Now, the characters that will shape a lot of roads are going to show up, as well as heading into the deep thoughts of our female leads. Hopefully, this chapter shouldn't be as long as the last one (my hands and head still hurt from typing that). Well, full steam ahead for the next chapter of Synchro Beast, Crimson Rose!
Chapter 14-Revelations of the Mind
The sky was covered in clouds above the lands that were ravaged in an assault that nearly eradicated an entire region; the houses barely standing with charred wooden stilts being held by eroded stone. The smell of the rotting bodies that laid upon the ground lingered in the air, even after so many of them have become skeletons with the same positions they were in, when they were killed in the siege of the eastern lands. In the distance of where the vampires of the east once inhibited was abandoned with many of the stone brick walls sporting holes that were marked with black soot from spells and fire that struck throughout the lands. The greenery that defined the surrounding buildings was now replaced with dead trees that could never be filled with viridian colors and the remains of livestock spread onto the lands of the farmers that once tended to them, with no grass on the ground to feed them and starvation taking their lives.
The years that have passed since she left the ravaged lands of what was once her home; it was bittersweet to salvage whatever good memories that were precious to her before departing from the village that she was born in. The people that once inhabited this part of the continent were no longer there, as well as the creatures that threatened their way of life, alas they were also gone with the rest of the victims. All that remains were the possessions of the departed and the eerie feeling of hatred looming in the air. Holding her satchel containing the items that Amy wanted to restock on, the serious red-haired hunter slowly took her steps carefully as she made her way into her former home.
Aki told the Hunter's Society that she didn't need anyone coming on this trip, since she was already capable of taking care of herself when attacked. It wasn't just a retrieval mission, it was a personal one as she stopped in front of the building that housed the caretaker Martha and the children in her care, along with was supposed to be the twins' bodies inside this very building. Slowly stepping into the stone building through the busted doorway, she quickly noticed that the very spot that Luna and Leo's bodies were supposed to be lying on the ground, were nowhere to be found. As if time was ripping her body apart, the same splitting headaches that she experienced in the northern village became much stronger and made the red-haired hunter grasp her head, determined to subdue the pain now pounding inside her brain. However, the burning sensation made her vision blurry and what Aki saw in front of her truly made no sense to her.
Floating in the air now surrounding her were blue flames, surrounding her as if she was trespassing, but the voices now entering into her mind flooded the brain with memories she had long though were buried deep within her psyche. Aki was trembling with anxiety, as the words she was hearing didn't match what she remembered.
"What's a monster like you doing within this village?"
"Befouled beast! Get away from our damn children!"
"Aaah! Run, the monster's going to eat us!"
"She's the spawn of the devilish vampires! She doesn't belong with us!"
"Witch!"
"Vampire!"
"Stay away from us, you blood-sucking creature!"
'What the hell? These weren't the words that I remembered so many years ago! I have to get out of this building!' Aki thought.
Quickly running out of the opened door, more the of blue flames that she saw were appearing and the voices continued to grow in numbers, speaking in words that Aki didn't even remember hearing with her own ears. It was completely confusing since the day that she left the eastern lands, that the memories of her childhood years were completely rearranged as if there was a secret that she didn't know about, and whomever scrambled her memories was about to get a major tongue lashing after the ass-whopping. After leaving the village and headed towards the ruins of the eastern castle of which reigned the vampires that caused so much trouble, the pain of her soul tearing apart returned and the screams following that second convulsion echoed through the empty stretch of charred trees surrounding the castle. After ten minutes of regaining her composure and breath, Aki carefully treaded against the wall for support in case of another attack to her body.
She couldn't care less about the stench of the dead wavering in the air, but the female hunter was hoping to find anything that could help her find the items on her list that Amy needed for her potions, so that Aki can get back home and finally rest from the increasing headaches and stress hitting her body. Turning the corner and seeing the paintings, or rather what remains, Aki saw something that truly puzzled her mind. Even though the portrait was covered in black soot, the person in the bottom right corner looked exactly like her mother. What was even worse that the same facial features and long scarlet hair hasn't changed in nearly thirty years; for someone to live through the constant threat of death and remained physically unchanged was impossible. There were only two theories working inside Aki's mind and none of them made sense to her.
The first one was that she discovered the potion for eternal beauty or the legendary fountain of youth and refused to share it. She tossed that theory out since learning that eternal life was a very far stretch and nothing lasted forever.
The second one was impossible; to think that her mother was a vampire in disguise was laughable enough to her. There wasn't anything suspicious about her mother since the day that she was born, but it still didn't explain the words that she heard inside her mind.
Aki had to know the truth and the only way to get the answers she needed was to confront her mother about what she found in the lands she once called home. Making her way into several rooms until finding what she needed for her mission and putting the items into her leather satchel, the magenta-haired hunter left the castle and into the direction of where the last of the items were located.
'These memories...that portrait...and the words that I heard inside my head...' Aki thought questioningly. 'Nothing adds the fuck up and these growing pains won't stop until I get answers as to why I'm experiencing this type of misery! I need to get these last items from Mount Uwatanilo and then head straight home!'
However, unbeknownst to our spunky hunter, a set of complex seals appeared on her body and the first of the seals disappeared with the second set slowly dissolving from existence.
~A few days later...~
Ryou never thought the attendance of the church was this much during the autumn season, but since the siege of the northern castle, nearly everyone in the village had gathered for their prayers for protection from the vampires. The twins have been helpful in gathering the donations and the chores being done quicker with the winter vastly approaching as the green glow of the luscious trees started to change their color and falling to the ground. Bruno, although having major conflicts with the Legion about his decision to release his vampiric blood, returned to his duties to the church after his illness passed with the medicine the doctor ordered for him. The pacifist that he was turned to see the sermon ending with the blue-haired friar giving his prayers to the heavens, smiling as he knew that Bruno would have to leave the sanctuary that he cherished when he arrived.
Clutching onto his white robe, the snow-haired priest stepped out into the garden, slipping into his thoughts about the many circumstances surrounding everything that has transpired throughout his journey. So many small towns became ravaged by bandits and their women taken away to be sold on the black market, and the children were whisked away to the northern village for refuge and training to kill the vampires. Any food that he found were scarce with the little resources that the farmers had to give, and the number of deaths involving disease and murder was skyrocketing to the point that even purification couldn't stop the corrupting darkness from overtaking the lands that were once prosperous and full of life. And with the rising activity by the vampires has made living in the village even harder, now that the Legion has lowered the curfew for every villager to be in their homes.
The rustling of leaves turn Ryou's attention to the borderline between the church and the forest, and descending from the tree branch stood an older man, around his thirties wearing a thick, red long-sleeved blouse with a black trenchcoat that went to his kneecaps, dark brown slacks alongside black shoes. His white hair was more untamed than that of Ryou's, but the russet color in his eyes showed nothing but bitter hatred for the world, or maybe it was self-satisfaction? His demeanor screamed nothing but of sin, as the head priest of the northern village came face to face with his older brother; the only one left remaining of his family that was banished from the village for the crimes that he committed.
The man facing him, his name was Bakura. Or, that was what he used to be called by, because many faced serious threats of death if they dared to utter his true name. There was also the name that he donned once the thieving man left the village:
Akefia, the king of bandits: Unable to be caught due to his uncanny wits and speed by many soldiers in neighboring villages; in fact, the bingo books have him listed as one of their top ten people to be brought back either alive or dead. The many years that was spent committing crime after crime has also left him a few eye-catching scars, particularly on his face and lower abdomen.
"Brother, it has been so many years since our time seeing each other in the flesh." Ryou said, a firm line present on his face.
Bakura suppressed the urge to scoff at the serious vibe that his younger brother was throwing off. "And such a good day to you too, brother." he said sarcastically.
"I see you haven't been visiting Amane's grave since her passing. She was our only sister and both our responsibility to protect her." Ryou said with a bit of bite in his words.
"Just because I can't visit her gravestone properly, doesn't mean that I don't care for her." Bakura hissed with malice. "I put in the time to create makeshift graves from the places that I've been around, to at least talk to her in some way."
The peaceful priest noticed with his eyes the sharp canines present within his brother's mouth, seeing that Bakura had become something that he would be pleased with, although the expression that the older man showed on his face was more of displeasure than that of satisfaction. Ryou was never updated about the whereabouts of his brother since his banishment by the Legion, and came to wonder if there are more secrets that they're hiding.
"I never noticed that you became a denizen of the night." Ryou remarked.
"Oh, please. The vampire that transformed me gave a massive amount of headaches and damn it all, I can't even transform anybody nor even feed on mortals to quench my thirst." Bakura scowled. "If fact, my fucking vampire had to be one of those types that have to give blood to avoid certain...health issues if you get my drift. Stupid god of karma had to spite me for whatever crimes I've committed over the years, and to say that I'm not proud of them is an understatement."
"Must you swear even in the presence of the holy spirits' grounds?" Ryou asked, raising an eyebrow at his brother's antics.
"I'm not bound to their laws anymore, but even I have limits." Bakura scoffed. "Besides, I don't think you trust the bastards in that Legion; they have more secrets hidden themselves than the entire village itself."
"And you know this because...?" Ryou said.
"Have you forgotten? I am the king of all the bandits; anything I want to either retrieve or know, I will take it without any questions or permissions." Bakura smirked. "All the information regarding the activities of the Legion is locked away in the Heaven's Chambers, a level of which keeps every record of the villagers alive and dead, but is located in an undisclosed part of the room where no one but them can enter. How I got in, well...a thief never spills out his secrets, now does he?"
"The criminal within your soul is still active; if Amane were still alive, she could have given you some sense of humanity in that black heart of yours." Ryou sighed with discontent.
Bakura felt a twitch in his eye towards Ryou's remark about their one and only sister. Amane was the one person that kept the small piece of kindness within his heart; everything that the conceited thief stole was for both Ryou and her after the mysterious deaths of their parents, leaving him to deal with the heavy responsibility of taking care of them. But, after Amane's death years back, the humanity that Bakura had was torn out and the darkness of sin became his new home.
"I would go over there and slap you for even thinking that, but since I'm part of the undead..." Bakura said, as he stuck out his right hand into the sunlight over the edge of the church garden. The hand started to disintegrate into small pieces of ash and the wicked, white-haired thief pulled it back to avoid losing it entirely. "The holy spells for the damned are affecting me and my body's not really accustomed to the sun. I've already outstayed my welcome, so I should be taking my leave. Hope to meet you again someday, Ryou, though it won't be a pleasant greeting when the time comes."
Vanishing through the shadows of the leaves, Ryou turned back into head into the church's quarters to rest for the night, but not without checking on both the twins and Bruno to see if they need any assistance from him. To see his older brother after all the years separated by the laws of the Legion, made the usually peaceful priest to contemplate on the words exchanged between the two of them. True, the actions of the most powerful group in the village were questionable indeed, but Ryou couldn't help that there was something that Bakura left out when he spoke to him...something more in a deeper meaning than the cryptic messages the Legion was sprouting. Whatever that was, it was to be discovered at a later date. For now, the snow-haired pacifist walked into the inn to prepare the dinner for all four occupants. Perhaps he could ask Amy about what Bakura told him regarding the Legion's record; who knows if the young woman's mind can decipher what his older brother told him.
Speaking of Amy, Ryou thought, her yearly ritual of avoiding marriage along with her dearest friend Serenity in her presence was coming up in one week's time. He silently chuckled to himself; seven years ago before his departure to purify the lands, the very two sought sanctuary under the church's roof to avoid the three-week pursuit from the lecherous men hunting them for their hand in marriage. He prayed that Amy was thinking something that didn't involve siccing Placido on the poor souls like the last time such a thing happened. Ryou swore that the medical bills racked up quite a lot, after nearly three-fourths of the entire male population became ridden with bruising and concussions from the silver-haired vampel's rage from trying anything funny to his adopted sister.
Meanwhile, several miles away from the northern village after meeting his younger brother for what seemed like ages, Bakura was still moving quickly through the trees to retrieve his bandwagon full of stolen goods to avoid encountering any hunters patrolling the area. So many years since his vampire transformation, and the consul of the vampire world had to mark him to count him in the population on the undead. He didn't care that they needed to know his whereabouts; so long as they never interfered with his thievery, Bakura kept on their good side for the time being. As soon as he spotted his horse carriage, the moderately-tempered man took a few steps near it before halting his movements.
Normally, Bakura would have taken down all who dared to come in his way, but this man that had been following him for the past three years was starting to get on his nerves. Turning around to confront him with a nasty scowl on his face, the mysterious man cloaked in white appeared unnerved from the furious glare in his eyes.
"You tend to have a nasty fucking habit of following me wherever I go; so what's so special about this latest visit?" Bakura snarled, his arms folded against his torso to signal that he was pissed.
"You have realized that, the time that all of the universe will be endangered is closing in more quickly than predicted in the gears of fate itself."
"Oh, please spare me the agonizing damn speech of explaining to me about this whole situation; get this through that thick skull of yours and read my lips: I'm not going to be joining any good side for the sake of peace." Bakura scoffed.
"Not even if what happens will cost you the only family that you have left in this world?"
"Just because Ryou's been a thorn on my side a long time ago, doesn't mean that I would let anything nor anyone place harm upon him." Bakura growled. How dare this man involve his younger brother into this mess!
"Then, you know that Solirais's release is closing in and the girl of legend has yet to be revealed. Your way of life will be completely changed if the vampire dictator arises from his slumber."
"Heh, Solirais doesn't concern me and I've already had this talk with that damn vampire consul about this. So long as these rules don't impede on my crimes, then I don't care on whether or not this world ceases to exist." Bakura smirked. "And as for the girl of legend, she hasn't been revealed because the circumstances surrounding her identity are still raveled in mystery, and I'm positive the Legion has her under wraps."
"So, you have a clue as to who the girl of legend is?"
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. All I know is that those villagers that follow the Legion's commands...well, let's just say that they don't know the full truth about those leaders." Bakura said, jumping onto his wagon and grabbing the ropes for the horse. "Now, if you don't damn mind, I have to commit a few more crimes before my sinful world is interrupted by this stupid war."
Whipping his horse to start moving, the shifty thief left the mysterious man behind, not wanting to talk to him anymore than necessary. Bakura knew that the Legion was hiding more than just their identities; it also was the matter of the true identity of the girl of legend that was being circulated amongst those in the vampire world...at least, to those who had knows everything in secrecy. He never wanted his way of life disturbed by whatever war was erupting in the coming months, but if Ryou was going to be involved directly into this, then Bakura would have no choice but to abandon his lifestyle temporarily and detested the words in his mind: to help the greater good fight of peace.
As for the mysterious-cloaked person, he disappeared into the shadows and started to proceed in the direction of the south, where the next group of pieces in this puzzle was awaiting.
"There are many things that need to be done for her to appear. What the vampel-thief didn't know is that the girl of legend is also Sethos's descendant..."
~Two weeks after the events at the church...~
"Amy, do you see them outside?" Serenity asked, her face covered with a white mask.
The pink-haired woman peered out the small opening from the now boarded-up window, hoping to answer her friend's question. "Yeah, I see them and they're contemplating on whether or not they send the doctor in here to check us out." Amy said, with her eyes still set on the scene outside and also donning a white mask on her face.
Serenity let out an agonizing groan of misery. "If that doctor finds out we fabricated our illness, we're going to be hounded by so many horny men! Why couldn't they get the fucking hint that we don't want to get married?"
"It's times like this I wish that Placido didn't have to go out of the village, just to earn the money for the damn rent!" Amy groaned exasperatedly.
"At least they're not bugging my mom for the season of weddings; thank heavens the doctor gave her a pardon from this." Serenity sighed with relief.
"Do you have someone taking care of her while you're confined here for the entire season?" Amy asked, her eyes now fixated on the timid woman.
"Yeah, an old friend of the family's with her during this whole mess." Serenity said. "Do you want me to check the back to see if they're still there?"
"Sure, because I know for the fact that they have this whole house surrounded until the both of us come out." Amy said. "We can pace ourselves with the rations that I brought one week before this whole witch hunt for brides started, and when Placido comes back, we can take down the quarantine sign and let him handle the bombardment of men."
"But what if he gets outnumbered?" Serenity asked with concern.
"Placido can handle it; the guy still remembers his hunter training and can take on a whole stampede by himself. I just hope that he doesn't kill them in the process." Amy said.
It was lockdown in the house of which Amy and Placido lived, as the former was inside with her best friend and was keeping a close eye on the movements of nearly the entire male population in the village and the latter was on a mission to earn the month's rent along with extra spending money for other necessities.
Before the start of the season of weddings, Serenity came to visit Amy to see what kind of get-out scheme did she had this year in order for the both of them to not be surrounded by horny men. The plan involved a nearly month-long potion to get them incredibly sick and placing themselves under quarantine so they would not be seen for the duration of the yearly event. Once she got there, she saw the busty woman with a few nails held firmly by her lips, a hammer in her right hand and a piece of wood being held in place by the other hand. While putting up the last pieces of wood to hide whatever activities were occurring inside her home, Amy instructed Serenity to shop for whatever food that could last for weeks and bring them to her house, of which the mild-mannered woman obliged once the details were set in place. Two days later, the doctor visited Serenity's mother and decided that her declining health was too hazardous to consider her a candidate and gave her mother a pardon from the event. Thus, once the decision that made an old friend taking care of her while Serenity was at Amy's home was done; the preparations were underway to ensure that no one would try anything to bother them during this yearly ritual.
Checking the backside of the rather large cottage, the nervous auburn beauty glanced from the same size opening that was made for the rest of the bottom windows, to see that a sizeable group of lecherous men were outside leaning against the trees, like they were waiting for either of them to open the door. Serenity internally groaned in agony; that meant neither her nor Amy can escape via the forest for asylum. Mentally though, she was glad that Aki wasn't around to be involved in this mess. The harsh woman also had trouble with the men inside of the village, but nearly half of them took the hint when Aki threw the biggest temper tantrum since her best friend's own tantrum, nine years after entering the advanced classes at the Hunter's Academy. However, that didn't deter the attention of her commander, Divine, and Serenity knew that he would even leave the village in pursuit of Aki's hand in marriage.
Amy had to cancel her meetings with Yami in order to keep herself away from all the men wanting to marry her, and it was killing her on the inside. The sensible young woman was gaining ground with the grand vampire, although the events of what occurred on the grounds of what was his home were still engraved in her mind. She knew that Aki would arrive after the season of weddings was done, but there was also the potential risk of Divine running into Yusei if the reddish-brown haired man decided to leave the village. Amy tried to convince Placido on staying in the village during this annoying tradition, but the bitter ex-hunter adamantly stated that he would not risk her lifestyle if there wasn't any spending money by the time winter came, which wasn't very long. Sighing in displeasure over his behavior, the woman returned to looking outside, only to now grit her teeth in anguish as she saw the commander of the vampire hunters approach Tristan with anticipation, or was it frustration that he couldn't find her bodyguard within the confines of the village?
"Fuck..." Amy hissed, her eyes not taking off at the scene of the two men.
"What's the matter, Amy?" Serenity asked, noticing her friend's facial expression changing quickly to match her tone of voice.
"Divine's here, and looks like he's trying to get some damn answers from Tristan." Amy explained, quickly to the point.
"Eh...?" Serenity slightly gasped, as she peered through the same opening only to find that Amy was indeed telling the truth about the calculating man being in front of the house. "D-Doesn't he know that Aki's out of town for this entire thing?"
"Probably; any mission given by me has to be reported to him and the Legion ahead of time to avoid any leakage of vital information. The fact that the bastard's here means that Aki never specified on the details of the mission or told him where exactly she was heading towards. So, give or take, Divine wants to speak to me about the things she left out and most likely will give chase before the season ends." Amy stated theoretically.
"Yeah, well...the men in the back of the house are getting ready for an ambush to get us, and without Placido here to chase them off, we'll never be able to keep their hands off of us." Serenity said, panicking as her body trembled in fear of what would happen if...no, she shook that thought out of her mind. Amy would show no mercy if they did anything to her. Oh, how she wished that Joey was around!
"If you ladies wanted protection from such lecherous males, we would have come sooner rather than later." a husky voice murmured behind them.
Swiftly turning their heads, Amy and Serenity (especially the auburn girl) stared at the two vampires that entered into the house without any sound whatsoever. Serenity could feel her face turning red from embarrassment as the images of the last encounter with the tall male brunette came back flooding into her mind. Amy, however, was surprised that Yusei and Seto happened to come here at the point of when activity for their attention was at an all-time high. Though, she thought, that the smart woman knew that this could be about the sudden stop to her meetings with Yami. Either way, both of them knew that they had to stall until Placido came back from his mission.
"Ah, we meet again, my auburn princess." Seto smirked.
"I-I..." Serenity was at a loss for words; to think that the vampire that made her body fill with lustrous desires reappear in front of her...was this truly a fated relationship to be?
"Why do you have those masks on your faces?" Yusei asked curiously, and then averted his cobalt eyes to Amy. "You know, Yami wasn't very pleased that you didn't show up to meet him regularly. He was beginning to think that what happened back in the northern castle deterred you from seeing him at all."
Amy had to hold back the blush that was threatening to creep up to her cheeks; the grand vampire was actually worried about the friendship that they shared nearly six months ago?
"For your information, these are to facilitate the falsehood of me and Reni being sick and under quarantine. And for your second question, I cannot leave to see him because of the village's season of weddings already underway, and the flocks of men have blocked any way of escaping this tradition for the duration."
"So, why are you standing near this window? To ensure that your captors are gone from the area?" Seto asked.
"Amy spotted Divine outside and she thinks that he's here to find out where Aki went so he can go and find her before the practice ends." Serenity explained softly.
"Divine..." Yusei snarled menacingly, his anger starting to flare at the mere mention of the hunter commander's name. Does the bastard need another lesson in about pursuing someone that captured his interest?
"Placido's due to return before sunset, but I don't think that we'll survive the raid when it happens and I'm positive that I don't want to be sexually harassed by horny men in my house." Amy said, fighting back the shivers that were creeping up her spine.
"Me neither." Serenity shuddered.
Seto silently growled; no one was going to touch his auburn angel while he was around! He glanced at Yusei and his eyes told him what they needed to, and the stoically serious vampire silently agreed. Quickly dispersing into thin air, Amy and Serenity were contemplating on where they were going, until they heard a small blast from the back following several shouts of anger bellowing in the air.
"My, shouldn't men of your stature find women that are par to your damn taste?" Seto mocked mischievously.
"It's the Vampire Wyvern!"
"Get him!"
And not too long after that shout, a secondary blast followed in the front, atop the roof stood a very irate vampire and he was staring down at his mortal enemy with bitter malice covering his eyesight. The girls went to look outside the window at a safe distance to see a crater nearly the size of the village fountain, with several men on the ground groaning in pain as the level-headed woman saw Divine intensely glaring at the vampire he swore to kill since the day they first met.
"Divine, I thought that our last meeting taught you not to go after whom I desire. I see after all those years it didn't help you one fucking bit." Yusei said, talking to his enemy as if he was babying him.
"Fudo..." Divine snarled.
"...Meeting an old acquaintance, Yusei?" Seto teased. "Not after our delicious meal inside this wonderful home?"
The men that either escaped from the attack or were on the ground were now seething with fury. Did these two just do what they think they did...?
"Capture them and burn them at the stake! They shall not be forgiven for their actions!" Tristan shouted in rage.
And the chase ensued as both men jumped from roof to roof, the village men right onto their tail as Amy and Serenity look at the scene unfolding with stunned, unreadable expressions on their faces. Did they drive off those very men with the lies that they announced when they had only exchanged words with them? Amy could understand Yusei's reasoning for driving Divine away; since she was the one who gave Aki the mission details and where she was to set off, if the woman was to reveal the scarlet-haired hunter's location, there was no telling what would happen. But with Seto's reasoning, she could feel a tug at her lips for a mischievous smirk aimed at her friend. The aura he pulsed throughout his body meant that he didn't want any males whatsoever laying their hands on Serenity, and the arrogant brunette will have none of the sort around her. Serenity, on the other hand, was completely in shock. She knew that Seto wanted her, but never had the kind-hearted woman seen the possessiveness burning in his eyes so publicly, as if almost he's been watching her for years. Could it be that he was protecting her on Joey's word, or was it that the vampire military commander wanted Serenity to be his eternal partner?
"Was that mob chasing who I think they were chasing?" a ruffed-out voice said behind the two girls.
Amy was the first to snap out of her stupor and faced her adopted brother. "Placido, when did you return?" she asked.
"Just now; I saw the brigade of men in front of the house and rushed to take fucking care of them, only to see the same vampire that I ran into months ago and his friend running from the now pissed-off men." Placido said. "Why were they here in the first place?"
"They dropped here to discuss something, and seeing the plight that the both of us were dealing with, they caused a ruckus that drove all the men away from here. So, I think they saved us from a raid that could have gone badly if they didn't show up." Amy explained.
Placido slightly sucked his teeth in frustration. "Guess I owe them for busting you two out of danger, but now that I'm back, I'll be taking over guard duty over this stupid holiday until it's over. So, whatever you had planned to fight those idiots, you can drop it now." he said, scowling as he walked towards his room.
Both women sighed with relief; with the crazy holiday now behind them, they could return to their normal routines for the time being. Amy wanted to speak to Yami, but she needed to lay low a little longer until things settled down and for the potion to wear off since the effects were still present inside her body. Serenity, however, was contemplating on whether or not she should tell her mother about Joey and possibly be reunited with the brother she long had thought was dead. But, a certain vampire invaded her mind and now Serenity doesn't even know if she should pursue him on her own reconnaissance or continue to stay behind in the shadows.
'This feeling inside my heart...why is it suddenly beating with life? It is because of...him? I really want to know that vampire better, but how can I be close to him when the boundaries between us is so clear?' Serenity thought. 'I-I don't know what to do...'
'So many things are happening so fast and I have yet to find a breakthrough in my quest to know who my mother truly was. If it means becoming rebellious towards the Legion in order to learn the truth behind my heritage...so be it.' Amy thought.
Yes, I am a very ungrateful person to keep my readers in suspense. I am also ungrateful for taking so damn long to write this chapter (extra long because I was on vacation).
So, I thought of throwing Bakura a little later in the story, but I was like what the hell...he needed to see Ryou sooner rather than later. Also, I got something big planned for the confrontation between Yusei and Divine when our psychic user is thrown into the mix, along with more interaction between Seto and Serenity.
Next Chapter: Yugi delves into the assault of the southern district, while Mokuba and Rebecca start to decipher the messages sent by their spy Misty. As Yugi meets the girl of his interests, he stumbles into a vampire lord that was once believed killed in the eastern district...
Yup, he's coming back into the picture, folks.
R&R, people!