accursed seal.

Earl Grey was on her lap in seconds, joyfully propping himself up and licking his master's face as if there were no tomorrow. Akua's smile became more pronounced as the pet went about his usual routine. "Miss me, boy?" She lazily patted his head, too tired to do anything more strenuous. The dog merely barked an affirmative reply and returned to his normal, incorrigible behavior.

A few minutes passed like that, she recuperated some of the energy she spent completed the field slowly. Truth be told, she didn't want to do anything else. Sleeping sounded like the soundest idea she'd had all week. Gyokuro had berated her with questions all throughout the process; Kahlua had been just as much of a nuisance whenever her mother was called to do something other than supervise her daughter-in-law; not doing anything was complete bliss. It was then that, in the corner of her eye, she spotted the familiar gleam of the vestments she kept on display: a shrine in honor of her long-lost friend, mentor, and love.

"Don't look at me like that," she whispered with a slight blush, embarrassed at how weak she must've looked right then, "I earned a break after all the hard work I put in."

The soulless mask remained silent; nevertheless, she could imagine what Tsukune's reaction would have been. Depending on the situation, she fantasized about how he would either praise her for coming this far or lecture her on how she should stay active. He would pat her on the head and grin that goofy smile as he always did in these types of situations. She missed him so much.

Ultimately, she propped herself back up and made a bee-line to the makeshift shrine. A copy of the mask and the coat he wore while undercover were on display. She did not require anything else to remember him, his face was still fresh in her mind after nearly a decade of absence. They say the heart grows fonder with longing, hers was about to burst after the countless nights she thought of him. She was yearning to see him walk through that door like nothing had happened and laugh it all off, apologizing for being so late. It was a fantasy she knew would never come true, but she stayed committed to finding him, even if she had to keep at it for eternity.

"Why did you us?" She asked the mannequin, a tear inching down her cheek. With no one around, she could afford to let her emotions run rampant at times. "Why did you leave me?"

As was the norm, no answer came to satisfy her aching heart. She gripped the sleeve and push herself up against the empty coat. When the time came, she would return these to their rightful owner with glee. Until then, this was hers. One last memory of the soft-spoken boy she knew was one of the few to ever understand her. In that moment, she reminisced about hat day in the gardens. He swore he'd come back, what took him so long? It didn't matter. Whatever was the cause, she'd find him. As soon as she freed Moka, she'd head out and focus her search on him. Then, Jasmine would join them, and they would finally become a proper family.

There was a knock at the door, loud enough to startled Akua, leaving her to curse herself for not keeping her guard up at all times. "Ms. Shuzen, the report as you requested."

The door flung open and she grabbed the letter from the shaking underling's terrified hands. The fear she inspired within them was an interesting byproduct of her reputation, she mused. The underling stayed at attention as his superior went about perusing the report she'd ordered to have compiled. The stern expression she put on for the Fairy Tale soldier soften a tad as she looked over Moka's status. She just transferred to Yokai Academy, as expected. She was surrounded by a gang of friends, Akua was glad she was developing a social life while at school. Her seal had been removed several times in the past, certainly an interesting tidbit of knowledge: it wouldn't be long before the seal would start weakening, then. And finally, the only who seemed capable of removing Akasha's construct was a young boy whose name was…

She did a double take, then a triple take. Her eyes fixated on the name. The severe look returned to her features, compounded by a fire that burned within her blazing eyes, indicative of her desire to murder the subordinate. Said subordinate's legs were about to give out underneath him. She gestured towards the name and pointed expectantly for the grunt's benefit. "Is this name correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," he nervously gulped.

"Were pictures taken?"

"Yes, I have them right-"

"Give them to me," she nearly yelled.

His shaking hands dove into his pocket and pulled out a small envelop, somewhat crumpled up by the trip to headquarters. Without another word, she yanked those of his grasp too, her eyes shifted back and forth between the photographs and the letter with a zeal the grunt had never seen possessed: he was more than a little intimidated by it. The fearsome Shuzen woman shot past him in a flash without any prior warning, leaving the underling to trail behind her, desperately trying to keep up with her quick pace.

"Ma'am?"

"Tell Gyokuro I'm taking a few days off."

He wasn't sure that was permitted, but contradicting Akua Shuzen's were a death sentence he wasn't about to take unto himself. If those insane vampires had a problem, they could duck it out amongst themselves for all he cared, it was not worth getting beheaded. "At once."

The underling excused himself and headed directly for the charismatic leader's office. Notifying her immediately was the best chance he had of not getting blamed for failing in his duties. He prayed Lady Gyokuro was less temperamental than her daughter-in-law. As for Akua, she could not, for the life of her, care less about the subordinate's life. Fairy Tale as a whole was so far removed from her concerns that where she was barely registered. The prospect of seeing one of the people she cared for replaced all other doubts and concerns, and as she boarded the shuttle departing from the Hanging Gardens, some small part of her still aware of her station pondered that that was a good thing: Gyokuro was going to blow a fuse when news gets to her. Now that the errant thought crossed her mind, she could have sworn she heard Gyokuro screaming at the top of her lungs.

Oh well.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The bus pulled away with Kurumu, Yukari and Mizore side by side, their faces a mixture of exasperation and longing as they smooshed themselves against the tinted back window of the school's schedule. They clamored for Tsukune to come save them or, at the very least, to not forget about them over the break. Alas, the boy had greater preoccupations then humoring his friends on this sunny afternoon.

The school festivities were bumpier than last time. Still, it all ended as it should, though Kyoko turned out to be a little more forceful this time around: she wanted a detailed explanation, something the youth wasn't entirely sure he could give. No amount of explaining was going to convince her that returning to the Academy was a good idea, not when he saw the dreaded determined gleam in her eye. Difficulties were abounding, and right when he hoped he would receive a welcomed reprieve.

His training was due to start on the first day back at school, a full half a year from now. He stood out on the sidewalk contemplating the whole situation, made even more ludicrous than last time by virtue of its repetitive nature. The Headmaster saw it coming, but he still left half the school be demolished to preserve appearances; had he seen it coming the first time, as well?

Bah. The more he considered it, the more this left him scratching his head; should half the monster world be put in danger, would Mikogami be as willing to sacrifice them if it meant getting rid of Alucard? What was the point of realism if it did the enemy's work for them? How far would they go to confront their sworn nemesis? Was this for the greater good or a vendetta for the way he devoured their friend? Akasha, he knew intimately enough to be confident she would be a little milder in her approach. Mikogami and Tohofuhai, he conceded, were wild cards.

"Tsukune, there you are. I'm going to go shop for groceries and bye a lottery ticket. Anything you want? Any numbers you'd recommend?"

"Twelve, thirty-five, forty-three and ninety-two."

"My, where did you get those numbers from?"

"Osmosis, I guess."

"Well, if they're right, I'll be making a stop at every shrine on the way home and thanking whatever spirits whispered that into your ear," she jokingly replied; however, he was reasonably assured that she would be doing just that in an hour or two. "Are you heading out, too?"

"I'm gonna go for a walk. See if some of my friends from middle school want to hang out for a bit."

"That's good," she beamed with a mother's pride at seeing her child actually wanting to get out and be with friends. "Be sure to get home before your father does, I don't want to have to reheat your meal."

With her handbasket's handle around her forearm, and those words of parting to her son uttered, she headed to do what she promised, turning the corner at the end of the street and disappearing from sight. Tsukune was still standing in the exact same place, still mulling over what his next move should be. He grunted after a short while, it could wait. There was no pressing business, he should just put it out of his mind for now and come back to it at a later time. Time was not of the essence, and honestly, he was curious to see what his ex-schoolmates were up to. Last time around, he barely had time to see them. Instead, he spent most of the day holed up in his room, staring at the calendar, hoping the break would end quickly and he would get to go back to Yokai.

He would do things differently this time around. He was going to go out, do stuff and have fun… maybe. School was still in session for just about everyone else. Odds were he wouldn't run into any acquaintances before the early evening hours. Kyoko was at work, so having 'the talk' was not an option. He gently scratched the back of his neck with a thoughtful glance at his home; that walk was looking more appealing by the minute.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Akua was just another face in the crowd, silently watching as her once grandiose protector marched with a more subdued look than ever she saw on him. His mannerism were different, he was scrawnier than before, heck, even his red irises and lighter shade of brown were absent. This version of Tsukune Aono was a world apart from the man she knew back then. Yet, somehow, that core spark she saw back then persisted; what made Tsukune the person she loved inhabited the frailer body as it did the body of the man who saved her.

She was anxious. Her hands constantly darting between smoothing out her dress and fidgeting. She hoped his enhanced senses would pick her out of the crowd, but it seemed his senses had been dulled over the long span of time they spent apart. Now that she got a good look, he was younger looking. At first, it defied understanding; but the more she tried to put two and two together, the clearer the picture became.

What had Akasha done?

She continued to watch from afar, engulfed in the swarm of people that went to and fro. Tsukune was a mere few steps away from her now. With ease, she could stretch out her hand and touch him. The closer she came, the more she reconsidered, however. What if she were wrong? What if Tsukune had actually left because he didn't want her around? Could she handle that?

Akua tried to contain the tidal wave of emotions that drowned her. She had been so composed up to this point. She had to contain herself. If she didn't, then…

The boy's head turned, sensing the ominous aura that escaped from Akua in droves. For a fleeting moment, his form was very much akin to the one she recalled seeing. He was alert; his muscles contracted, ready to strike; his irises focused in preparation for battle, turning from round to slit in a beat. It was glorious.

Then, her face registered. His readiness faded; his expression, a mix of confusion and joy, softened as the rest of his body returned to a relaxed state. But the prodigal assassin was too distracted to note any change in his behavior. The only words she could formulate, amidst the tears that swelled in her eyes, were as follows; "You came back to me."

He saw her start to cry. And despite all the years that had passed, despite the numerous atrocities both have witnessed in that time, Akua Shuzen ran towards him with her arms outstretched in the culmination of heartfelt longing that spanned years, nary a care for family nor rank, much like her younger self would have. As for Tsukune, he returned the embrace in earnest, just as he would have done nearly a decade ago. It was a different time, a different place, but what the two felt remained the same while the rest of the world passed them by. A crowd of faceless bystanders who were blind the close friends' heartfelt reunion.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Absolutely not," the dimension sword wielder denied his request for the tenth time since they sat down. She barely had enough time between refusals to sip the green tea she ordered; truly, Tsukune could be stubborn at times. How annoying.

"Will you at least hear me out?" Tsukune pleaded, bowing to such a low point that his head rested atop the metal table.

"There's nothing for me to hear out since this isn't gonna happen," she tranquilly responded, her eyes stuck on the mess of brown hair that begged her to reconsider.

"But I know I can do this. Weren't you the one who said you wanted to help me?"

His accusations feel on deaf ears. The mock sense of righteousness that he attach to these words were meaningless to the black-haired assassin. While she might have been crying her eyes out merely a half-hour ago, she had fully regained her composure and returned to a more familiar state: silent and imperious in the face of her helpless' idiot of a charge.

"Yes, but there's a difference between helping and assisting in suicide," she retorted once more.

Tsukune was not about to give up.

"It's not suicide. I know what I'm doing."

"Oh really?" She half-mocked. "Alright. Assuming you make it far enough to find Alucard's body, how are you going to release Akasha without the seal?"

There was an uninterrupted moment of silence. The brown-hair youth scratched his head pensively whilst the other vampire patiently waited for a response she was going to either be interesting or validate her point. "I'm still working on that part."

"Thought so. And the answer has now gone from a definite no to 'I will hit you upside the head if you keep talking about it' no. Care to keep trying?" The boy slumped forward in defeat. Much to Akua's delight, he waived the white flag, leaving her to steer the conversation in whichever way she desired. "So, how've you been doing?"

He did not immediately reply. Somehow, the customary "good, how about you?" felt wrong. Answering with the same words he used to qualify the time-traveling mess he's been tossed into ever since he first crashed into China seem a tad more honest that the hollow, albeit polite, readymade answer that nearly passed his lips. "Dealing with strange stuff," he admitted with a small smile.

She laughed at the ludicrous understatement, it was the third time she lost all control and impulsively reacted. "I could tell."

"You've grown," was all he could say. Keeping with the theme of understatements, this was the one thing that left a pain in the young woman's heart.

"And you haven't," her tone sounded bitter, regretful even.

"Yeah I-"

Her hand came up to interrupt him before those sad chocolate eyes made her cry anew. Once was quite enough for the veteran fighter, "Save it," she interjected, "I have a pretty good idea of what happened already."

"Oh. Figure it out?"

"Ever since we met that mini-you after we docked, I've had a pretty good gist of the situation."

"I didn't mean to leave you and Jasmine back there."

"It's fine. What matters is that you came back." To me. Suddenly, it dawned on her;"Oh jeez, I need to call and let her know you're back, she'd be crossed with me if I didn't."

Tsukune considered his options. On one hand, he could foresee the coming calamity if he confessed to having seen Jasmine a few days prior. Not only that, but another topic would come up: Why was Jasmine at Yokai Academy in the first place. This had the potential of devolving into a very heated discussion; she was a Fairy Tale officer, after all. He kept his mouth shut and maintained his impassible appearance; Akua was too engrossed with the excuse she devised to spend some quality time with her young adopted sister to notice the stiffness of her friend's posture.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in equal measure between reminiscing and talking about the future. It was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. What's more, he was glad with how carefree Akua seemed to be. The memories of her former self, the one he'd met at Tohofuhai's, haunted him ever since he regained the memories of his past life. It was a weight off his shoulders, to know that the little girl he rescued turned out alright. Arguably, she still joined Fairy Tale, yet he could sense a distinct difference in her motives.

She claimed she wanted to create a better world for Moka and Jasmine, he was inclined to believe her. The inborn hatred she harbored for humans faded somewhat, and the Shuzen assassin acted as the enemy's agent only for lack of a more befitting alternative. With luck and time, he prayed, he could guide her onto a better path; one where Alucard did not ultimately win.

When he made his way back home, he was still so absorbed in his thoughts that he failed to notice the crow that took flight, eager to report back to its mistress in the monster world.