A/N: let me pretend to be strategist in this chapter XD

Fast Approach

Chapter Seven

'Why in the world would Rakuzan be so important right now?'

Kuroko wanted to ask that question. All he wants right now is to settle down his thoughts and feelings — and find Akashi-effing-Seijuro.

He was confused. Akashi Seijuro was the most powerful vampire he ever knew, who drank the blood of other vampires. He was even the captain of Teiko, the first and considered most powerful of the vampire hunter organizations despite the numerous organizations established since the night creatures set foot on Japanese soil.

But now, after being sent to the headquarters of Kaijou, he and Kagami were being sent to Rakuzan with Kise and Kasamatsu like the other tamed vampires and their captains. With the main organization that protects Kyoto under attack, most of the organizations sent their best hunters to the site to defend the current capital of the Japan.

'Tamed vampires...' Kuroko thought. He kept eyeing Kise, but the yellow-haired vampire would not meet his eyes. He wanted to ask Kise about the red-haired male that he sought for ever since that moment when they parted...

Light blue eyes widened. That time when he left Akashi, bleeding... He had never seen Akashi after that.

Kuroko shook his head. It was impossible. Akashi can never die. Nothing can ever make him fall. And Akashi promised to meet him, after he managed his wounds and escaped from the attackers.

But now that Kuroko think about it, where did Akashi get his supply of blood to heal himself?

'Calm down,' Kuroko thought. 'There are many sources. They even have emergency packs of human blood for faster regeneration...' Though, honestly, Kuroko has never seen Akashi drink from one.

Suddenly, Kuroko's bike rocked under him. It swerved as a huge rock came his bike's way and immediately veered his ride off the road. Luckily, they were driving on a road through the fields of rice. Kuroko's bike went out of control and it slid to the small shoulder of the road, almost falling into the rice paddock and dipping into the mud.

Kuroko jumped off in time but didn't manage to control his landing. He slid on the cement cooled by the night, rolling slightly before finally stopping in an alarming unmoving position. Kagami stopped his own bike immediately and went back for the small vampire.

"Kuroko!" he called worriedly. He had never seen Kuroko lose control like that. The kid's usually composed, like a steady streaming, small river. Quiet but surely moving for the sea. Yet now, there's a storm causing waves in this small river, agitating its usual calm currents.

Kagami got off his bike when his partner continued not to move, running to the lying boy. "Are you alright? Hey!"

It calmed him when Kuroko sat up. Kagami knelt to see his partner better, judging the boy's injuries by careful looks. Kagami can see Kuroko's wounds literally closing up before his eyes — a fast regeneration, even for a vampire. But when he looked into Kuroko's eyes, a heavy feeling like a stone falling in his stomach shocked the red-haired male.

Kuroko's eyes were frozen into surprise and terror. The boy was completely out of it, his mind clearly away even if his body remained in front of Kagami. A breakdown — and for what reason, Kagami has no idea.

Another set of footsteps was heard.

"Kurokochi..."

Kuroko's head jerked a bit. And then his eyes moved to where Kise stood just next to him. The blond vampire had returned for him too, worried just like Kagami, but he knew exactly what Kuroko was lamenting on.

But Kuroko just stood up.

"I'm fine," he said. He went to his bike, picking it up after a quick inspection. He got on the vehicle wordlessly and started the engine.

"Hey, Kuroko Tetsuya." Kasamatsu was suddenly there. He was also riding the car Kise is driving. He got off the car the same time as his subordinate and had stayed just beside the car. But he walked over to Kuroko when he saw the vampire wordlessly getting on his bike. "If you're going to continue having no focus on our current mission, then get off my team now."

"Captain...!" Kise started protesting but Kasamatsu shot him a look.

"Shut it, Kise," Kasamatsu said. He turned back to Kuroko. "Your boss had sent you to my organization, thus I have to care for you and your partner if I don't want Seirin's wrath on me and my group. So listen to me and follow my orders. Anyone who endangers my team is free to leave."

Kuroko looked at Kaijou's captain. His eyes were still dark. "I don't want to leave this mission."

"Then don't make me force you to," Kasamatsu said with finality. He turned back to the car. "Let's go, Kise."

"Y-Yes, captain." Kise threw Kuroko a quick worried glance before following his leader into the car. Kuroko and Kagami drove after them on their respective bikes.

"This mission" pertains to the answer to Rakuzan's distress call for backup. Kaijou decided to reply by sending Kasamatsu Yukio, Kise Ryouta and Seirin's Kuroko Tetsuya and Kagami Taiga — with Aida Riko's permission over the phone, of course. Several other organizations expressed their willingness to help Rakuzan, also stating to send their captains and resident vampires over the wireless communication.

With Kise on the wheel, Kasamatsu was free to focus on his communication with the other captains, forming their strategy over the phone. The confidential map of Kyoto is distributed to them, for the city isolated itself by forming walls around itself and keeping the changes inside a secret from the outside world to protect its inhabitants. Its entrances were four points, scattered almost randomly rather than following the traditional NEWS pattern — thus making it difficult to evenly evacuate the humans trapped inside the walls with their attackers.

"Fires are breaking out in Gate 1," came a report. It was Hyuuga Junpei. "This renders the gate unusable. Good that no more vampires can get inside."

'But no hunters getting in too,' Kasamatsu thought. The idea was apparent to the others who heard the report to, as a brief silence fell over the communications. Kasamatsu located the said gate in his copy of the map and made an irritated sound as he noted that the three other gates are unnecessarily further than it. Thus no help from the hunter outside can reach that part of town quickly.

His eyes roamed around the map quickly. "What's that golden dot near Gate 1?" he asked over the wireless.

"That's Rakuzan's HQ," came a reply. Kasamatsu recognized the voice of Shuutoku's captain, Otsubo Taisuke.

Kasamatsu almost sighed in relief. But he sensed the same did not go for the other captains.

"What is it?"

It was Okamura Kenichi, captain of Yosen, who replied. "The resident vampire of Yosen is there, along with his partner."

"Murasakibara Atsushi?" came the barely suppressed amusement in Touo's captain, Imayoshi Shoichi.

"He and his partner are defending Rakuzan right now," Okamura said, sounding almost defensive at the quickness of his reply.

There was an unmistakable snort of Imayoshi over the line, screaming of 'You sure?' even through the wireless, long distance communication.

"What the hell, Imayoshi—"

"Okamura-san," Kasamatsu intervened before the fight break out. "Did Murasakibara-san and his partner say anything about Rakuzan's captain?"

"Nothing," Okamura replied after an intake of breath. "They have no visuals or news about Rakuzan's captain or its boss."

"About that," Otsubo interrupted. "My source says Rakuzan's captain is dead near Gate 3 while their boss is captured and taken outside the walls near Gate 1. There is no one leading Rakuzan right now." He pauses while brief shuffling is heard from his end. "My team is moving to Gate 1 to free Rakuzan's boss."

"Yosen's team thirty-minute away from Gate 2."

Kasamatsu almost cursed. Kaijou is farthest from Kyoto. He and his team is more than an hour away from the city.

"Faster," he told Kise.

"But we're on speed limit—"

"I'll take care of it." He picked up another phone, briefly pulling his ear bud from his ear to talk to their current town's police department. Fortunately, it was a brief call, only made lengthier as the other end promised to clear the shortest path to Kyoto for Kasamatsu and his team. Another map was sent to one of Kasamatsu's tablets, which he handed to Kise to refer to shortcut directions.

Kasamatsu looked out to the sideview mirror on the passenger seat's side. He saw the silhouette of the two Seirin members, one of which with the glinting pair of otherworldly eyes even in the darkness.

It's going to be a long night.