Both gareki and etsuko walked back into the training hall.

If she trys to say anything to you try not to let it get to you. said etsuko

That was easier said then done. Once gareki's temper flared there would be no going back for at least a couple of minutes. He couldn't help but to glare at aiko. who was watching them come back in the training hall. she threw a glare right back. Great he thought. the fight between them wasn't over. etsuko saw aiko glare at him. she walked over to her calmly.

Gareki was wondering what was she doing?- thats when he heard a loud smack. he was in shock. did etsuko just slap aiko? he thought.

try not to bother him again! etsuko said. or it'll be a whole lot worse then a slap! she turned around heading back to gareki. Aiko was in complete shock. And so were the rest of trainers and trainees.

Okay. please try not to have violence in here this is a training hall not for fighting your enemies got that etsuko. Eva said. yes ma'am. she replied

the others had already ran on the track while etsuko and gareki were out. So now it was only him and her. They looked at each other. gareki smirked wanna race. he said. Lets see what you got. Etsuko said smirking as well.

They heard the horn blow then they ran like seconds etsuko was behind gareki. whoa she was fast almost as fast as himself. he thought as etsuko was side to side with him now. You thought I would be slow didn't you. she said. No...not really. he said.

your lieing

no I'm not

yeah you are

no

yes.

fine I thought you would be slow. gareki admitted. I knew it. Is it because I'm a girl she said. No. I just thought you'd be slow because your a little shorter then me and because I had more experiences with this. she knew what he meant by that and decided to drop the subject. she ran a little faster gaining speed reaching a little ahead of him.

This is it. gareki thought the last training session. Then we fight! I can't lose after I've come so far. as he said this his legs moved at a fast pace gaining momentum as he thought determined to win. He and etsuko were at the same speed rate now. she had a determined look on her face as well. make sure you don't get mad at me if I win. she said. sorry to disappoint you but I think I'm going to win this. he said.

gareki pushed his arms back. pushing his legs one at a time. And breathing in and out slowly. The world around him went by quickly. But it felt like he was going in slow motion. the track in the training hall was a long 2 mile one. He didn't blame them for making it this way they were vampires. It wouldn't hurt them to run that long.

etsuko was pushing both of her arms forward one at a time. like a track racer. She looked like she could be one. they were nearly to the end of the two mile track until gareki saw hurdles on all of the track lanes.

he jumped over one. But since he was running so fast he barley had a chance to jump high enough and ended up falling forwards. His whole face would have been scratched off if he hadn't of caught himself with his hands and flipping back to his feet. whoa that was close. he thought. he looked to the corner of his eye and say etsuko tripping over one just like he had but she didn't put her hands forward to protect her face.

Gareki had to caught her before she did. luckily.

she sighed in relief. and smiled up at him and said thanks. but you do know we still have a race together right you could have left me. she said. I'm not like Aiko friends come first to me. he said.

her eyes widened really- she was interrupted by Eva yelling.

OK YOU LOVE BIRDS THE RACE ISN'T OVER YET! HOP TO IT! she yelled because the track was so long. etsuko laughed yeah lets get back to then. gareki sat her down on he feet and said. lets go.

Then they began to run again. this time they expected the hurdles and jumped over them with ease. they were almost to the end until they reached two big hurdles that toward over them. etsuko had jumped over it thinking that it was like the other ones. But gareki could see the mistake in her jump and had to jump over to her lane of the track to catch her again.

etsuko had hit her leg from dragging it behind her that would have been a huge mistake if gareki hadn't of caught her in time again. she landed in his arms. but this time he kept running.

uh thanks again, but you can put me down. she said. no the more you keep running the more your going to end up hurting yourself. he replied nonchalant. Oh. she said.

they passed the finish line. without having to jump over anymore of the hurdles. yogi, tsukumo, eva, aiko, taka, and senji were all there to congratulate them both.

Nice job you to did great, and you got bonus points for team work. Your all going to need that for the mission. said Eva checking there time. And you two made good timing showing them there time. They made the track in at least one minute and fourteen seconds.

whoa that's awesome I thought we'd take longer since gareki helped me. etsuko said.

Apparently not aiko said glaring at gareki. etsuko looked over to her she had heard what she said. whats your problem are you jealous. she said stepping closer to aiko her fist clenched together. Taka saw this and stepped between the two. hey..hey can't we all just get along whats wrong with you two anyway? he asked.

it was silent for a moment until aiko spoke. It's nothing. she grunted looking away.

Okay forgetting that happen lets focus on training all of you will continue training until I've heard other wise. Yogi said. yes sir they all said. then they all went to the training sessions they had been practicing all week. Yogi ,Eva, and tsukumo left them to it.

yogi, eva, and tsukumo were now in hirato's office. standing in front waiting for orders of why they were called there on such short notice. Hirato was sitting at his desk drinking tea. he slowly lifted it away from his lips to exsplain there being here.

As you all know we are on the brige of a huge mission now. are all the vampires ready for it. he asked. yes they are sir. yogi said.

good. ship one will be returning from there mission today. they will be wounded and they will need help quickly. captain tsukitachi has just informed me of there arrival will be in ten minutes. so I expect you all to hop to it. leaving that subject alone. lets discuss the vampires and there training.

Yes sir. Aiko and etsuko have a bit of a grudge against each other so they wouldn't be well to put together in team work. But they are good at there training, for example. Etsuko did very well at the dodging session. while aiko did well on plat form balancing. tsukumo exsplained

Taka and senji did well also. they work together well and they don't seem to have any fights with each other. they;d be perfect to put together as a team. examples of there training would be that taka did very well at physical combat. and senji did well on stamina on the track. Eva exsplained.

and gareki? hirato asked.

The thing is gareki perfected every single session with determination. He's head strong, meaning that he's smart. It kinda doesn't surprise me though the poor guy did grow up on the streets having to rely on his own abilities to protect himself. The thing is, he gets along well with taka, senji, and especially etsuko, but aiko is a different story they wouldn't do well in working together. yogi explained.

so over all there doing well? hirato asked. yes all said.

well then that's another good because there mission starts tomorrow night. hirato said seriously. What! they all said in shock.

Quiet down this isn't a surprise we all knew the varugas would make a move. they have attacked another town near a wooded area. That environment is perfect for you all to hide in. it will be dark that is why I'm making you all dress in black uniform. hirato pressed a button on his desk.

his book shelves moved apart from each other to reveal black uniforms for the guys and girls. all of them in there sizes. The boys uniforms were of black leather hoodie jacket with a silver chain hanging from one pocket to the next. the pants were black that would be tucked into knee high boots with a zipper on the side

The girl uniform was of a black leather long sleeved crop top a chain hanging from the shoulders and ending at the chest. the pants were of leather and skinny. the shoes were black combat boots with a zipper. you all will be wearing these for the mission tomorrow night. I'll let you all hand these to gareki and the others.

yes sir. they said grabbing the uniforms. but sir what about the area will it be safe for us just to go under cover with so many of them around? tsukumo asked.

I will discuss this tomorrow morning with the all of you even the vampires. we are planning to leave soon after the sun goes down. within that time I expect all of them to still be training. Got it. he said.

Yes sir. then they all left. yogi closed the door to hirato's office.

goodness. All night without any sleep and now all day with out sleep. he said. Yogi and the others normally had to sleep like vampires by sleeping in the day time while staying up all night to train them. It was a pain but It was the way vampires were.

no complaining yogi this is our job. said tsukumo.

right sorry. he said. the three of them headed to the training hall to exsplain the news and to give them there uniforms.

punch. dodged. under kick. dodged. knee-ed in the stomach. missed. gareki was now training with taka at physical combat and so far hadn't gotten hit by him.

Humph your good. taka said as he missed gareki again by throwing a punch. but are you just going to dodge.

You don't want to see me fight. gareki said seriously. Come on it couldn't be that bad. taka said.

... Alright don't think it's my fault. I tried to talk you out of it. gareki said lurching forward in lightning speed. Taka wasn't prepared and earned a knee kick in his stomach. The air burst out of him and he landed to the floor with a hard thud. he had barley gotten back up to his feet when gareki jumped up into the air and brought his foot down and whacked it against taka's cheek sending him flying to the other side of the boxing ring.

Taka coughed. n-not bad he said whipping blood from his mouth. he got to his feet and ran forward fast aiming a punch at gareki's face. but gareki jerked to his right and missed the punch by an inch. bringing his fist back he jabbed it into taka stomach again. making him fly up into the air. gareki jumped up into the air after him.

taka had a plan and swung his right leg into gareki's gut but he missed thanks to gareki pulling his stomach back. but ended up kicking gareki's legs instead making him fall unsteady. Taka saw an opening and threw his fist into gareki's jaw making him fall to the floor.

come on gareki get up I know thats not it. Taka said. landing back on the floor of the boxing hell it isn't!. gareki said coming up from the floor quickly. bumping his head against taka's. giving him a head butt. making him fly back a little. gareki brought his foot up and kicked taka in the face. making him fall to the floor.

Gareki got up quickly to try and get a punch to his face- but then he heard a horn which made him stop. alright every one over here we have news. said eva.

instead of using his hand for a punch gareki reached out to help taka to his feet. he grabbed it and said thanks. he sighed man you weren't kidding when you said you don't want to see me fight.

I did warn you. Gareki said in his natural bored tone. they both headed where Eva and the others were.

Aiko, Etsuko, senji, Gareki and taka stood side by side in front of yogi and the others. Me, Eva, and tsukumo have just come back from a talk with hirato. He says that the mission is tomorrow night it take place in a town near wooded areas meaning it has alot of treas. we all will be heading out tomorrow night. the woods will be dark. Hirato has instructed us to give you all uniforms to blend in with the darkness. yogi said handing each of them there black uniforms.

Hirato also wants you all to continue your training until morning. unfortunately for us and you we all will not be getting any sleep. since we all have a meeting with him once the sun comes up and you all will still be training during the day until the sun goes down. and the mission will begin. Tsukumo explained.

Well the no sleeping part sucks said aiko.

wait a second I didn't hear any of you say we can drink blood anytime soon. Etsuko said. she had a point. when was the last time they ate something. Gareki thought.

We will allow you all to eat now if you want. But after that come strait back to the training hall. got it. said Eva.

Yes ma'am. they all said heading to the cafeteria

they were all sitting at the table eating medium rare steaks except for gareki he didn't drink or eat anything else but blood.

well this was unexpected. said senji.

really, cause I was expecting this. aiko said nonchalant.

does it matter,guys we have a mission tomorrow night this is serious. said taka.

he's right we need to focus. etsuko said

Not like you have been. Most things you do is stare at gareki all love dovey. aiko said

What the hell is your problem. I'm starting to think you are jealous. Etsuko said. glaring at her.

Aiko glared back and after a moment she said It's nothing- It obviously isn't. gareki said interrupting. ... you know I really do want to know whats the problem with you aiko. cause it's really pissing me off the way you think you can mess with me and etsuko whenever even though we didn't do a goddamn thing to you. gareki said calmly. even though he said it calmly his blood red eye were on fire from anger.

Senji and taka looked back and fourth at the two. not knowing what to do.

Aiko continued to glare at him. and gareki did the same to her. etsuko was glaring at aiko also.

the air between the three was like fire and if you got to close you'd be burnt. It was awkward for taka and senji who still didn't know what to do.

Is something wrong here. came a mans voice that gareki knew to well. half way turning around gareki saw... hirato.

...no sir. gareki said threw clenched fangs.

good I suspect that you all know that you will be in pairs for the mission tomorrow night? hirato asked. pairs? they all asked. I guess yogi forgot to tell you that part. yes you will all be in pairs. seeing that you two are glaring at each other like you want to kill each other I will not put you two in a pair. he said pointing at gareki and aiko.

there for garerki and etsuko will be a pair. taka and senji will be a pair. and aiko you will partner up with tsukumo. yes sir they all said.

But I must warn you this mission won't be easy vampires and V.P.O(vampire protection organization) members in the past have died going on missions that had to do with varugas. And there won't be as little as it was when you all snuck into the mansion. there will be a lot more. he said. make sure your prepared. then he walked away.

the others went about there conversation on the mission but gareki kept his eyes on hirato. he looked to where he was going and say the first ships captain. Wait he thought isn't that the same guy who had taken nai on a mission and that jiki guy. what was his name tsukitachi that might be right. he thought. he watched as tsukitachi's face went sullen. gareki's eyes widened he jumped up from the table getting every ones attention who was sitting there.

Whats wrong? etsuko asked. but gareki didn't hear her. no way. he muttered as he headed over to hirato and tsukitachi. wait etsuko said following him. the rest of them got up as well to follow.

Gareki's eyes were still wide and he was speed walking. don't tell me that there...gareki tralled off as he got close to hirato and tsukitachi he looked passed them to see gurneys most of them were covered in black body bags. dead. he muttered.

gareki- etsuko said but looked over to what he was looking at and stopped are those dead bodies?

Taka, senji and aiko looked also. gurney after gurney passed by them in a blur.

Taka lowered his head and said, rest in peace. they were all in shock.

ohh. etsuko said sadly. Gareki clenched his fangs together he walked past hirato and tsukitachi. hey wait a second. tsukitachi said grabbing gareki by the arm.

let go of me! gareki yelled shoveing his hand off. and kept walking towards the gurneys. he stopped in place and smelled the air for a specific sent. He didn't know why he was doing this. the kid had caused him to be in here. so why did he care? maybe becuase the kid had a life he didn't deserve to die for. maybe just maybe.

gareki opened his eyes. he had Nai's sent and headed for it. he passed by zipped up body bags until he reached the one he was looking for. hesitantly he grabbed the zipper...and pulled it down. white hair. blood and scratches. and a small body lay nai. gareki's face was expressionless. he looked up to nai's face to see his eye lids open a little.

gareki reached forward to close them. but was suprised to hear his name called by the kid in front of him.

g-gareki. nai said weakly. gareki was speechless. He was still alive... barely.

y-you w-w were a good f-friend. he said weakly blood spilled out of his mouth. what was this kid talking about he didn't remember being friends with nai ever.

nai smiled and had a small laugh. T-the varuga ... were s-strong. w-we fought...hard. but still w-we failed. you... please don't d-die. your s-strong. Y-Your a good person. I k-know you... are. he said.

no... I'm not. gareki said. I've done bad things- gareki started. No y-your good... don't lie. Y-you even... tried to s-save me that time. nai said. refering to the time gareki first saw him in the ally way.

But- gareki started but was interrupted again. N-no your... good. T-the varuga ... Are s-strong but y-your stronger I- I know that. nai said. D-don't lose G-Gareki... win! p-Please...Nai closed his eyes the last breath went out of him and he was...dead.

gareki stayed there for a moment. Don't you worry... I won't. gareki looked up where the sky was and said. rest in peace... my friend. A single tear ran down his cheek as he said this.

that was sad. It was kind of hard letting nai die but some one had to. until the next chapter. Bye