Captured Hearts

Chapter Forty-One: The Sweet

Dino, Squalo, and Xanxus emerged in the all-inclusive enclosure, Xanxus wearing a vampire hunting bracelet that would shock him if his temper rose. The three walked over to Mukuro, where the hunter was trying to sort out all of the food. "Um... let's see... I know the bottles of blood substitute here are for the vampires... What is this...? Merperson meat?"

"It's goose, silly," Dino laughed, jogging over. "For the werewolves. I can't believe a hunter such as yourself doesn't know what food these creatures naturally eat."

"Did you say goose?" Rasiel began, before locking an arm around Bel's neck. "A~ah, a feast fit for a pair of princes, ne, Bel?" The younger prince giggled, and nodded in agreement. Dino passed out a banquet of roses and a fruit basket to each of the centaurs, and he threw in a packet of asssorted seeds for Byakuran in acknowledgement of his pegasus roots. He then gave the merpeople each a plate of expensive sushi, but Fran ended up trading Takeshi for his fruit. The werewolves all got their own goose, and the vampires each got steaks with a bottle of blood substitute- Xanxus getting an alcoholic variant of the drink.

"There we are," Dino said. "Everyone happy?" The creatures nodded, and the tamer cheerfully turned to Mukuro, then said, "We have ourselves a little treat, too." He took two boxes from the bags, and handed one to Mukuro. The hunter opened it, and chuckled at the rice inside.

"So they feast and we get fast food?" he said to Dino. The tamer wavered for a moment, but he didn't have to worry. Mukuro laughed, "Crazy. I love it. Kufufu~..."

"Then, what are we going to be doing?" asked Basil. Mukuro chuckled. "Whatever you please, I suppose."

"Vooi, Fuuta!" Squalo called to the young merman that was still in the pool with Bluebell. "You ought to sing something!"

"Wha- no!" Fuuta shouted, blushing. "You go ahead!"

"Fran?" Squalo called.

"No way, man. If there's going to be music, then I'm gonna teach the dog how to shake his tail," Fran said, pointing at Bel. The werewolf blushed.

"As much as I hate to use my angelic voice," came an echo from behind the centaur crowd. "I would gladly oblige." A glowing, white pegataur emerged, and Byakuran snorted.

"Get out of here, Ghost," he muttered.

"Ghost?" Kikyo murmured with a blush. Ryohei, spooked by the phantom, sped off, screaming about something that no one could identify.

"Forget music, just dance if you want to," Mukuro sighed. Hibari swept Basil up against him, being too elegant to miss this chance, and quickly taught the younger vampire how to move properly. The two quickly sank into a traditional vampire dance, which amused all of those who were not their species. Xanxus started chugging the alcoholic blood substitute, and the send off celebration officially began. It was a cheerful scene, and as the fires in the torches died down, Dino took the liberty to relight them. Everyone was having a good time, enjoying themselves, when at last, Hibari took notice of something in the shadows. He walked back to the glass, and sighed, Basil right beside him.

"We'll be out there so soon," he whispered. "Out there... back with our own kind."

"We shalt find a beautiful home in which to mate and create a family," Basil replied, before nuzzling into Hibari's chest. "We will go in the heart of Crimson forest, where young vampires go to be adopted. We wilt have a child, with whom our lives will continue forever..."

"Forever... yes," Hibari murmured. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his back, and he turned. "Mukuro?" he said. "What is it?"

"I apologize," the hunter said. "But in lieu of apology for everything I've done, will you do me the honor of teaching me one of the vampire dances?"

The elite smiled. "It's not that different from a human's, but I suppose... Basil?"

"Yes, my Lord. Go ahead."

The younger vampire watched as his mate took Mukuro back out into open area, and he smiled, reaching up and touching his fangs. He wondered how his mate would react when he tasted the blood of his true love again. Hibari took Mukuro's gloved hand within his own, and came in until his fangs touched the hunter's shoulder. "Do you bite?" Mukuro asked.

"No," the vampire replied. "It's the goal not to do that. This dance is one to teach endurance." Hibari stepped forward, and the other man took a step back, blushing as Hibari's chest brushed up against his. He didn't know if he'd really be able to withstand letting his love go. But for now... he would enjoy their close proximity, and he would embrace his- no, Basil's vampire with as much love as he wished he had given before.

"I love you," he whispered. Hibari remained silent, to Mukuro's relief, and they stepped together, knowing that this would be the last time they shared any sort of intimacy.

Belphegor and Fran ate together with Rasiel and Mammon, the four of them quietly sharing stories from their past. "Well... my mother and father were very kind," Mammon said. "And they loved each other so much... they would readily die for each other. That was the impression I got whenever I saw them."

"Hohh, that's a lucky upbringing," Rasiel said. "The only parents I remember are the king and queen. Ne, Bel?"

"Yeah, same here," Bel answered. "Jill and I never knew our real parents. We were just taken in by the prince one day." Jill nodded with agreement. Fran smiled.

"I don't remember what my parents were like, because my mother died when I was very young, and my father, like all mermen, left the lake as soon as I was born. I was the only merperson in the lake aside from my grandmother. She took care of me until I was of age to take a mate. It was around then that she died."

"How sad," Rasiel commented. "That all of your guardians died."

"I turned out okay, though, right?" Fran said. When no one answered, the merman was irked, and Belphegor hurried to change the subject.

Meanwhile, Dino sat against a wall, his eyes shining with happiness. To see just how friendly all of the creatures were with each other, and how young Enma was accepted into the group so easily, that sight brought the tamer incredible joy. It brought salty tears to his eyes and made his cheeks turn color as he realized just how wonderful all of these beings were. Werewolves and vampires laughing together, merpeople and centaurs sharing food, and most of all, a human and a vampire moving side by side, as equals. Dino could hardly contain his happiness to be in this temporary world where no one was a subspecies.

"My, what's going on in here?"

And then, it crashed. Dino looked up at the man who had walked in, and everyone stopped talking and froze, but when they saw that it was Lussuria, everyone calmed slightly. "Dino, what's going on?" Lussuria asked, folding his arms. "Is it someone's birthday?"

"Well... actually...," Dino began. He explained things to the flamboyant tamer, and Lussuria smiled.

"All right, then, I suppose this is a perfect chance." Lussuria walked over to Bel and Fran, and as he quietly excused himself, taking Fran's hands and kneeling down. "Fran-chan, I'm sorry," he murmured. "For everything I've done to you."

"... I forgive you," Fran replied, "for you brought me Belphegor." The princely werewolf at Fran's side blushed.

Lussuria stood back up, and gave the merman a brief hug, before walking up to Squalo. "And I apologize to you, too, Squalo."

"Ah, forget about it," Squalo muttered, looking elsewhere. "That was a damn long time ago, anyway." Finally, the tamer walked over to Ryohei, and he smiled at the silver-pelted centaur, then hugged him.

"Ryo-chan, I love you," he breathed. Surrounding creatures wolf-whistled at the tamer, and Ryohei flushed red, but hugged the tamer back.

"I... I love you too, extremely," Ryohei mumbled. Lussuria looked back at Dino.

"Well, continue, dears. I won't say a word."

The party slowly resumed as normal, and Dino stood up, having finished his late dinner, before walking over to Basil with the intention of taking the young vampire's mind off of the dancing couple out a few meters away. "Hey," he greeted as he stepped in next to the tan-haired vampire. "Are you all right?" he asked. Basil gave a small nod.

"I am not sure if Lord Hibarin wilt be fully satisfied being by my side," he murmured. "And I suppose I do feel some pity for the hunter, as I haveth felt the same."

"Aw, cheer up, Basil," Dino said, giving the young vampire a gentle nudge with his elbow. "You're going to be happy with him, right?"

"But of course!" Basil said, his eyes shining. "I lovest Lord Hibarin with all my heart. I want nothing more than to be beside him... for eternity!"

Dino tilted the young vampire's face up, and gently brushed the tears from his eyes. "So why are you crying?" he murmured. Basil shook his head, and leaned against the tamer.

"I suppose I have grown somewhat attatched to this unholy place."

Dino chuckled, and patted the vampire's back. "We'll see you around."

"Yeah."

Byakuran watched the painful sight of Kikyo talking to Ghost, and he pawed at the ground with his forehooves, pissed off enough to throw a tantrum and gallop around the enclosure, had he not been the prideful pegataur he was. It was then, however, that a certain couple walked over to him. "Yo, Byakuran," Takeshi greeted, the werewolf at his side. "We have a message from Hibarin."

"From Hibarin?" Byakuran had met with the vampire on two occassions to learn how he could become closer to Kikyo, but he was starting to look defeated recently. Takeshi walked up close.

"Hibarin says, 'Get him back, Byakuran. Show him that you really do love him,'" quoted the ebony-pelted centaur. Byakuran's amethyst gaze opened wide.

"Thanks," he murmured, before turning back towards Kikyo. "I'm going to get him back... Thanks again." With that, the pegataur trotted off, and Takeshi grinned, glancing back at Hayato.

"You think it's all right we meddled?"

"Ah, come on, we needed to," the silverette laughed.

Byakuran ran right up to Kikyo and skidded to a stop, before bowing low. "Kikyo," he began, summoning all of his pride, and stepping on it as he said, "I love you more than anyone else in the world. I would do anything for you. So please... won't you have this dance with me?" The pegataur held out his hand, and Kikyo stared at it. He was torn immediately between the two pegataurs. He had always admired Byakuran from afar, but since Ghost had appeared, that gaping hole in his heart had finally been patched, even if it wasn't yet complete. Since the incident between Byakuran, himself, and that 'friendly little slap,' Kikyo had felt rejected and, needless to say, hurt. He wanted Byakuran, but he already had Ghost, and the latter was sweeter than the former had ever been to him. The living pegataur versus the phantom one... Kikyo felt as though he could never pick one. And so, he reluctantly gave his answer.

"Uh, Ghost, I'm going to humor him, if you don't mind," he said, reaching over and taking Byakuran's hand. He didn't care any more. He was going to be selfish... because he had no other choice.

Meanwhile, in the merpeople pond...

"Um... Bluebell?" Fuuta began, glancing back at the blue-haired mermaid. "I have something I want to tell you..."

"Well, spit it out, Fuuta, c'mon," Bluebell coaxed, smiling at the younger merman.

"Uh... I...!"

"Fuuta! Hey, come 'ere a sec!" Fran called. The merman sighed.

"I'll tell you later...," he whispered, pushing himself out of the water. He dragged himself over the land up to Fran, and let the older pull him into a sitting position. "Fran-nii," he greeted. (A/N: For those who don't know, 'nii' is a honorific for 'older brother.')

"Mind hanging out with us for a while?" the teal-haired merman suggested. Fuuta reluctantly accepted.

"Hey, Fran, where did Jill and Mammon go?" Belphegor asked. His lover shrugged.

"I dunno," he said. "Probably went to go make out or something."

Rasiel and Mammon were, in fact, not making out. But it was that the both of them hadn't had much sleep lately, and were feeling a little, say... loopy. The pair of werewolves had hatched- pardon me, birthed- an idea that wasn't neccessarily a good one, but they were both convinced it was. They snuck into a crevice in the wall, and played rock-paper-scissors for who would follow through with it first. Mammon won, and he summoned himself, before letting loose a loud howl that made a few people turn their heads, but not a lot of creatures heard the noise. Rasiel grinned, and followed suit, and eventually, the two and their mock scary scene were ignored by the others. For them, however, it was still a lot of fun.

The fun could never have lasted long enough. While Hibari and Mukuro stood in the middle of the enclosure, embracing for the last time, Dino managed to catch the time, and he headed over by the entrance, calling for everyone's attention.

It was time.

-End Chapter

:P Cliff'd ya!

Please Review!