On through the darkness they traveled; Dante on his horse and Leila on her motorbike. Like something out of a movie, they darted through the eerie abyss of opaque black, not even able to see their hands in front of them. The only light was the headlight on the motorbike that was the only thing keeping Leila from hitting a tree and flying off of it. Dante, being dhampir, could easily see in the dark, for it came naturally to him.

As they trudged on, they would come to a split path, surrounded by dangerously pointy castle tops and sharp rocks lining the ground. These were Noble ruins, which the Nobles we working on rebuilding. That's exactly where they were headed.

One of the castles had been completely rebuilt from when Hunters had destroyed it ages ago. It used to be called the Castle of Chaythe, but now it belonged to a new Noble, a man by the name of Lucius.

Leila had informed Dante about all of this on their difficult journey through the forest. So far, they'd had no problems, but that wouldn't continue for too much longer… It was a treacherous road ahead for them, both figuratively and literally.

"I see it," Leila said quietly as they sped along through the night. "I see the castle. Faintly, but its there."

"Me too," Dante said. "We should be arriving shortly." But it was just as he spoke that the tires on Leila's motorbike had been blown out by something in the unknown. The bike swerved to the side, sending Leila flying into the air and rolling down the hill. Dante turned his horse to save her, but the same blinding flash had come hurtling towards them. He'd jumped out of its path just in time, but for the mechanical horse, it was too late. The equine fell into two to the ground. Dante, however, landed swiftly on his feet, his sword extended out in front of him.

"Show yourself!" he yelled, hand gripping the hilt of his longsword. The flash made a dash towards the right, and Dante could barely follow it with his eyes as the strange thing darted off into the darkness.

"Ngh," Leila grunted as she pulled herself up over the ravine she'd rolled down, collapsing onto the cool soil once she'd done so. "The hell was that…?"

"No idea, but it can't be good…" Dante said, bending down to Leila's side. "Looks like someone doesn't want us here. Now, let me see those wounds."

"Maybe it's a Noble guard, or one of Lucius' henchmen," she said, holding up her right hand to show three bloodied fingers. "This is the only spot that's hurt too bad. I think they're broken."

"I think you're right," Dante said, examining the fingers, then taking out a first aid kit he'd stashed away on his mechanical horse. He took out some gauze and began to wrap her fingers in it, using a small stick as a splint.

"It's the best I can do for now, Leila," he told her as he wrapped the gauze continuously around her swollen digits. "Just don't move 'em too much."

"Gotcha," she said, flinching as he fixed the splint a little. "Jesus, that hurts like one goddamned son of a bitch."

"At least it's not your leg or something," Dante replied, ripping the gauze with his teeth. "There ya go."

"Thanks," the blonde woman said as she sat upright, looking at her makeshift bandages. "You think we should rest for the night, err, day? Its almost sunrise."

"Yeah. It'll sure as hell make it a lot easier on me if we travel by night. I'm kind of prone to sun sickness, you know." Leila nodded, hobbling over to her motorbike.

"Damn sure sucks that we don't got a ride anymore, neither of us."

"You can say that again," the dhampir said as he watched her pull out a sleeping bag from a side compartment in the bike. "Looks like you came prepared."

"Well, it aint much, but at least its something, ya know?" Leila said, beginning to set it up. "I brought a few blankets, too." She eyed the dhampir up for a moment. "You bring anything?"

"No, heh," he said, fixing his cloak a little. "I don't really need it, you know. Don't get too much sleep, seeing as I'm part Noble."

"Yeah, part D too. He never slept, far as I could tell." Leila stood, stepping over to the dhampir and grabbing his hand. "But that still means you're part human. You can sleep by me."

"Oh, uh," Dante began, hesitating a little as he was pulled up. She was pretty strong, he noted, for a human girl. "You really don't--"

"But I do," she insisted, leading him to the fully extended sleeping bag she'd set out. It was more like a mattress now that he looked at it, and surely was wide enough for two, maybe even three people. But… he still was hesitant.

Leila looked down, her blue eyes sparkling. "Doing anything for you, and for D… it'd make me feel better for the debt I'd built up with him." She paused. "He saved me a few times, I didn't do too much in return. We called it even, but…. I still don't feel quite right. Please, Dante, take what little I can give you."

When she put it that way, it made Dante feel a little guilty that he kept denying her like that. He looked down.

"Alright, but just promise me one thing," he said after a moment's hesitation, looking directly into Leila's aqua orbs.

"Anything." Dante smiled.

"Don't hog the blankets."

--

"Master?" The door to the elaborately decorated room creaked open as a thin redheaded girl with dazzling emerald eyes stepped in. She was clothed in a beautiful Victorian black dress just as ornate as the room, with shiny black heels that echoed with every step on the marble flooring. But again, this auburn beauty's eyes still looked dull, and glazed over, like a dead person's, and her voice sounded like that of an android, a machine.

"Yes, my love?" came a rich voice from a face hidden behind a long, black cape. This figure was sitting in a chair with his back to the girl, only his head was turned in the slightest, revealing a pale, gleaming cheek against smooth, slicked-back hair that was as black as the night itself. The voice had been so beautiful, even the chime of pure crystal could not have matched its clarity.

The girl made her way towards her master, almost zombie-like, her steps perfectly aligned like a robot, and her dull eyes looking straight ahead. As she approached the figure in black, she placed a slender hand on his shoulder. The figure reached up with his right hand, still not revealing his face, and placed his fingers to her chin, bringing her head down to his. It was then when he'd grinned that a pair of perfectly white fangs gleamed like stars were revealed.

"Please," the girl breathed, moving her hair aside so that her pale neck was showing, open to the one she called 'Master'. He chuckled darkly, getting a grip onto her neck, slowly leaning in, those fangs shining tauntingly…

"Ngh!" Dante sat upright. It was broad daylight, and it took a few moments for his eyes to get accustomed to the light. Birds tweeted every so often from high in the tree tops, what bit of the sun's rays shining through the branches like all the glory in heaven. Dante rubbed his eyes, turning to the side. Leila was nowhere in sight.

In an instant the dhampir had risen to his feet, beginning to search frantically, almost forgetting to grab his sword in the process.

"Leila!" he called out, looking all about. He was a little disoriented, but he searched the best he could. "Leila, where are you?!"

He ran and ran, around trees, over stumps, through the brush, until he heard the sound of running water. Following it, he came upon a small clearing in the forest, where a river snaked through, a waterfall pouring into it from the cliff above.

Amidst the gently flowing waters, a pale bodice stood, glistening under the water droplets, and looking like a goddess under the waterfall, her shoulder-length blonde hair plastered to her head. Leila.

Just as the dhampir had come to this scene, the woman turned around, blushing and covering herself frantically as her eyes met Dante's.

He turned around quickly, a blush that didn't really fit his complexion set on his face, embarrassed to have found her like this.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, Leila, I…"

"N-no, I should be sorry," the blonde woman said, slowly making her way across the wide river to meet up with the boy. "I left you sleeping over there. I should have said something. It's just… I'm not used to sleeping in the day, D, and I decided to take a bath in my free time."

Dante kept his back to her, staring at the ground, making sure he didn't even get a glimpse of the woman. "You called me D."

"I…what?" Leila asked, looking a bit confused.

"I said, you…" Dante began to turn around, out of instinct, but quickly stopped himself. "I said you called me D," he added a bit more quietly. Leila gave a sigh, smoothing her hair back.

"Sorry, I didn't-- Hey," she said, grabbing him by the shoulder. "Look at me." Hesitating greatly, the dhampir boy turned to face her, ever-so slowly, a bright red blush burned on his cheeks as he made sure to keep her gaze and not let his eyes falter.

"I'm sorry," Leila said again, firmly. "For calling you D."

"Y-yeah, it's f-fine," Dante said quietly, his eyes wide and fixed on Leila's. "I-I do look a… lot like him."

"What are you so afraid of, Dante?" the blonde woman asked, grabbing his hand with her own. "You're afraid to look. I don't mind. If I did, I wouldn't be talking to you like this, would I?"

Dante, bottom lip trembling, kept her gaze. "I…" His eyes widened as Leila placed his hand on her own breast. She looked down, then back up at him, biting her own lip through a smile. The dhampir was temporarily frozen for a moment, until he suddenly jerked his hand away, placing it back at his side.

"I'm not D, Leila… Y-you… You keep forgetting that." It was obvious. It was obvious to him that Leila had loved his father. The way she sounded every time she said his name, filled with lust and loneliness… She must have been madly in love with him. It would have been quite a shock to see that he'd fallen in love with another, his mother, Doris, and it would have been horrifying to see his child with that same woman… Dante felt pity for her.

"Ah, forget it!" Leila said, turning her back to him roughly. Dante waited, then put a hand on her back.

"Leila, I'm--"

"Just leave me the hell alone, okay?" she asked quietly, not turning back to look at him. He nodded after a moment, then stood, and swiftly walked away.

--

Sorry that took so goddamned long! Man, sorry I got a little kinky on you guys e.o but you can tell how Leila felt for D. It was pretty damn obvious. She was playin' hard to get. 8P Anyway, if anyone even reads this still, I hope you enjoy another chapter of Agony! Oh, and by the way, thanks to you-know-who-you-are for getting me started on writing this story again! :3 It felt so good to know someone still read this!