Illuminate

Be it by good or evil,
The world shall still shine.

They stood at the park, face to face. No one was there, and even if there was- they were shrouded with a mystic force. If either dies, no one would know. If either wins, no one would know. And the reasons, be it good or evil, shall not matter. Because someone will still be hurt, and there will still be problems.

But the both of them were willing to set that on the line, and prepared for their battle to death.

Koujirou, still in his blue yukata, gave a wry smile as he drew his katana from his side. He muttered a few incantations before his weapon began to glow in a blue light, as if a flame had engulfed it. His opponent was unfazed by this spectacle, but her eyes grew wary.

Empty handed, she merely reached a hand out into the sky. As if the heavens opened, a scythe formed in the air and dropped into her hands. It was glowing as well, but with a purple light. The vampire hunter's eyes widened, but he kept his cool.

"Demon... you've really fallen deep, haven't you? Have you lost all your human senses?"

"Well, vampire hunter. Have you even realised that your potential girlfriend is a crazy nut?"

"What? Are talking about Terumi? She's no "crazy nut"."

"Sorry bro. I've heard that neck of hers just stinks."

Without any other words, Koujirou had launched himself towards her and swung his sword upwards. She clashed her scythe against the blade, the force making Koujiro fly back a little. He did not allow this to delay him further, so once again, he spun his sword with rapid movements, trying to at least scratch the girl.

Fuyuki was aware of his intentions. That blue flame would steal the mana that flowed through her blood and even though it would be regenerated, it would take time. If she ran out, her weapon would disappear and so would abilities- and she'd be like a mere human. At the same time, her scythe's purple flame was like acid: it would corrode the skin of humans easily.

Her eyes widened as she barely dodged a sudden bullet that flew past her hair. In his left hand, the hunter had whipped out a barrette. It was clear that he didn't have a lot of bullets, but if she was hit, a lot of her energy would be stolen. Since her scythe was bulky, she couldn't afford to lose against the speed-orientated man.

"Think twice about who you fight against, Demon! I'll slice you up to bits!"

He almost managed to hit the girl in her shoulder, but once again, she managed to blow him away. Using the distance and recoil to her advantage, she dashed towards him in one step.

Her scythe made a clean cut up his shoulder, his right arm immediately detaching from his body as it was thrown onto the sandy ground. Koujirou groaned painfully as his blood spluttered, tears forming as he saw that his arm was gone. The skin and meat that came into contact with the scythe was sizzling.

Making use of Fuyuki's recovery time, he injected an unknown liquid into his neck. As if a miracle, skin began to grow over his injury, covering it up into a few seconds.

"Accelerating the growth of your mana cells, huh. Technology has indeed caught up with times..."

With his increased speed, he once again threw a rapid amount of strikes to her. Unable to block everything, Fuyuki wrist was slashed. Although it wasn't much, she could feel the energy leave her. The wound healed itself quickly, as if it was never there. Seeing that he would be tired due to the drug soon enough, Fuyuki smirked.

"Your time is limited."

Pissed at her reaction, Koujirou increased the mana flowing into his weapon, making it able to steal her mana whenever she was in close range. She simply clicked her tongue as she stepped backwards, allowing him to chase after her.

"TAKE THIS!"

Caught off guard, her left wrist dropped onto the ground beside her feet. She did not flinch or cry, but simply kicked it back up to her hand whilst still holding her weapon. Somehow managing to reattach it while dodging Koujirou's full blown attacks, she once again swung her scythe upwards. A clean cut was made upon his torso, making him scream in both pain and fury. The force in his repeated attacks had made a crack in his katana, as well as the overwhelming power it was given.

He was emotionally distraught. His eyes were soaked with tears that constantly dripped down his face, and Fuyuki recognised that expression well: he was afraid to die. Just like the day they first met, in that room where she had killed a vampire with the very same weapon.

"I'm a mercenary, so just find me or call me up when you need." Placing a business card on both Yasouka and Koujirou's hands, she nodded with satisfaction. And with that, she faded from the night.

His blows were getting flimsy and rushed. It was as if he were desperate, as well as unsure of whether he wanted to kill her. Today, he wasn't killing the vampire he hates. Today, he is going to kill or be killed by a demon, his favourite mercenary- a friend. Yes, he had considered her a friend.

The remaining corpse of the vampire started to dissipating, as if burning away. A white trail of smoke emitted from it.

Not even ashes. He, Sasaki Koujirou, was to die without a trace. How could he not feel conflicted over this? But, he couldn't give in. He couldn't allow his goals to fall down the drain. So he kept his mouth shut, hiding all the feelings that bottled up inside him.

"Don't be hesitant, keep moving."

She urged him on, her voice sounding rather tired. Both of them were already running low. But, it was seriously dangerous for Koujirou. The drug was wearing off, and he could now feel the fatigue eating his mind. That was it.

"Maeno-san, please don't sublimate me... please tell Terumi that I loved her."

He removed and dropped his Rosario onto the ground, charging the remaining of his energy into his last movements. Failing to pierce through the demon's body, his katana dropped onto the ground, shattered into pieces.

"It was an honour to fight you."

She simply sliced through his torso horizontally, but not too deeply that it would set him apart. His lifeless body dropped onto the ground and bled continuously, but he was somehow at peace.

Suddenly the place felt cool and tranquil, the forest trees swaying around them and the moonlight being the only thing that illuminated the area. Despite it being summer, the winds were somehow cooling. A single leaf settled down on his peaceful face, covering his eyes. One by one, fireflies hovered about the place, as if they were candle lights.

Her weapon dissipated as she set herself on her knees, staring at her usual client's corpse. Although she did not believe that a higher being existed, she closed her eyes and sent blessings to the man to show respect. Then, she picked up the Rosario he left and placed it in her pocket.

Standing up, she dug into another pocket and revealed a test tube. With that, she poured it over his body, waiting for it to burn its way into ashes. She collected the ashes and places it into the test tube, labelling it with a sticker of a Japanese flag.

"I won't be getting much money from now on." She sighed in disappointment.

"Here you go."

Terumi stared at the tube of ashes and the Rosario she was given. They went through with it and the expected results were given: Koujirou died. She felt as she was living for no reason. All these hardships she went through, so that he'd notice her and stay by her. So that he wouldn't just come home to think about vampires but to think about her. So that he'd be happy and proud of her when she had the intelligence. The thought drove her crazy. Koujirou is dead, he's dead.

"K-Kou-Koujirou, a-ahhhhh..."

"Oh yeah, he also wanted me to tell you this: Tell Terumi that I loved her. That's it, good night."

"Is that...all you have to say when you've killed someone?"

"Is that all you have to say when you've lied to someone?"

Fuyuki gave her an all-knowing smile before leaving the courtyard. All the wheel-chaired woman could do was stare into the night sky, realising all she'd done. If the matter was looked at deeply...

Wasn't she the cause of Koujirou's death?

She purposely got bitten and set Koujirou off, after all. Terumi fell off her wheelchair and wept uncontrollably. Already broken, but broken even more. Unable to kneel properly due to her disability, she continued to cry hysterically on the ground, wishing that he would somehow be brought back to life.

Authors Notes: Long time no see! I've been writing an alternate route for this series, and it can be found here! I really didn't know what to write any more, but I've got a kick back again so it'll be fine...I guess? Oh well. Get ready for some romantic fluff next chapter, since this one was rather painful!

Thanks for reading! R&R really appreciated! (isrslyneedthem)