Disclaimer: I do not own Owari no Seraph (Seraph of the End). I write this for your enjoyment only. This story is an alternate version of the Shibuya/Shinjuku arc with differences from the original; please refer to the footnotes at the end. Once again, I would like to thank my beta reader, ResidentialPsycho, for her help in making this fic possible. Enjoy and please review!

Chapter 20: I'll Save You

Sanguinem Palace

"Detoxification of the curse is complete. Please step out of the detoxification chamber."

Mikaela Hyakuya slowly opened his eyes as the computerized voice finally shook him out of his sleep. Running a hand up his chest, the young blond found that there was no trace of the wound Yuichiro had given him and it was safe to assume that the wound in his back was gone as well. As soon as the doors to the detoxification chamber slid open, Mika sat up, completely nude, and noticed for the first time that his eyes were misty with tears.

It's so strange, he thought, I haven't cried since becoming a vampire…

Since he had been turned, Mika had witnessed countless horrors and tragedies on and off the battlefield but nothing disturbed or shocked him as much as watching his orphanage sister turn into a creature that was feared by humans and vampires alike. And the irony was that it was the people in her own army who had done it to her, not the vampires. Why, Mika had no idea, but was determined to find out the next chance he got to search for her again.

Forcing himself to sit up, Mikaela stretched his arms for a moment before climbing out of the small glass chamber he had been sleeping in for the last few hours since Ferid had forcibly brought him back to Sanguinem. The last thing the blond remembered was being slammed in the gut by his commander before waking up in the medical ward of the palace where the servants politely asked him to remove his clothes before stepping into the detoxification chamber.

As upset with Ferid as he was then, Mika knew he had a more pressing concern. Which was to have the cursed wound Yuichiro inflicted on him with her demon sword treated before it got worse so he quietly relented. Now that he was completely healed, the blond took the towel that was left on the side of the detoxification chamber for him by one of the servants and wrapped it around his waist before going into the dressing room next door.

Being the adopted son of the vampire queen, Mikaela had the luxury of his own private shower as well as more opulent living quarters than the other vampire guards. But since his chamber was all the way in the south tower of the palace, Mika opted to use the communal shower in the male guards' dressing room for now.

As soon as Mika stepped inside the shower and removed his towel, he heard a voice behind him.

"Took you long enough; I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up, Mika…"

Turning, the blond saw his fellow guardsman, Lacus, also clad only in a towel and standing against the doorway with his arms crossed. Like with Ferid, Mika didn't exactly welcome or relish his presence.

"Your concern is not necessary, Lacus," Mika said coldly as he turned back and switched the water on.

Lacus sighed as he removed his own towel, hung it on a rack, and stepped under the shower next to Mika's before turning on the water himself.

"You're welcome…" he replied with a slightly teasing lilt. "You know, I think you'd be a bit more popular among the guards and nobles if you'd engage a bit more, Mika. You know, act a little more befitting of a vampire prince, even if you are adopted." *1*

Mika ignored Lacus for a few moments as he soaped himself before rinsing off. Normally, the blond liked to take his time showering but this time, he just wanted to get away from the other vampire and his annoying tendency to pry into things that were clearly none of his business.

But knowing that Lacus wasn't going to leave him alone until he gave some kind of response, Mika said:

"I don't care about being popular with the guards or the nobles for that matter. I only care about finding and saving my sister."

Lacus blinked. "Your sister? Are you talking about the creature who stabbed you in the chest and back?"

Mika shot him a glare as he grabbed his towel from the rack, wrapped it around his waist, and stepped out into the dressing room where he found Rene already half-dressed. From the look of his loose, wet hair, Mika surmised that the older vampire had already showered before his and Lacus' arrival.

Not surprisingly, the purple-haired vampire followed him and persisted with his questions.

"What was that thing, Mika? You say she's your sister, but you two obviously look nothing alike."

"We are not related by blood. But that doesn't make her any less family to me," Mika answered coldly.

"Don't you think you're taking your sense of 'family' a bit too far, Mika?" Lacus asked incredulously. "That monster girl caused so much destruction, killed many of our brethren, and didn't even spare you when you tried to stop her from cutting that human boy down."

Mika spun around and glared at his annoying companion.

"Yuu-chan is not a monster!" he snarled.

"No? Then what is she?" the other vampire challenged. "She isn't a vampire but she's certainly no human either, at least not an ordinary one."

Before the blond could answer, both he and Lacus heard Rene sharply cut in.

"I think what we should really be worried about is if that 'monster girl' as you call her, is the only one. Imagine how much trouble it would be for us to face a whole army of them. I've heard rumors among the surviving guards of the Shinjuku battle that the humans have been meddling with a combination of science and forbidden sorcery to create the creature that girl became; the same one that ended the world eight years ago."

Forgetting Mika for a moment, Lacus turned to the raven-haired vampire.

"Are you talking about the 'Seraph of the End'? But I thought that was only a legend!"

"I thought so too. But now I realize that there must be some truth to it for the issue has already been raised at the Progenitor Council."

"Do you think that it was Lord Ferid's intention for us to retrieve that creature in Shinjuku?"

"Quite possibly. But the mission was a failure."

Lacus snorted. "I can never tell what's going on inside that bastard's head. Sometimes I think he seems happier when we fail. What do you think, Mika? Rumor has it you and Lord Ferid were quite close; is that how you also wormed your way into Her Majesty's favor? I've always wondered what was it about you Queen Krul liked so much that she would make you her adopted son." *2*

Not wanting to engage Lacus' intrusive questions further, Mika quickly got dressed and was about to leave when he heard the voice of his fellow guardsman calling out from behind him.

"If you won't talk, we can always look into your history on our own, Prince Mikaela…"

At the mention of his title, which Lacus had used in a less-than respectful manner, Mika turned around to face both him and Rene with a less-than sincere smile.

"Look into my history? Don't waste your time because you won't find anything worthwhile. After all, I'm just another filthy bloodsucker like you."

Rene frowned. "And what's that supposed to mean? You sure do love to talk in riddles, don't you, Hyakuya?"

Before Mika could answer, all three of them heard a voice over the intercom.

"Mikaela Hyakuya, the Third Progenitor, Krul Tepes request your presence. Please report to the Royal Audience Chamber immediately."

Relieved that he finally had an excuse to leave this unpleasant conversation with his fellow guards, Mikeala opened the door and left the dressing room without another word.

SSSSSS

Yuichiro slowly opened her eyes when she felt the cool air from an open window hit her face. Sitting up, the girl found herself in bed in a hospital room while clad in a nightgown.

What happened? She thought. The last thing Yuichiro remembered was speaking to Mikaela when…

The girl gasped when she remembered the brief discussion with her orphanage brother. Was it a dream? No, it couldn't be for Yuichiro remembered the sight of Mikaela's eyes as well as the feel of his slightly pointed ears and fangs vividly, down to the last detail.

Not only that, his new appearance exceeded her expectations and imagination during their four years apart. No longer did Yuichiro have to imagine what Mikaela would be like if he had lived to be her age.

Excited, Yuu was about to get out of bed when she noticed the presence of another in her room. Looking down, she saw Yoichi half-sitting by her bedside while asleep with his head resting on his folded arms near her feet.

Curious, Yuichiro reached out and gently shook the sleeping boy awake.

"Hey, Yoi! What happened? How did I get here?"

Instead of answering her right away, Yoichi glanced at Yuichiro for a second before he startled bawling and threw his arms around her.

"Hey, what's wrong Yoi? You act like I died or something!" the ravenette teased as she returned his embrace. Releasing one of her arms from Yoichi, Yuichiro reached for a tissue in the tissue box on the nearby night table and handed it to the brunet boy.

Yoichi laughed nervously as he accepted the tissue and blew his nose.

"S-sorry, Yuu! I'm just so happy you're finally awake!"

Releasing Yuichiro, Yoichi was about to run out of the room before she called out to him.

"Hey, where are you going?"

Turning around briefly, the younger boy smiled and said:

"I gotta let everyone know you're finally awake! They've all been worried sick about you, even Mitsuba!"

Confused, Yuichiro was about to question Yoichi further but didn't get a chance before he ran out of the room, leaving her to ponder his words until he returned a few minutes later with the rest of their squad and Satoshi's. Only Risa and Riku were not present.

"So how're you feeling, Miss Hyakuya?" Shinoa asked playfully as she casually strolled up to her friend's bedside. Like Yuichiro, everyone was out of uniform and clad in more casual attire.

"I…" Yuichiro wasn't sure how to answer her squad leader and reached for her locket before realizing that it wasn't there.

Panicking, she gasped. "Hey, where's my…?"

Shinoa smiled and cut Yuichiro off.

"I believe you were looking for this?" the purple-haired girl teased as she pulled Mikaela's heart-shaped locket from the pocket of her blouse and swung it in front of Yuichiro for a moment before clasping it around the other girl's neck where it belonged.

Yuu gave a sign of relief as she clutched her treasured locket.

"Thanks, Shinoa. For a second there, I thought I lost it."

Shinoa laughed light-heartedly as she tried not to think of the unpleasant conversation she had with her friend's guardian regarding Yuichiro five days ago.

"Think nothing of it, Yuu. I know how much that locket means to you so I took care of it while you were sleeping the week away."

Yuichiro stared at her squad leader in astonishment as if she had just grew a second head.

"A week? I've been asleep that long? What happened, anyway? And how did I get here?"

"Hey, one thing at a time, Miss Hyakuya. After all, you just woke up from a week long coma and we wouldn't want to put too much strain on your heart, now would we?" Satoshi joked as he walked into the room while accompanied by Daisuke and Takeshi and placed a vase fill with pink roses on Yuichiro's night table.

Looking at the gift reminded Yuu of the time Satoshi and Daisuke offered her roses and candy as an apology for talking Takeshi into pulling up her skirt to see if she was really a girl.

Turning to Daisuke, she said, "Let me guess, you got me some See's Candies again, right, Dai?"

Daisuke blushed. "How'd you know?" he asked as he pulled out the small candy box he was hiding behind his back.

"Because we all know how much you like western stuff, especially their chocolates. I'm glad I can be here to see you get them this time, unlike when I had to spend a few days in the hospital for the doctor to reset my jaw after you hit me," Takeshi joked while purposely neglecting to mention how Yuichiro struck him there a second time when he tried to protect Yoichi from her deadly rampage.

Mitsuba snorted as she placed her hands on her hips and shot the brunet boy a somewhat dirty look.

"Yeah? Well, from what I remember, you certainly asked for it, Takeshi-kun."

"Now, now, that was a long time ago and the boys did apologize, Mi-chan," Shinoa gently chided. "What's most important is that Yuu gets better so she can return to active duty and we should all be helping her with that."

"That's right, so how're you feeling?" Kimizuki asked, his brow furrowing in concern. "You've been out so long, I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up."

Yuichiro smiled in amusement. "Were you really that worried about me?"

"Of course, he was," Yoichi giggled before the pink-haired boy could open his mouth. "After all, Kimizuki was the one who carried you all the way here after you passed out."

The boy in question blushed furiously.

"Hey!" he protested. "Don't go making stuff up like that!"

Kimizuki's reaction was so hilarious, everyone could not help bursting into laughter, including Yuichiro, before she got serious again.

"You know," she began, "I am kind of hungry since I haven't eaten in a week. Maybe I can have some of that chocolate Daisuke brought?"

"Sure," Daisuke said as he dropped the See's Candies box onto Yuichiro's lap but before she could ask for a knife to cut off the plastic wrapping, everyone heard another voice call out.

"Hey, wait, you don't want to spoil your appetite, Yuu! Leave the chocolates for dessert!"

Turning, everyone in the room saw Riku and Risa Harada at the door, each twin carrying a platter with a lid on it. Even though she couldn't see what was under them, Yuichiro could still recognize that heavenly aroma anywhere.

"Is that pizza?" Yuu asked excitedly as she tried to refrain from drooling.

"Yup, sure is!" Riku said cheerfully as she took the lid off the platter in her hands to reveal a large supreme freshly-baked pizza.

"Shinoa told us pizza was one of your favorite foods, so we did our best to bake you some," Risa added while removing the lid off her platter as well. Upon closer inspection, everyone noticed the edges were slightly burnt.

"Is this the first time you two tried to bake a pizza?" Kimizuki asked curiously. "Because the ones you have look a bit over-cooked."

"Yeah, I know. I told Risa the pizzas needed to be in the oven for only twenty minutes or so, but she insisted on leaving them in there for a half hour," Riku said as she shot her twin a look of annoyance.

"Hey, it's better to have them a little over-cooked than too raw!" Risa shot back defensively.

Not wanting the twins to start a fight, Yuichiro cut in.

"It's ok, I'm so hungry, I don't care either way," she said. "But I can't possibly eat two pizzas by myself, so why don't we all eat them together?"

"Oooh, that's a great idea!" Shinoa exclaimed. "I've actually never had pizza or much western food in general."

"Yeah, me either…" Mitsuba confessed.

"Great, since we all agree, let's dig in! Afterwards, we can probably have the chocolates Daisuke brought for dessert if that's ok with you, Miss Hyakuya," Satoshi said as he turned to Yuichiro again.

"Of course; I don't mind at all. Is there anything to drink? I'm pretty thirsty too."

"Oh, let me take care of that. I'm sure we can get some sodas from the vending machine down the hall," Yoichi said as he prepared to leave.

"Wait, I'll come, too!" Takeshi insisted. "You'll probably need some help carrying back enough for everyone."

"Ok, Saehara. Everyone, we'll be gone for a few minutes, so please take good care of Yuu."

After the two boys had left, Yuichiro finally asked the question that had been on her mind since she woke up with Yoichi at her bedside.

"Shinoa… Satoshi… what happened back on the battlefield? I know I didn't dream everything up. What I want to know is what happened to me and how I ended up here."

The two squad leaders hesitated to answer for a moment before Shinoa finally spoke up. Since Yuichiro was a member of her squad and not Satoshi's, she felt obligated to fill the other girl in on the details after she passed out.

"Don't you remember anything, anything at all, Yuu?"

"Well, yes, and no. I think I remember bits and pieces but it's still a bit blurry to be honest…" Yuichiro confessed as she placed a hand on her forehead.

"Well, about halfway through the battle, you said you were tired and fell asleep," Shinoa joked. That comment got her a disapproving look from Satoshi.

"Miss Hiragi, I'm a little disappointed in you. As a squad leader, I think you have an obligation to be a bit more honest with your subordinates."

Shinoa waved him off. "I know, I was just kidding, Mr. Hiwatari," she said before clearing her throat and becoming serious again. "What really happened is that you suddenly fainted for some reason and both our squads were in danger of being annihilated. But luckily, our reinforcements led by my brothers arrived just in time to drive the vampires back. We weren't able to kill or capture any nobles and the majority of the common vampires got away. But we did manage to capture a few alive while securing Shinjuku for Demon Army."

Yuichiro was startled. "Really? And what about Mika? He was there, wasn't he? I didn't dream or imagine seeing him?"

"Of course not, we all saw him. Unfortunately, he was with the vampires."

Yuichiro frowned. Her squad leader's words confirmed without a doubt that Mikaela had indeed been converted to vampirism as she had discovered herself when she touched him and looked into his eyes.

"I see… can you tell me what happened to him? I take it Mika wasn't one of the vampires your brothers captured."

"You're right, he wasn't. I know you won't like this, but he was taken away by that silver-haired noble."

Yuichiro frowned. "I see…"

Sensing her squad mate's disappointment, Shinoa continued.

"But from what I can see, Mika didn't go back with his superior voluntarily. He was worried about you until the very end."

"Oh… was he hurt?"

"Not from I can see…" The purple-haired girl lied as she recalled how Ferid carried Mikaela off after knocking him unconscious because he refused to leave quietly. Even if the blond vampire wasn't seriously hurt, Shinoa saw no reason to worry Yuichiro any further by mentioning that sordid detail.

"And Guren?"

"He's all right," Shinoa assured. "Your guardian was banged up a bit, but he's a tough old bird so I wouldn't worry about him. You should be concentrating on getting better yourself. Nii-san and the rest of Guren's squad are worried about you, too. They said they're sorry they couldn't visit but asked us to take care of you in their stead." *3*

"It's all right, Shinoa; they've already done so much for me, taken such good care of me when I was still living with Guren. So I don't want to burden them; especially now when there's a war going on. Just knowing that they, Guren and Mika, are alive and well is good enough for me."

"That's the spirit!" Shinoa praised. "Now in regards to Mika, I know you're overjoyed to find your brother alive and well, but that doesn't mean you should rush head-on into the vampire city to find him as soon as you get out of the hospital, you know what I mean?"

Yuichiro rolled her eyes. "Of course, Shinoa. Do I look like someone who would do that?"

"Yes…" Risa said, the words rolling out of her mouth before she could stop them. Riku gave a sigh of slight frustration at her twin's inability to keep her thoughts to herself at times before giving Risa a light jab in the ribs with her elbow.

"Oww!" the brunette girl winced before giving her twin a glare.

Instead of being annoyed, Yuichiro giggled at the Harada sisters' antics which she found cute. A moment later, they heard footsteps and turned to see that Takeshi and Yoichi had returned with their arms full of soda cans.

Seeing a chance to end the awkward moment, Satoshi took it.

"Good, you brought the drinks. How about we forget everything for now and just dig in?"

"Oh yeah, I'm starved!" Yuichiro said excitedly. "Do we have any plates?"

"Yeah, we brought some paper plates," Riku answered, revealing a pack of paper plates she had been holding under the platter in her hands.

"That's great. We should eat before the pizzas gets cold," Mitsuba suggested.

"Way ahead of you, Mitsu!" Yuichiro said as she held out her hands for the first plate and slice, prompting good-natured laughs from both the squads gathered in her room.

SSSSSS

Mikaela paused for a moment before the doors to the royal audience hall as he took a deep breath and smoothed out his uniform to ensure he looked presentable before going to see his dame, *4* Queen Krul Tepes. The blond knew without a doubt that the vampire queen would question him on how the Battle of Shinjuku went, especially since she trusted Mika far more than Ferid to be truthful on all the details.

Not like there was much to lie about. The fact that Ferid's faction had failed to take the human city for the vampires as well as losing many of their soldiers to the humans through death or capture was no secret.

Even so, Krul wanted a full report from her most trusted confident. So as soon as he was ready, Mikaela opened the great doors to the royal audience chamber and went in.

As soon as she heard him enter, the vampire queen set down the wine glass filled with blood that she had been sipping on like fine wine on the arm rest of her throne and smiled at him.

"Greetings, Mika. I'm glad to see that you've returned alive and unharmed. So how goes the battle?"

Bringing himself to one knee and bowing his head in a gesture of respect for his queen and vampire mother, the blond placed a fist over his heart before answering.

"My queen, I regret to inform you that we lost Shinjuku. If Ferid told you this, he did not lie."

"I know… the servants around the palace picked it up from the surviving soldiers and have been whispering it as if late. Even so, did you find what you were looking for in Shinjuku? Or rather, who?"

Mikaela nodded as he lifted his head and looked the vampire queen in the eyes.

"I have, Your Majesty," he answered softly as thoughts of Yuichiro finally put a small smile on his face. Even though Mika wished it had been under different circumstances, he was grateful to find that his orphanage sister was alive and well.

And not only that, Yuichiro had finally accepted her true gender and true self, as he always wished and hoped she would.

Krul smiled, every bit as pleased as her adopted son.

"Good. I'm glad. Don't worry, Mika. I'm not displeased that we lost Shinjuku so long as we've confirmed the existence of Yuichiro Hyakuya."

"Yes. Likewise, my queen."

SSSSSS

Later that night after her friends had left her to rest once more until morning, Yuichiro took a much-needed refreshing shower after being comatose and bed-ridden for a whole week.

Lifting her face to the shower head and letting the running water fall onto her face, hair, and body, the girl found her hand wandering to her treasured locket again. For years, Yuichiro had kept it as a reminder of the family she tragically lost but now that she knew Mikaela was alive, the locket held a new meaning for her.

After she had finished showering, Yuichiro approached the window of her bedroom while clad in a fluffy white towel, and looked up at the starry night sky with the full moon on the horizon.

Just you wait, Mika… Yuu thought as she closed her fist around her locket. I don't know when or how, but I swear on my life, I'll save you!

Little did she know that far away, a young blond vampire prince was looking up at the same sky, gazing at the same moon, while making the same vow...

SSSSSS

Ferid Bathory took a deep breath from his perch atop a ruined building laced with graffiti. His sharp vampiric hearing picked up the sounds of a door opening and approaching footsteps coming from behind him.

Without turning around, the silver-haired vampire lord smiled and spoke out of the blue.

"Ahh…so it looks like you were able to make it after all. Don't you find it amusing that the humans' lust for power are blinding them to the dangers and consequences while we vampires are equally blind and arrogant for taking them far too lightly?"

When he received no answer, Ferid turned around to face his mysterious visitor, a tall man in a dark cloak that concealed his face and body.

"Both sides are equally foolish," he answered simply.

"Hmm…I can't argue with that," Ferid agreed before handing him a leather case containing some important paperwork. "In any case, here's the research material I promised you, partner. Have fun!"

The cloaked man said nothing but took the case he offered and prepared to leave. However, before opening the door and vanishing from Ferid's sight, he turned back and gave the silver-haired vampire lord a brief glance.

"I'll see you again, Bathory. If we live that long," he said, his voice void of any emotion.

Unfazed by the other man's grim words, Ferid simply gave his usual cheerful smiled that concealed any concern or care he may have and said:

"Likewise, partner."

Footnotes:

1. Nobody in canon refers to Mikaela as a prince, even if he was adopted by Krul. Vampires earn their ranks or noble status by strength. But for my AU, I've decided to make Mika a prince the other vampires refuse to acknowledge out of jealousy.

2. In canon, vampires do not have the same concept of family as humans so while Mika was adopted by Krul, he is not publicly acknowledged as her son, but her 'favorite' even though she does refer to him as her son in the manga. For my AU, I've decided to take more liberties by making Mika officially Krul's adopted son.

3. I am unsure if Shinoa refers to Shinya as 'nii-san' or simply addresses him by name but since they are as close as real siblings, I assume she does.

4. In the Anne Rice novels, a vampire parent is called a "sire" if male, and a "dame" if female. The vampires they create by passing on their blood are called "fledglings". I thought it would be interesting to use the same concept for my AU since the Seraph vampires cannot procreate naturally; they can only use their blood to turn humans which is a form of vampire procreation.