Song playlist: Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) by Florence and the Machine

Chapter 9

Plans

/planz/

1. written accounts of intended future courses of action (schemes) aimed at achieving specific goals or objectives within a specific timeframe.

2. intentions or decisions about what one is going to do in the future

"-so the denizen was dealt with as instructed?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," the guard intoned. He was kneeling dutifully on one knee at the foot of the throne staircase. "As a threat to the target, his immediate execution was carried out. The appropriate steps have been taken to cover up his death."

"You did well," Krul allowed, like tossing a treat to a dog. The guard lowered his head further in pleased submission. Carrot. "You and your team of inner guards are to tighten surveillance on your target from afar, with utmost discretion. Yuichirou Hyakuya must not be drawn attention to nor harmed."

A deliberately thoughtful pause, before Krul nonchalantly added, "Oh, and one more thing."

The guard abruptly began to choke and gasp. He was lifted into the air by tendrils of dark magic, hands clawing at his tightening throat.

Krul waited for the inevitable strangled cry before she dropped her hand. The guard followed, crumpling to the floor mercilessly. Deep bleeding welts were wrapped around his neck like a macabre collar.

"A reward for your target's injuries from the denizen," Krul smiled pleasantly. And stick. "Allow my treasure to be injured again, or betray this mission to anyone, and your lives are all forfeit. Dismissed."

Bloody and bruised, the guard bowed painfully deep without a word of complaint and left. Krul felt a swell of satisfaction- she had trained her dogs well.

With a twist of her hand Krul summoned the latest Progenitor Council reports. She flicked through the stack of parchments as she swept outside the royal throne room.

-all Progenitors have successfully reached their assigned countries and underground cities-

-global patterns show resistance strongest in countries with previously existing human military organisations-

-the cause of the end of the world disaster-

Krul's hand stopped at that last report. Her body came to a halt as she read through the paragraph with sharp eyes.

-experts have reported that the cause of the end of the world disaster could not have been a natural earthquake. They are certain no natural disaster could have inflicted high damage across the entire globe, while also heavily weakening the boundary between the realms. Numerous reports are showing multiple tears in the boundary, resulting in creatures of all power levels crossing freely into the human realm.

Further investigation is being conducted to uncover the reason behind the human realm's collapse. Refer the attached graphs and statistics-

They were getting closer. It was inevitable, yet annoying.

"What a pretty frown you're wearing today," a smooth voice greeted. Krul tilted her head marginally, gazing down at Ferid. He was lounging casually against one of the elaborately decorated archways in the deserted long corridor.

"Not that I can blame you," he carried on, undeterred as usual. "Between strays too interested in our precious Yuu's blood and the council trying to dig deeper, you're feeling the burden aren't you my beloved Queen?"

Krul twisted her lips up into a chilly smile fit for a queen. "My affairs are my own and thus none of your business."

"And here I thought we were raising our child Yuu together," Ferid theatrically sighed. He pushed himself gracefully off the pillar and walked towards Krul. "Didn't I oh so kindly tell you the name and location of the Eye of Lucifer? I'm very involved, my dear."

"You want something. You're being disgustingly sycophantic," Krul narrowed her eyes at Ferid.

"It must be your imagination," Ferid said faux innocently.

"How long have you been standing here outside the throne room, waiting for me to pass?"

"Ahaha, you've got me," Ferid let out a playful laugh, holding his hands up in the air. "I only wanted to know you intend for Yuu; other than him being hidden in plain sight as livestock and being stalked by your pet guards."

"I have a plan," Krul conceded that small piece of information. "And it involves Yuuichirou Hyakuya staying protected like this until he is ready."

"So when he reaches maturity and his powers fully activate. That's so…boring."

"Your entertainment is non existent on my list of priorities. The Eye of Lucifer was first claimed by me and is lawfully my property, under my protection." There was no mistaking the sweetly venomous message beneath Krul's words.

He's mine. Back. Off.

And with a twirl of her long hair, Krul turned her back on Ferid and left the corridor without another word.

Ferid stood motionlessly and watched her leave with an eerily blank expression.

"Wow," Guren deadpanned, entering the doorway. "Who pissed in your cereal this morning?"

"Hm? Whatever are you talking about?"

Ferid had his back turned to Guren as he gazed at the ruins of the city from the abandoned rooftop. There was no sound, like the stifling quiet of a graveyard. Guren's hand rested casually on his sword hilt as he stood strong against the heavy black aura the vampire was emitting.

Any weaker human would have collapsed in a heartbeat.

Then Ferid suddenly spun to face Guren, his typical smirk wide on his face. "Well, here we are my dear partner. Thank you for joining me here today-"

"-as if I had any choice-" Guren griped.

"Oh, I can promise you you'll be interested in what I have to say," Ferid countered, his voice silkily seductive. "You broke your toy and lost him, and I know where he is. Oh, so you can look shocked after all! What a rare delight! I could have him delivered right into your hands, how about that?"

"Uh-huh," Guren said, neutrally yet very carefully, as if the fate of humankind's vicory didn't depend on his words. "And you'll do that out of the goodness of your undead heart?"

"I knew there's a reason you're my favourite," Ferid smiled, fangs showing. A wind began to rise, rustling their hair and the dead young leaves at their feet. "Let's liven up the plot, shall we? I have a plan, and a deal that you won't be able to resist."

"Hey- wait Mika, isn't this all a bit too sudden?" Yuu questioned doubtfully, trying to slow down the fast paced hurricane that was his best friend.

"I have a plan!" Mika beamed excitedly. "With this map and gun, we can leave this place! Let's go right now, come on, wake everyone up!"

There was no stopping the force of nature that was Mika. But seeing Mika practically shine confidence like a brilliant golden sun, Yuu found a budding contagious hope stir in his heart.

Maybe this could really work. If anyone could pull off the impossible with sheer cleverness, it was Mika. Maybe they could once again feel the wind on their skin, the grass under their feet, run under the crystal blue sky in their newfound freedom.

Less than half an hour later, everyone was dead.

Six children and one noble vampire's still warm corpses scattered around the marble and gold hall.

Blood.

Everywhere.

There was so much blood.

Everything felt disjointed to Yuu, a series of scenes coated in a thick layer of terror. His violent trembles as he dragged Mika's limp body. The gruesome trail of blood Mika's body left on the slippery floor, gushing out of his gaping open ribcage and empty arm socket.

The savage phantom pain searing Yuu's own chest and shoulder, as if it were mirroring Mika's wounds, burning fiery hot in the ice-cold chamber.

Mika was trying to argue but Yuu wouldn't listen. How could he even think of leaving him behind? He had to save him…he had to...

The phantom pain flared even harder. Yuu fell to the floor, Mika collapsing with him in his weak arms. Yuu tried to tighten his grip, refusing to let go.

"I can't…" Yuu choked out, his tears falling onto Mika's face. "Now that I…finally…had a family…I can't abandon you…"

Mika felt a surge of pleasure at Yuu calling them his family for the first time, that was swiftly followed by fear as guards began to run towards them from the distance.

He clenched his teeth and with a surge of his last strength, gave Yuu a hard shove.

"Hurry up and go! Idiot!"

And for a moment both were still as Yuu sat where he had been pushed back and Mika lay motionlessly on the floor. Their eyes were clashing, Mika's blown wide in pain and begging Yuu to leave. Yuu's hand unconsciously found itself clutching at his chest, mirroring Mika's own stemming his wound.

And as always, Yuu lost the battle of wills. He flashed Mika a look full of helpless rage and agony and guilt before jerking away and running out of the door to freedom. With every step his heartstrings felt like they were being pulled apart agonisingly taunt, their soulbond stretching thinner and thinner until it snapped and dulled into a lingering ache.

The last sight Mika saw was Yuu's white tattered shirt fluttering out of the entrance before his eyelids slid shut.

Mika's face was wet as he breathed his last breath.

As the snowflakes began to fall outside and the stars shone in their mysterious patterns of fate and destiny, Guren stood at the outskirts of an abandoned village. His breath puffed out in translucent clouds as he caught sight of Yuuichirou Hyakuya, stumbling in sight at the top of the snow-covered hill.

"Just as he promised," Guren murmured to himself. He signalled for his two soldiers to stand back as he stepped forward to claim his prize.

Mikaela.

Mika wasn't breathing, but that didn't bother him. Nothing really bothered him right now. He felt a light airy breeze brush soothingly across his skin.

Mikaela, open your eyes.

His eyes fluttered open to find himself floating mid air in a whirl of galaxies and space. A strange surrealness was making him feel drunk and lightheaded at the same time, as if he were in a dream.

There was a being before him that looked like it was made of pure whiteness, like lightning and starlight mixed into one. It radiated light too bright to make out any features male or female, human or non-human.

As pleasing as it is for us to meet, this is not your time. You have much left to do.

With what could have been an arm, or simply an extension of its body, the being reached out into the cosmos and plucked a star out of the sky. It frizzled but remained obediently within the being's palm, as if it were aware of its holder's true power and might.

A pair of wings of white light emerged into existence and cradled Mika in its embrace, making Mika float closer towards the being. Mika couldn't keep his eyes open anymore against the blinding light. He felt the being place the star gently on Mika's lips, like a magic potion, and speak the simple rumbling command.

Heal.

Mika inhaled the star and began to breathe again.

A vision of a high vaulted ceiling swam into his view, quickly sharpening with inhuman accuracy. He could see every single crack and speck of dust in the ivory borders.

He jolted up. Eyes moving erratically, Mika looked around at the bloody scene of the entrance hall they had just tried to escape from. He…was alive? Was that a dream?

He caught sight of Ferid Bathory, somehow to his panic alive, and the vampire queen Krul Tepes both staring at him in uncharacteristic raw shock.

Mika shrunk in on himself, hating the attention and more than a little confused. He followed their gaze to his torso and gasped. The flesh in his chest was knitting itself back together and his arm was regenerating at his side. But more distracting was the silvery white sheen his entire body was emitting as it healed itself.

He was shining like a star.

And embedded in the back of his intact right hand was a blood red stone just like the one he had seen on Yuu. In the reflection of the polished marble floor, Mika saw the crimson bleed out of his wide eyes as the healing was completed and the stone sank back into his flesh.

"Impossible," Ferid blurted and broke the silence. "The Eye of Michael, right here under our noses all this time? Oh, the irony! And the names too- Mikaela hosting Michael and Yuuichirou hosting Lucifer, with his name meaning 'first son'-"

Ferid's long winded rambling was cut off as Krul spun on him with a flying kick to his face. He flew into a wall with a resounding thump of flesh against stone.

"Do you realise the severity of your actions?" Krul hissed, digging her sharp heel into Ferid as she stepped on him. An unseen wind was making her hair rise threateningly. "Six of my livestock are dead and all of my private guards drugged unconscious. One of the legendary Eyes nearly died and its equally legendary counterpart has escaped. One of these offences alone is enough to guarantee your execution by the laws of Sanguinem, let alone all of them."

"But you won't," Ferid said with gleaming arrogant eyes, smiling widely as Krul's face darkened. "Just like before when you couldn't kill me, because I knew where the Eye of Lucifer was. I have too much leverage on you with all your dirty little secrets, and you don't know if I have my ways of making them all public if you kill me now."

"You're right," Krul agreed graciously, making Ferid falter at the sudden switch in mood. "I may not be able to kill you, but I can certainly do this."

Mika shuddered as Krul began to send Ferid flying again with a series of impressive kicks. He tried to keep his body as small as possible as he cautiously began to crawl backwards, trying to use the distraction to escape-

"And where do you think you're going?" Krul's voice interjected into Mika's ear. Mika jumped and scrambled back only to have a dangerously sharp finger pressed against his throat. He swallowed, feeling Krul's fingernail bob with the movement, and looked up at his captor.

Krul's eyes bored into his own with a frightening intensity that made Mika want to run far, far away.

"Looks like my plans will have to change. Leaving the Eye of Lucifer alone under security has led to this mess. This time, I'm not letting an Eye escape again. Mikaela Hyakuya, you will be bound to me in loyalty and blood."

Krul bit her own tongue without flinching and pushed Mika down, restraining his arms and legs with her inhuman strength. Mika struggled wildly to no avail. He could only watch in absolute horror as cold lips were pressed against his own and Krul's blood forced down his throat.

He arched his back and screamed.

Author's notes: Welcome back to your regular dose of feels, ulterior agendas and what-the-heck-is-going-on plot developments !

Chapters will be coming out more regular now that I'm back from my Holiday Without A Laptop (The Agony).

At this point I can now say without spoiling that the plot will loosely follow canon but the focus will be on the two Eyes and Yuu and Mika's relationship. The plot will get more divergent as it progresses until we have an original ending.

Also a reminder the song playlists at the start of each chapter are there if you feel like listening to them :)