Chapter 3: The Ones Who Walk Forward
{Lieutenant Colonel Ichinose's Office: June 5th 2020, 7:50am}
With a tiresome sigh, Guren frowned as he looked over the personal files before him. They were on the only two people that he reviewed often: Yuuichiro and Mikaela. Guren was one of the few people who rarely bothered to read a file on someone from the Japanese Imperial Demon Army; however, he had a specific reason to review theirs. Both of his adopted children would soon be joining the class of students preparing for the Cursed Gear trials in two weeks. Normally, he would overview the files and conclude on who would work best for the Cursed Gear, but this time, he was intending on making an exception.
Currently though, he was having to deal with a certain purple-haired witch that was sitting in front of him with her sweetest smile turned on him. Guren knew very well what the girl wanted to talk about, she had already gotten straight to the point and stated what she wanted; however, she wasn't going to be granted everything she desired to know. Guren had secrets to keep and while he knew the girl was close to both of his children: he had to defend them to some extent against whatever people might wish to do to them. He had his reasons for withholding information from the rest of the Army, and she had no reason to question him on that, at least; he thought so.
"So, let me get this straight…..you want me to give you both Yuuichiro and Mikaela's information? The same information that I elected to withhold from the Army?" he asked. The girl grimaced.
"Yes, I want to know more about the night that you and your unit found both Yuuichiro and Mikaela, plus, I want to know more about their history over the course of the last four years." Guren frowned.
"Why on earth do you want to know so much about them? Is it really that important? Or are you just curious?" he inquired as she sighed.
"Lieutenant Colonel, I'm not stupid and I know enough to tell that something is amiss. Both of those boys aren't like typical people, and I need to know what's really going on here." Guren rolled his eyes before looking towards her.
"Listen, Shinoa, I have no reason to tell you anything. Both of those boys are under my protection for a good reason, and it's to keep people that shouldn't know too much from knowing exactly that," he stated with a narrowed glare.
"That may be; however, I am a part of their lives on a daily basis which is more than can be said for yourself. Lieutenant Colonel, both Yuuichiro and Mikaela are different and I get that, but….listen…there are some things about them that make me a little anxious…I don't know what it is precisely, but…." The man huffed in defeat.
"You need to know what I'm keeping quiet about them; but you have a specific interest in Yuuichiro…what? Do you have a crush on him?" he probed. The girl before him narrowed her eyes as she looked to the man in hopes that somehow she could convince him to help her.
"On him? No, I don't think so…..he's a bit brash for my liking. Honestly though Guren, that youngest boy of yours has got me worried…." Guren huffed.
"Why? Did he do something that spooked you?" he inquired this of the girl and Shinoa looked down.
"He's not a normal human; that much is clear but some of the things he's capable of….why is it that he can overcome the demon like that? Why is it that he can handle the energy that a Cursed Gear gives off when he's using an Enchanted Gear? If I'm going to help them I need to know," she said sternly.
"Did you forget that Yuuichiro and Mikaela were both trained using Cursed Gear? That each person in my squad, including your own brother has a Cursed Gear? We taught them how to fight using our own weapons." Shinoa huffed.
"So you'll chalk up their capabilities to decent training? I'm not buying it….they're not average humans….is his brother the same?" she queried. Guren sighed as he reached into a drawer in his desk.
"They actually aren't related. Here take a look…" Guren tossed the pictures across his desk and Shinoa slowly reached out and started to spread them out to look at what they held.
"What are these?" she asked.
"Photos taken during the time from when we found them to just around eight months ago…." She gazed at the image of the two boys sound asleep in the back of a truck, Mika wounded heavily and the black-haired boy looking equally pale and exhausted with a few bruises across his cheek and peeking out from under the blanket on his leg.
"Explain this please…." Guren huffed.
"I found them on the outskirts of Kyoto in January of twenty-sixteen. Mikaela was so horribly wounded that he was barely alive and as for Yuuichiro…"
Shinoa looked at the images that were in front of her as she looked at the scenes in each picture. She summarized that the two Hyakuya brothers were around twelve years of age at the time of the photos. Some of the images were of them in the hospital while the others were ones of when they'd been found. Their clothing was somewhat akin to hospital and laboratory clothes blended with a uniform of some kind. They both had chokers around their throats with tags and as she looked her eyes lingered on the image of a younger Yuuichiro. He was pale, his clothing blood splattered while his body was littered with cuts, bruises, and signs of being attacked.
Her gaze turned to Mika who was wounded as horribly as Guren had said he was. He had a horrific wound to his stomach and his left arm was severed. The photos were in tangent, varying from an image of Yuuichiro who was being held in place by Guren, Shinya, and Goshi who were struggling to hold him down. Shinoa looked to Guren and then to the images again when she saw the last photo of Yuu lying beside Mika in his bed, gently clutching the blonde boy's reattached arm's hand while resting his head against his shoulder. A smile came across her features slightly and Guren sighed.
"Yuuichiro was feral when we found them. It took us almost two years to get him to completely overcome his fear of humans and the same aggression that you see him use in combat. Shinoa, we had to take months to rehabilitate him and Mikaela as well….why are you so keen on digging up the past?" Shinoa looked to him.
"He was feral? I really can find that hard to believe….but he does seem pretty wild at times. Lieutenant Colonel? These pictures were taken almost four years ago right?" she probed.
"Yep, I know it seems like something from quite some time ago. I've raised them, rehabilitated them, trained them, and watched them grow up. Yuuichiro's personality has always been guarded even more so when he started to become used to people. I think it's for Mikaela's sake even though he's younger than him. Mika tries to shoulder a lot and Yuu always sticks by him….so when they were thirteen, I started introducing them to others their age….anyways, Mikaela slowly opened up, but Yuuichiro…not so much…." Shinoa looked down.
"He can't associate with others well can he? I guess it was shocking when Yoichi warmed up to him so quickly?"
"Yea, that was pretty surprising…but Saotome looks up to him because he's strong; however, both Yuuichiro and Mikaela are like diamonds: beautiful, strong, and capable of some fairly remarkable things. They're also brittle and it makes you anxious that he can fend off a Cursed Gear with conventional weaponry," Guren stated. Shinoa huffed.
"Okay, we've beaten around the bush enough. Can you please just be honest?" the man sighed.
"Hmm, alright, you want to know about Hyakuya Yuuichiro and Hyakuya Mikaela? Fine by me, just know that if you do this, you'll have to know that there's no turning back," he stated. Shinoa huffed in exasperation.
"Alright, I've been prepared for that." Guren smirked knowingly.
"Both of my brats are Gift holders. Yuuichiro has a special gift and so does Mikaela, they have three all-together and only share two of them. One of Yuuichiro's is extremely rare and uncommonly strong: I would even state that his gift has begun to grow stronger and more controllable. Still, both of them have some abilities that are on the fence…I have a task for you Shinoa, if you're up to it," he said.
"What do you want me to do exactly?" she knew that she sounded a tad too eager; however, knowing that her assumptions were heading in the right direction allowed her to feel just a bit excited at learning more.
"I want you to keep an eye on Yuuichiro and lax just a bit with Mikaela – he's more level headed than his brother – and I want you to help him so that if something were to happen to where he can't control his abilities, if he loses restraint or if something were to happen to where he couldn't ground himself and Mika can't help him or isn't there…I need you to be there," he stated. Shinoa looked at the photos before her.
"So, you want me to be his keystone in case something happens and he starts to break…." Guren looked her over with a smirk.
"Yes, and I have the most sincere feeling that you'll figure out what you feel for that idiot." The girl stood with a glare.
"I don't think that's something you need to joke about. Anyways, I'll accept the task….for some reason, I've started to get a little attached to them," she said. The man laughed a bit again.
"Good, then this will be easier."
{Shibuya High School Underground: Army Academy: 3:00pm}
Shinoa walked with Yoichi, Mika, and Yuu towards the academy area of the lower level of the school as they prepared to take their first class in spell craft work. According to what she had told them, they would go to their normal classes and then attend this specific class. Both Mikaela and Yoichi were fairly excited when it came to the prospect of learning more, but she could not say the same for a certain emerald-eyed boy. She sighed as her gaze turned to said boy who kept his gaze down– after being around him for several months, Shinoa could tell that he was thinking - as he walked nearby her; however, as they continued to walk, she started to take notice of a few more details about the boy beside her.
Since she had first met Hyakuya Yuuichiro, something about him made her feel strange. A large part of her knew that she had met him before; however, that wasn't what bothered her. No matter what she had done, nothing would let her shake it, the feeling of confusion. As she walked by him, she thought on what she knew about the boy: he was stubborn, irritating, sharp-tongued, short-fused, and feisty from what she could tell and had to do things in his own way at his own pace and that he despised wasting time or sitting idly by.
For a moment, she frowned before she looked him over as he turned his gaze forward even though she could tell he was still thinking about something. Shinoa took this time to take in the boy's appearance; the cut to his hair, the color of it, and the structure of his face and the shape of his eyes – the color of them – his presence and the way he carried himself.
"In total, he's….not bad looking…."
Despite all of his bravado, his aggression, strength, and prowess; he still had an innocence to him that always caused her to stare and try to solve the puzzle that was this boy. Shinoa couldn't quite count the amount of times that he had locked eyes with her and caused her to become nearly paralyzed as she tried to keep herself calm. Somehow, those sharp, vivid, beautiful emerald eyes always tripped her up or spooked her. The girl sighed a bit as she figured that not many could blame her seeing as he had that kind of effect on people. Even with his wide emerald eyes and knowing smirk or the messy cut to his hair, she couldn't quite put her finger on what made him both interesting and a tad uncomfortable to be around.
Shinoa tried to reason with herself that she took interest in him because he was so quiet about his past, unlike Mikaela; however it didn't quite fit for her feelings towards the boy. She reasoned again that it was just plain curiosity because he was different from those she'd grown up around, but even that didn't quite settle with her.
"What? Do you have a crush on him?" she felt warmth rise to her cheeks as she thought about the words that Guren had said earlier.
"Shinoa?" a soothing and surprisingly gentle, yet slightly rough voice met her ears and her tangerine eyes locked with the bright emerald of Yuuichiro's eyes as her blush went darker.
"Y-Yes?" she asked.
"You okay?" Shinoa was surprised.
"I'm fine….thank you…."
"If you say so…you got quiet. I'm used to you talking a lot," he mentioned off-handedly.
"Oh? Well then, I apologize for making you worry." Shinoa smirked as he flushed a bit.
"I wasn't worried; I just wanted to make sure you were still doing your job and paying attention," he defended while still finding himself flushed in the face.
"He's kind of cute when he blushes…wait… what am I saying?!"
"Well, all the same, thank you, Yuu; for being concerned. Guren was right, you do care about your friends….' Shinoa watched the blush darken.
"I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to get in trouble; so stop blowing it out of proportion!" Shinoa nodded a bit.
"I will…"
The four of them after their walk down the hallway made it to the classroom and roused Guren from his sleep. The man looked towards Mika and Yuu momentarily and took note of the small flush to Yuuichiro's cheeks before chalking it up to Shinoa and her antics. The man sighed, knowing that he didn't really help seeing as he always made comments about the black-haired boy's lack of a relationship with anyone if it was anything but platonic. Violet-brown eyes glanced at his youngest brat and he huffed again: he really needed to get the kid a date, soon. The Lieutenant Colonel cleared his throat as he stood and turned his attention to the class before him.
"Alright, I'm making a rare appearance today to introduce our three new students to all of you," he said.
"Shouldn't the teacher be present for every class, Lieutenant Colonel?" he narrowed his yes at Shinoa, who grinned.
"Whatever, half-pint; anyways….everyone, these three are our new students: Saotome Yoichi, Hyakuya Mikaela, and Hyakuya Yuuichiro, or as you might like to call them: the wimp, the silent death-threat, and the idiot. Now, tell everyone hello kids," Guren stated.
The two brothers felt themselves internally bemoan the statements from their adoptive father. Frustrating as it was, they both realized the statement was coming – it was common, alongside the rest of it – which they had been used to for quite some time. Despite that, Guren continued to bore into them with a look befitting the devil while neither of them were prepared to submit to the man's desires. The Lieutenant Colonel felt himself nearly groan in defeat as the desire to do nothing more than bash himself over the head for ever allowing his two thick-skulled brats out of his personal training so soon; but what was he to do? They'd learned all that he felt they could from him. However, a certain cherry boy – his personal opinion, not truthfully anyone else's – had something to say to him.
"Like hell I will! You annoying prick!" Guren sighed.
"Just introduce yourself, idiot." Emerald eyes – the same ones he'd seen look wild and terrified over the last three years – narrowed.
"I'm not here to make friends, so I won't bother wasting my breath," he said as Mika sighed while Yoichi cowered a bit next to Shinoa.
"Why did I ever agree to this?" Guren questioned in dismay. Perhaps he was truly becoming too soft.
"Maybe because all three of them took on a Vampire without Cursed Gear and actually would have managed to kill her if you hadn't stepped in. Then, your youngest kid defeated a demon with his will alone, oh! And both him and his brother kicked your squads tails in training as they started border patrol with the Army at age fourteen." The man looked to Shinoa with an annoyed expression.
"I didn't ask for any statements from the peanut gallery," he said.
"You also didn't directly ask anyone." He frowned as he looked to Yuuichiro. The boy was smarter than he was given credit for: he just tended to rely on his talent in combat over his mental strength from time to time.
"Shut up, brat!" he drop-kicked the boy, who caught it on his shoulder instead of his head while Guren sighed, knowing very well that the boy had managed to maneuver his body just enough to miss it.
"You know what? We'll just go sit in the back," said Mika as he grabbed both his brother and Yoichi while Shinoa joined them and took a seat next to their table.
"Three….no….four trouble-makers…..perfect…..I'm going to need an aspirin and a glass of scotch after today…."
Guren prepared to hand the class over to Sayuri, but was very well aware of something going on in the back relating towards not only the apparent short fuse that the black-haired fifteen-year-old had, but in dealing with a seventeen-year-old student by the name of Kimizuki Shiho – whom Guren learned was called telephone pole by Yuuichiro – and having to knock both of them out. By the end of class, most students were flying out the door and the five of them were seated looking decidedly irate as they kept their eyes down while Guren maintained a glare upon them while Mika had decidedly not liked where things were going and had agreed with Yuu who had mumbled something about hating parental punishment on a military level. As they sat there though, the pink-haired teenager with glasses; or, Kimizuki continued to glance them over in questioning while Yoichi tried to keep himself out of it as much as possible and Shinoa found herself being highly entertained by it all.
Needless to say, the five teenagers were starting to give Guren a distinct desire to knock down an entire bottle of scotch or whisky – something strong that would numb the blaring headache he had gotten – as he pulled up a seat across from them while Sayuri looked the five teenagers over in mild concern as the two higher ranking officers kept their gaze upon them and Kimizuki continued to glance towards the Hyakuya brothers while Yoichi made a quick move to sit next to Shinoa - more behind her, if he were to be honest – as Guren sat back and watched as Sayuri waited, knowing that there wasn't anything she could particularly do about the matter at hand.
Guren sighed as he watched them, deciding that he would let this play out for just a moment longer while he took in the silence. Shinoa on the other hand, looked at the three teenage boys before turning her gaze directly to Yuuichiro who had a distinct air of annoyance as he drummed his fingers lightly upon the desk top in an attempt to cool his nerves. She rose an eyebrow at the behavior, but said nothing before she recalled that Kimizuki had attacked the boy earlier that morning; however, she currently had another issue to worry about and that was the fact that Guren had decided to speak up finally.
"So, can we learn anything from this ridiculous situation? Honestly, I thought everyone here was much more intelligent and mature than this. Not only did you misbehave and disrupt the class: but you also caused everyone else here to feel uncomfortable with the three of you! Have you lost your minds?" the other teens looked down in a guilty manner while his two children scowled at him.
"I understand….sorry….now, if we're done I…" Kimizuki had spoken and made his peace, but Guren wasn't quite finished.
"And you two! What on earth are you doing? I raised you far better!" he stood, bashing the two boys over the head as Kimizuki stared at the two of them in shock.
"Their….his kids?!"
"Ouch! What the hell Guren!" Yuuichiro stood up to the Lieutenant Colonel.
"Four-years-worth of effort, training, rehabilitation, and the two of you struggling your way up the ranks and working towards joining the Moon Demon Company along with all the bullshit you've two gone through: I would have thought the two of you would work a little better than this!" Guren snapped as Yuuichiro and Mikaela continued to rub the sore spots on their heads.
"Piss off! Guren, I have a reason to go head to head with this pink-haired jackass!" the man huffed.
"Aren't you passed petty reasons? Oh, that's right, you have a big problem of letting go of the past. Both of you are down-right frustrating I swear…." He brushed his bangs out of the way before glaring towards the two boys.
"Lieutenant Colonel…." Sayuri started.
"So…..you decided to attack my brother this morning?" the tone caused Shinoa to flinch a bit as she realized that it was Mikaela who had spoken in such a frigid tone as the boy's eyes turned a near ice-blue in color with his glare.
"Hard to believe that's Mika of all people….he never speaks to people that coldly…."
"What? Your brother? Who's your brother?" Kimizuki looked to the blonde in questioning before Mika looked at the black-haired boy near him as Shinoa giggled.
"The black-haired boy next to him dummy!" she said as Kimizuki looked at the green-eyed boy.
"Him?! That pipsqueak?! He's your brother? Wait….what are you even doing here? With the kind of attitudes you have your wasting people's time by not working alongside the rest of the class and causing trouble!" he stated while Yuuichiro rolled his eyes.
"Mika, you don't need to waist your breath on this guy: he doesn't give a damn about anyone else." The pink-haired teen narrowed his eyes.
"Oh? I don't care? Who the hell do you think you are you little freak?!" Mika snarled at that.
"God, you're so annoying! The point I'm getting at is that you attacked my brother unprovoked and I don't like it! I want an apology, you owe him that much!" the blonde snapped.
Kimizuki narrowed his eyes at the gal that this boy had, demanding him to apologize to someone like that boy. However, he did find the fact that both of these bizzar people were the children of Lieutenant Colonel Ichinose Guren a bit unsettling. As he watched them with their bored and irritated expressions, Kimizuki took note of their appearances and found himself slightly uncomfortable with them. Taking in a deep breath, he met sapphire colored eyes and glared as he looked to the boy.
"Him? An apology? Yea, right….he's just a weak little punk who got in my way. People in our world who can't fight nor can they manage to do what they should are nothing but dead weight! Their no better than livestock!" Kimizuki stated. As soon as the words left him, Guren felt a small smirk cross his features.
"This is about to get interesting….."
None of them were able to stop the fist that connected with Kimizuki's jaw. He hit the floor in shock as Mika stared as his brother stood before pinning the other as he bared his teeth with a sharp snarl coming from him as he gripped the front of the pink-haired teen's hoodie as the boy remained crouched over him, with a slightly wild look in his eyes as the boy nearly hissed in what could only be described as anger. The others watched, surprised by the black-haired boy's sudden aggression that certainly surprised the other teenagers who had never seen this side of him unlike Mika, Sayuri, and Guren who were doing their best to figure out whether or not to step in.
Kimizuki stared onward at the boy whose form shook in evident indignation as he tried to pinpoint what would have set off the seemingly calm – yet fairly mouthy – teenager that was currently on top of him. It was as the boy took in a shaky breath and locked eyes with him that he realized something that he hadn't before. Yuuichiro's emerald gaze was fairly intimidating and always seemed to look more at the person's soul than themselves; however, this time there was more there: pain, fear, anger, and the haunting stare of someone who had been traumatized. Kimizuki felt his heart leap into his throat when the boy gripped the front of his hoodie tighter, his hands shaking as he did so.
"Do you know what it's like to be livestock? Do you get what it's like to watch those monsters rip your family apart? No, I doubt you do….your just a fucking bystander…..but me? Mika? We're here to watch those blood-sucking demons suffer….and I honestly don't care what you or anyone else thinks of us…just remember this…." Kimizuki was slammed into the ground by the boy with surprising force which caused Guren to stand and make a faint motion to Mika who nodded as the others stared in a seemingly stunned silence.
"I hate people who think they're better than everyone else because their good in a classroom…..it doesn't matter one damn bit when you set foot out there and are face to face with those monsters….they won't ask you about a phrase from a fucking book…they'll rip you to pieces and drain everything from you until your nothing but a dry, withered husk….they'll leave you on the ground like the trash they think you are…." the boy gritted his teeth, his form shaking as Kimizuki looked to him.
"And how would you know? Your just some commanding officer's brats….you probably don't know about the kind of hell people outside the wall had to deal with….you've probably lived here your whole life, nice and comfortable…." Another punch came from the black-haired boy who dug his nails into Kimizuki's throat as Guren moved past the others and came up behind the boy and crouched down before putting his arm down past the child who shook a bit as he let the man pull him away.
"That's enough, calm down…." the boy slowly stood, his form still quivering as he glanced towards the man, displaying electric-green eyes with cattish pupils.
"So that's started to develop….I figured as much…."
"S-Sorry I….." he shook his head as he looked at the boy.
"That's fine, Mika? Get him to sit down and keep an eye on his pulse for a bit would you?" Guren asked as the blonde came forward.
"Sure, but…why?" the man sighed as he put the back of his hand to the black-haired boy's forehead.
"He's running a fever already…" Sayuri nodded as Mika moved his brother to a table nearby and set to keeping tabs on him while Sayuri did the same with checking his temperature and telling him to lay his head down upon the table for now.
Guren watched as Kimizuki slowly sat up in a fairly spooked manner as he kept his gaze upon the boy and the others watched his actions. When he had been pinned, he had felt something strange that had frightened him to a degree: the boy's strength was immense and far to savage for someone his height and weight Kimizuki swayed a bit as he stood and his body began to feel the impact that the other teenager had given him as he stood there and looked back to Yuuichiro who still had his head on the table, taking in shuttering breaths as Mika and Sayuri tried to keep an eye on him. Guren sighed as he heard Yoichi gulp while he slowly moved towards the black-haired boy who seemed fairly unaware of those around him while Shinoa glanced periodically between the two brothers and Guren.
"Well, I'm impressed that you managed to hold up against that. Most people start to panic when he loses control," Guren stated as the other teenagers turned their gaze to him.
"What do you…." Yoichi was cut off.
"What the hell is he? Humans don't have that kind of strength! Not to mention…his eyes changed color. What are you hiding exactly?" Kimizuki snapped as Mika sent him a withered glower that could have potentially ended his life.
"What is he? Yuuichiro and Mikaela both are the only known survivors of the Vampire Reign. I adopted them after I found them during their escape from Sanguinem in January of twenty-sixteen when they were twelve." The pink-haired teen stared.
"They're… survivors? from the Vampire City?" he nodded.
"Yes, both of them were found outside of Sanguinem like I said. They were injured severally, and for your information: both Mikaela and Yuuichiro were those livestock you so casually mentioned," Guren explained as Kimizuki swallowed a lump in his throat as Yoichi looked to the two boys near him in shock.
"You both were….." Mika nodded as he looked down begrudgingly.
"The two of us and our family were taken in by the Vampires in twenty-twelve….four years later we tried to escape….when we made it through the city….there were eight of us….when we left it was just me and Yuuichiro…." He said in a slightly hollowed tone. Kimizuki shook his head and looked to Guren.
"That's just….." Guren looked to him.
"You do owe them an apology," he stated.
"I….why?! He just attacked me, and…."
"Apologize, that's an order!" Guren snapped while Shinoa went over to Yuuichiro and placed a hand on the boy's head gently. Just by touching him, she could tell that he was shaking in evident pain. With a frustrated sigh, she thought over what she had seen and took in the changes: the sharpening of his eyeteeth, the brilliant glow to his eyes. The traits weren't demonic, but more so Vampiric. Tangerine eyes looked to Guren as Kimizuki started bowing in a begrudging manner and apologizing towards the two Hyakuya brothers and Guren as she frowned. What was this all about? What was he expecting her to do if she didn't know what made these two boys so different?
"I need to find out more….Mika can't do this alone…."
{Army Hospital: 6:45pm}
For what was possibly the thousandth time since having come into the room alongside Shinoa and Yoichi, Mika shot a glare towards Guren as the blonde rung out a cloth and placed it on Yuuichiro's forehead as he reached to feel of the boy's pulse. Between the death glares and the silence, Yoichi found himself feeling decidedly anxious while Shinoa remained in deep thought if not looking a bit pale as Guren watched as he always did. Sometimes, he got the distinct feeling that Mikaela didn't like him one bit – almost as much as Yuuichiro had started off liking Guren himself – and he knew why of course, but he hoped that he didn't get caught in the crossfire at this point: he had a lot of things to deal with and his two children were at the top of that list.
Meanwhile, Mika himself was internally grumbling over the events of the day and finding a means to make sure that Guren was aware of his displeasure. His brother was sick because he had allowed the pink-haired idiot known as Kimizuki to provoke him and trigger one of his Gifts. It was the one out of three that both he and Yuuichiro had, but it was one of the only ones that they had in common. This particular was currently the hardest on them because it was so overpowering. The blonde-haired sixteen-year-old sighed as he shot another glare as he listened to the unsteady breathing of the boy beside him.
"I should kick your ass," he said in a sharp manner.
"Look, Mikaela, it's not my fault that he triggered one of his gifts." The boy's sapphire-colored eyes narrowed again.
"You could have stopped it…" he said.
"Hey! It's not my fault that he copied something off a Vampire and it stuck when he didn't realize it…" The statement caused the room to grow quiet as Shinoa and Yoichi took the words in.
"What do you mean he copied off of a Vampire?" asked Yoichi as Shinoa nodded. Guren sighed at the question, knowing that he shouldn't have expected to avoid it.
"When the trumpets of the apocalypse sounded, a great many strange things began to happen. Amongst those oddities, were people who had survived or were under the age of thirteen had started developing abilities that were supernatural in nature." Shinoa frowned.
"Such as?" she inquired. Mika glanced towards the Lieutenant Colonel and the man made a disgruntled face.
"Things like people who can read minds, create shields from energy, summon creatures, and use sound waves started popping up; so, we scooped them up and trained the ones we could find." Mika wrung out the cloth again.
"I'm confused….how does that apply to what happened to Yuu?" questioned Yoichi as he looked at the man.
"Well…after so many people started showing up, we gave their abilities names. Both Yuuichiro and Mikaela share in an ability known as Psychometry, a measurement of the soul if you will. It's activated by copying abilities and traits off of non-human creatures like ghosts, demons, werewolves, and Vampires. Once it's done, the person can use those abilities as if they were their own." Shinoa glanced to the side.
"So….what did Yuu copy off of?" she asked.
"He copied off of the Vampire that killed his and Mika's family. I'm not sure who he copied the abilities from, but they come out with strong emotions or moments where his adrenaline levels rise to high. He has very little control and because of that it has a great drawback…." Mika cut in at that.
"Because the energy was from a Vampire, it doesn't correspond with a human's body and though it can eventually be used as if it was natural; it comes in short bursts – less than fifteen minutes – it still dramatically effects the physical, emotional, and mental workings of a human. Yuu doesn't let it get through often because he gets so ill from it…but, regardless….it makes me anxious that his fever is this high," he answered.
"Is he gonna be okay?" the blonde nodded.
"After a day or so of rest, he'll be fine," he assured them as Shinoa frowned.
"I want to know something: what exactly did this ability copy from the Vampire?" Mika glanced down.
"Like what traits did he get and what ones did he not?" he inquired as she nodded.
"I guess the real question I have is if…..Yuu were to use that in combat….would he eventually gain a thirst for blood?" Guren sighed at the statement.
"He's never shown an interest in it; however, he did copy off of a Vampire and Psychometric Users do have to pay a price for usage of their gifts. When he copied off of the Vampire, he gained half of the strength, complete durability, senses, and fangs, but that's all we've seen surface thus far. He's not a Vampire, but he has some of their abilities…..and, admittedly, his senses being heightened are helpful," he explained as Mika dampened the cloth at dabbed at his brother's throat at his pulse point to help cool him down.
"Aren't you worried that something will happen to him then?" The Lieutenant Colonel shook his head at Yoichi's question.
"No, I'm not really worried. I just have to make sure he stays safe: him and Mikaela are both my responsibility," he stated.
"Well, if you're not worried, then…." The door opened slightly and caused their attention to be turned to it as Mika narrowed his eyes at Kimizuki who slowly entered the room before shutting the door as he looked down, hoping to show some respect in the face of the fact that he wasn't welcome at the moment.
"I heard Hyakuya was sick, so…" Kimizuki started to speak and Mika frowned before making a tisking noise.
"So? You decided to come bother us some more?" the pink-haired teenager shook his head.
"No, I came to apologize for being so brash with you two earlier today…I know I said that I was sorry earlier, but when I did that I realized that I needed to come and do so formally and when I heard that your brother was ill I decided to come here and personally apologize," he stated while Shinoa gave him a scolding look.
"You do realize that he's running a fever of a hundred-and-three because of you, so you better be apologizing when he comes back to school….it is your fault after all…" she said sharply as Guren smirked.
"Ah, the shrill and seething voice of a young maiden in love." Shinoa went pink and narrowed her eyes.
"Shut up, Guren!" she snapped.
"Regardless…I don't expect him to accept my apology immediately, so….I suppose I have to earn that from him and you as well, Hyakuya." Kimizuki bowed, not liking the fact that he had to stoop to this low of a level for complete strangers, but being respectful and polite all the same in the face of the current problem.
"Alright, we'll see how that goes. Just don't treat us like we're beneath you….we're all in the same boat so we might as well help each other," Mika stated as he caught the pink-haired seventeen-year-olds eyes.
"Right…I guess you have a point…."
At those words, Mikaela knew that Kimizuki Shioh, and his brother would probably never quite see eye-to-eye; but he could hope at least.
{…..}
It's coming, coming. But you are not alone…
{…}
Author's Note: I expanded a bit upon some of the interactions with the group as a whole and then I gave a bit more of a detailed explanation on the Psychometric Gift; however, if you need a clearer one:
A Psychometric Gift is the ability to copy off of something that is of non-human origin – or just isn't human – and apply those abilities to one's self. It activates under extreme duress where adrenaline levels are unnaturally high such as when Yuuichiro was trying to save Mika from Ferid in the prologue. It is usually registered with an electrical-sensation that courses through the body when the person copies off of something. Over time the ability can be adapted to full usage but there are several drawbacks from stamina to another complication that will be revealed over the course of the second story: Seraphim Blood II: Distant Prayer.
However, some of the other drawbacks include low stamina, decreased health, lowered immune system, and even at times of the abilities being used without extensive proper training and usage to develop it over time it could result in death.
That's pretty much the gist of it, so, hope you're all having a great new year.
Preview:
Chapter 4: Akane