Rubbing his sore wrists, Kiku sat before a more-or-less bored looking man. The man's violet eyes seemed to roam over his body, like they were searching for something he wanted. His ears twitched nervously and he looked away, deciding to not like the man's searching eyes. "Do you want me to be the fox back in his chains, sir?" A brunette spoke, slicing the tense silence with her comment. Kiku detected just the beginning of a jealous aura and deemed her to be a succubus; an easily jealous race.

"He's our guest, Elizabeta. Give him one of the rooms... Mirai, come here." The other fox-person came closer, not meeting the king's eyes. "I'm placing him under your care." He rose and left the room, the brunette tailing him.

"Come with me," She walked briskly up the stairs by the massive throne room, her dark eyes as hard as the the stones under their feet. She reached the end of the hall and opened a door, ushering Kiku inside, and closing the door behind her. Mirai enveloped her son in a tight hug, her shoulders shaking.

"M-Mama..." Tears rolled down Kiku's cheeks freely.

"My baby, don't cry. I'm here, and I'll always be here." Her fingers brushed his tears, a slight smile playing at her lips. "Me and Masa will be here if you need it."

"Then she is..."

"She is your sister, Kiku."


Heracles rubbed his eyes and glared at the sun. It seemed so much brighter than before. Fray grumbled at his feet, a fox once more. "I'm tired! Can we stop for a while, vamp- Heracles?" His words went unheard when Heracles' green eyes focused on an unmoving shape by a clump of trees. Fray bounded over and sniffed at the body. "She's got burns on her legs, Heracles, but I think she's breathing." Heracles bent down and turned her over. She had a pair of tattooed wings that spanned most of her back.

"I'm not going to leave her here. Let's take her with us." He lifted her up onto his back, feeling her shift once and groan.

"Who then hell're you?" She mumbled, sounding irritated. "And did you take me with you? You're not a collector for the king are you, brat?"

"I'm not a brat and what do you mean collector?" The girl snorted, opening her eyes.

"Have you been living under a rock? The king collects what he deems unusual. Succubus from Hungary, vampires from Germany, loup-garou from France, fox-people from Japan."

"What's unusual about you?" Heracles asked.

"Put me down and I'll show you, brat." He did as she requested, watching her in case she fell. "I'm far older than I look, I assure you. But don't think I'm frail or something stupid like that, brat." Fray hid behind Heracles' legs as she turned around to expose her bare back. "I haven't touched these tattoos in years..."

The black tattoos on her back moved slightly and rose from her back, flapping once to clean themselves. She turned back around. A tattoo of crimson-colored flames ran up the length of both her arms, stopping at her shoulders.

"I can see why he would want you," Fray mumbled. "You're one of the last few still alive, aren't you?" The girl smirked.

"I had two companions. A Vietnamese girl and a Thai boy. The girl was incredibly flexible, but she fought with a long paddle. But the boy - he refused to let anyone hit the girl, even though she was just as good of a fighter as he was." The girl sighed, allowing Heracles to carry her again. "What's your name, brat?"

"Heracles. Heracles Karpusi."

"Aaliyah Adnan." They walked in silence for awhile.

"Kimi, are you okay? Hey! Kimi? Oh no, ana~"

"P-Put me down. What's wrong with her, Kovit?" Heracles let her down and watched her stumble towards the two. "Where are the others?"

"I left them to find you and-"

"That was stupid. Has she had any rest in the past few days?"

"No. I wake up to find her watching the darkness, ana~"

"Just let her rest then." The Thai boy nodded and lifted up his companion.

"Who are your friends, Aaliyah? And I told you to stop wandering off, Kovit." An annoyed sounding voice echoed out. "I hope they weren't taking advantage of you."

"He's not a-"

"Not a collector? Yes, I know. Doesn't seem like the type." The man's green eyes roamed over Heracles, then Fray. "Come on. Let's get Kimi to her bed."

"Brother! Is that the vampire?"

"For the last time, Chaos, I'm a girl, and I don't believe he knows. And I am not in any way related to you so-"

"Calm down." The same man as before walked back up, a little girl in his arms. "He wasn't really talking to you anyway." She strode away. He turned to Heracles. "I'm Vash. This is Lily. That boy is Chaos. We're a small group."

"Group of what?" Heracles asked, seeming curious.

"We don't like the king so much, you see. We can't get into the city, all of us. They think we're a group of vagrants. Two of our group went in before. They never came back."

"A Hungarian and a Russo-German." The boy called Chaos piped up. "Hey, Vash?"

"Hmm?"

"I heard they acquired a fox-person."

"Another one?"

"Yeah. I think his name's Kiki or something."

"It's Kiku, as a matter of fact... I've been looking for him."

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? They're lovers."

"Then I can get you into the city. But you have to take Chaos and the little fox with you."


Have a wonderful Christmas and New Years!