"He was definitely in this village. The question is where did he go from here?"
A firm hand was put on the young man's shoulder and he looked over into bespectacled eyes. "A-drei, we need to return. The trail is cold."
A-drei frowned, frustrated. Their team had followed the rumors and tracks to a small town in southern Dorssia but from there had no idea where to go. The ocean was near. If L-elf and the princess went overseas, where would they go? Knowing his friend, they could survive anywhere in the world. That didn't help A-drei at all.
"The villagers had all these kinds of rumors about a bloodthirsty monster around here", H-neun said. "Think it might be our guy?"
X-eins shook his head. "Their stories are about young women who disappear without a trace."
"That doesn't sound like L-elf at all", A-drei grinned. "If he killed them, he wouldn't bother to dispose of the bodies."
"And he's always been nervous around girls!", Q-vier laughed.
H-neun held his hands behind his head. "Not really nervous but rather...wary? I've always wondered why that is."
"The only girl he ever got along with was the princess. The monster rumor is irrelevant", A-drei grabbed the reins of his horse. "We can't continue this for much longer before the palace calls us back. We'll go to the next village."
"Wait, they said the monster lives in the forest. Maybe we should at least check it out before heading off", H-neun suggested.
A-drei sighed. They had lost their other leads, so maybe... "Fine. We'll search there for something."
The sun had set and they had packed their things in a horse drawn carriage. Before setting off, they all came to the cemetery made for the human residents of the little town. The group stood before the headstones made for Shoko and Marie. Although he knew they were dead, seeing their graves made it a more solid reality for Haruto. He knelt before them and cried, apologizing for his foolishness and selfishness.
The others said their goodbyes before getting into the carriage. Vampires slept, but didn't need it as often as humans. And it was decided that with his immunity to sunlight, Inuzuka was best for driving during the day. So everyone else drew straws for the first part of the journey. During this initial night, Haruto and Akira would sit up front, directing the horse and keeping watch.
The rest of their group would sit in the back and sleep until morning came. L-elf and Inuzuka would take over then. At first, the ride was quiet. Haruto wanted to make sure the others got a good rest, while Akira wasn't much of a talker, as he remembered. Still, this was the first time since he returned that they were essentially alone together.
"A lot's changed since I left, hasn't it?"
"A lot changes in forty years", Akira replied.
"Like you?", he grinned. "I remember when it was a struggle to get you out of your room." His smile fell. "That night...if I hadn't forced you-"
"It wasn't your fault", Akira interrupted. "I made the decision myself." A small smile rose to her face. "Besides, Shoko-chan was the most convincing one."
Haruto smiled along with her. He remembered vividly. Shoko was always so welcoming and encouraging that everyone be let in on their fun. That night, she had persuaded Akira to join them, but left early, being spared from his father's experimentation. He gripped the reigns tightly. This all happened because his father used them as guinea pigs.
"U-um, your brother...Is he...?" Haruto hadn't seen Satomi, who usually hung around Akira whenever she ventured outside.
"He's still alive. He got married and had children. But, he doesn't know about us. For all he knows, I just disappeared."
"You should go to him! He misses you a lot, I bet. He'd be happy to see you and know you're okay."
"When this is all over...maybe...I just don't know what to say to him after all this time."
"'Hello' is a nice start", Haruto smiled playfully.
Akira's lips perked up and they continued their part of the ride in a friendly silence. Eventually, the sun began to show itself and the others started to awaken. L-elf was the first to rise, taking Akira's place. When the light officially began to show, Haruto hid in the cart with the others, while Inuzuka sat in his seat up front. Haruto and Akira used this time to catch up on some sleep.
"So, you really believe that we can do this?", Inuzuka asked.
"I have a plan", L-elf answered simply.
A corner of Inuzuka's lips went up. "It still seems impossible to me, even though I'm coming along. For Haruto to suddenly return and recruit us to overthrow the Dorssian royal family..."
"Are you having second thoughts? I don't need anyone who will not fight."
"No, no. I'm standing firm. It's just something incredible. Haruto was the one who always ran from fights. He never liked confrontation."
L-elf thought of this. During their trip here, he was the one who had taken on the soldiers that were after them. Haruto had stayed back under his orders. He didn't know the man's fighting skills yet. He probably had none, like the rest of them. But what mattered most was that they couldn't die, regardless of what was thrown at them.
He'd seen Haruto burned and stabbed and shake it off like it was nothing. Dorssia wouldn't be expecting a traitorous soldier to be returning with a coven of vampires to support him. But at the same time, he knew there was an obstacle that he couldn't quite yet calculate for waiting for them once they got closer to the capital - his squadron.