The man that sat across from Tsukune had similar look of disdain on his face as the vampire did. Ever since they had met about a year ago, the two men had taken a strong dislike of each other. Mostly due to the human's abandonment of his daughter, despite the fact that he did have at least a decent reason for it.
"So, she managed to live after her banishment," was the question that Mamoru Shiraishi asked.
"Apparently so. My son has been on the warpath against Fairy Tale as you know, given the near death of two people that he cares for very much. He found her imprisoned in one of their bases in Northern Ireland a couple of days ago. She, I don't know how she is sane," Tsukune said through gritted teeth.
"I see. Why does she want to talk to me, when I killed her father in front of her? I cut his throat out in the open. There has to be something she is planning against me," Mamoru had trouble believing that his cousin could be anything but evil and conniving.
Tsukune grimaced, "Honestly, I don't think she is. They had her for nine months, and the last three of those she was used as a sex slave. She was in pretty terrible condition when she arrived. She can't even walk right now. Utsuki managed to, repair most of the damage, but your cousin will likely spend years in recovery from this."
"I don't know why Utsuki would do anything to help her. The things I found out that she had done, I almost wish that the decision would have been to take her head," the man shook his head in anger.
"Mamoru, stop. Just stop. I know how much you hate her now, but, this is isn't the same woman. What she went through, no one deserves. No matter what though, as much as it sickens me to say it, she is your family. She needs compassion right now, and it won't hurt to hear what she has to say," Tamiko sat next to her husband.
Mamoru grit his teeth. He wanted the woman dead for what she had done to his brother, and for kidnapping his daughter. Akui was evil incarnate. There was nothing that she could say that would ever change his opinion of her, so maybe there wasn't any harm.
"Fine, just, I will talk to her. Don't blame me if I kill her though, it isn't anything she wouldn't deserve," he finally said.
"Oh for, have you not listened to the five times I told you that she is somehow immortal? She would have been dead otherwise. Either by strangulation from the bastard that captured her, or when an ogre went to pounding at her. What the hell is your problem," Tsukune stood up and crashed his hands down on the top of his desk.
"Tsukune, cool it. Mamoru, Tsukune, if I remember something that Tekeshi said before, now isn't the time for a dick measuring contest. You two, you need to get over this damn feud you have between you. More than likely our children will be married in less than five years from now, so you two need to at least be able to fake it. Understood," Moka laid into the two men.
"Moka," Tsukune started.
"Don't Moka me, unless you want both me and Mizore to cut you off until you start acting right," the woman said crossing her arms, a position that Tamiko copied along side of her in agreement.
Tsukune's eyes went wide as the threat fully sank in, however Mamoru wasn't as quick on the uptake, "Cut off from what, and why are you copying her?"
"Uh, when was the last time you got laid," Tsukune said bluntly.
"I see. I will do my best to be, more civil. For right now, just, I will go talk to her. Don't expect me to be civil with her though," he turned toward the door and his wife went with him to lead him to the infirmary.
As they walked he looked over at Tamiko, "How have you been doing? I should be talking to you more often than I am/"
"Mamoru, I'm fine. I know you have a lot going on making a place with your family again. I'm, actually happy, or as happy as I can be without you here. I'm enjoying working, and getting to spend time with Utsuki and Deess... one day I will say it right off. I am enjoying spending time with Utsuki and Karasu. I never really considered having two daughters," the woman said smiling.
"Tamiko, that is a demon, not our daughter. The only reason it hasn't harmed us, is the fact that it is bound to Utsuki. If their contract is ever broken, things will get dangerous," Mamoru found his wife's ignorance concerning.
"Karasu isn't a demon now. When Tekeshi changed Utsuki to a vampire, she changed as well. Also, you know nothing of what their "contract" was. You said you were going to try to be more tolerant toward yokai, then where is that," Tamiko stopped and fixed him with a strong look.
Mamoru typically didn't care about his height, he had to just get used to it, but with his wife looming over him upset. He had promised like she said, and he did his best, but it was hard when he had been trained for a decent portion of his life to kill yokai, not befriend them.
"I'm sorry. Lifelong prejudice is something hard to break. Still, whatever she is, that thing is not our flesh and blood," he said after a moment.
"She is half of our blood daughter's soul. She has shown so much love since they came back from that battle. I don't care what you think of her. Karasu is our daughter, as much as Utsuki is. If you don't want that, then there isn't any room for me either. I lover you so much, but I won't her you speak badly against her," Tamiko stepped over to her husband and put her chest in his face, a result of the severe difference in their height.
"Why is it, during our better times, you always make me talk to your boobs when you get mad at me?"
"Because you had the bad luck to have your eyes stop at nipple height on me. Mamoru, I know that it will take time, but you will come to terms with what happed to Utsuki. She may not be human anymore, but she has grown so much, and has become such a strong woman from it," the woman knew what was truly bothering him.
"I just got used to the idea that she was demon bound, and then the next time I see her, she is in a coma changing into yokai. I want to come to terms with this, but it is so hard. Now this with Akui coming back into the picture, supposedly an invalid, I have only had a year to get used to it, and never have a chance," he wrapped his arms around his wife, a little embarrassed to be using her chest as a pillow in the hallway of a high school.
Tamiko smiled as she reached down to return the hug, "I know Darling, I know. When we get done talking with your cousin, we should go talk to Madonna. It may help you to understand more about that part of our daughters related to this "Witch of War" thing that she has been since she and Karasu were first bound together, and then you are going to spend time with the Aonos, and you are going to learn to be civil with them. You are going to actually learn from them about what it means for Utsuki to have become a vampire. You need to understand both parts of our daughter, and that because of what she is, why Karasu is also our daughter. Otherwise, divorce is still on the table," the threat she made stiffened the man's spine.
They reached the infirmary a few minutes later. It seemed as normal a building as any could be, if you didn't count the large, greenish, armored skinned woman that was sitting next to the door to the room his cousin was currently in. Mamoru knew what an orc was, and was surprised when he noticed that she was reading a third year level Japanese language book.
"Annalise, this is my husband, Mamoru," Tamiko said as she approached the woman, almost giving said husband a heart attack.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Annalise Grimbal, the Head of Security in training here. I take it she is your cousin? I, don't know what she was like before, but she isn't doing great mentally, With anyone other than your daughters or Mrs. Aono, she doesn't speak. Kari is in there with her right now, Utsuki went to get something for snacks, which is weird, cause that is usually Kari's deal. I may have gotten them mixed up again though," the orc woman smiled as she spoke.
Mamoru's eyes got wide. He had expected her to be gruff, and hostile. Her sounding like a regular person, was weird to him. Everything in his mind was saying run and find a place to setup a trap of some sort to trap her and get a good chance to kill her.
"Was she carrying a sword," Tamiko asked.
"Uh, no. The one with the sword is still in there," Annalise replied.
"You got them mixed up again. Utsuki is the one with the sword, Karasu is the one that is always eating something. Mamoru, I, I'm going to stay out here. Me and Akui, even with me being as compassionate as I can be, we don't get on well. It has so far ended in her screaming at me to get out of her sight. Even with how she has changed, she still feels like I took her away from you," Tamiko took a seat next to the orc.
"I, uh, ok. I, don't know if I really want to do this now," he looked at the door.
Now that he was here, he was actually afraid of what he was going to find in there. The only other person he had ever known that had suffered rape, was his brother that this woman had abused. It was hard for him to have any compassion for her, even though he knew really so little about the details of it.
"It's ok Mamoru. I know you can keep your cool in there, and remember that she is your family, even with what she has done," Tamiko smiled to encourage him.
Annalise stood and unlocked the door for him, "For her safety. Mr. Aono runs a fairly tight ship, and Utsuki does her part, but many of the male students, sadly human and supernatural, don't seem to have the greatest moral character. Also, you are the first man to walk in there since she arrived. Given the circumstances, it was believed that it would be better for her to only be exposed to women. If she starts to react violently, please knock on the door so that I can let you out. If you have any questions, I am sure that the doctor in charge of her will be willing to speak with you after you have left the room. Are you ready?"
He wasn't, but he still nodded. When the door opened, he stepped in. He was still in shock how much Utsuki resembled Akui. Seeing them side by side, it drove it in.
"Dad, it's so good to see you," Utsuki stood and came over to hug him, reminding him that both the women in his life had to put their boobs in his face when they hugged him.
"Utsuki, please kind of crouch when you hug me. I don't mind your mother's bust in my face, but it is a little inappropriate when you do it," when she had crouched he returned the hug.
He turned toward the woman in the bed. They hadn't been kidding when they said that she was in poor condition. She was almost completely emaciated. They must have been feeding her way less than she needed long before they stopped feeding her. Even through the hospital pajamas he could see her ribs.
"I, know I must look a sight," Akui didn't look up at him.
Mamoru took a deep breath, "They told me it was bad, but it honestly isn't bad enough considering what you did to Masahiko. I'm surprised you even want to face me given your sins."
"I'm not... Utsuki, I know you may be a little hesitant to, but could you give us a moment alone," Akui asked quietly.
"I, ok. If I hear anything that sounds like combat, I'm coming back in and knocking both of your heads off the ground. Is that understood," Utsuki fixed her face in a stern expression as she precisely walked backward to the door, unfortunately knowing the layout out down to the micron with how often Tekeshi used to end up there.
"Understood," both said.
When the door closed Akui took a deep breath, "I'm not looking for forgiveness."
"Then what do you want to talk to me for? I don't have a lot of sympathy for you, even with what they said you have been through," Mamoru took a seat next to her bed.
"I am a horrible person. I don't want sympathy, I want to confess my sins," she replied, not looking at him.
"I'm not a priest, and we aren't Catholic. What good would any of that do you?"
Akui still didn't look at him, "It would let me find just a sliver of peace with myself. I won't lie about anything I have done. I was a sick and twisted bitch, and I was since I was a child. I wasn't ever told no, and I never tried to learn what was right and what was wrong. I thought I deserved nothing but pleasure, and the things I desired. You were the first thing ever denied to me. When you left, he was...," she trailed off.
Anger flared in Mamoru, "He was what, you whore?"
"He was such an easy mark for me to take out my anger on. We were the only family he had left in the village, so it was so easy. I never thought twice about what I was doing, I only wanted carnal pleasure, and when it was denied from you, I took it by force from him. I never had a right to it, and I never deserved it. I nearly destroyed his mind, and I was the one responsible for the deaths of the Shiraishi. I don't know how long I am going to have to live with that, and I didn't care until so recent. They told you, what happened?"
"They said that you were used as rapemeat for the last three months. It seems way too fitting a punishment for a demented slut like you," he didn't want to recognize what was starting to creep into his head.
"I won't argue with you. Everyone has been acting like I am a victim, and I may be, but not of those beasts. I am a victim of my own choices, and deserve to be. I sexually abused the corpses of the yokai I killed, man or woman. Adult or child. I doubt any hell, would be able to punish me as fittingly as Utsuki has. For her sake though, don't ever let her know. She deserves to be happy. The boy that was with you, her boyfriend, he reminds me a lot of you when we were children," she smiled slightly at the end of her statement.
Being compared to a yokai, even one he had a better opinion of, enraged the man, "I am nothing like any of those beats. What could ever make you think that I could be anything like them?"
Akui looked straight at him. He couldn't figure out why, but this look, was different. Something that he had never seen from her. It was strange, but it was, kindness.
"Because, even when he should have hated me, should have laughed at my misfortune, and walked past, he stopped and sat with me. He didn't care, what I had done, or who I was. He looked at me, and saw someone that needed someone to care about them. He had just slaughtered a few hundred other yokai, turned that building into a mausoleum, and he was willing to sit down next to me, and try to give me just a moment of comfort. Even though I could tell he didn't want to, he helped me bathe, he fed me, and he protected me while I slept. He made sure that I could reach some degree of safety. Even though those circumstances weren't what you dealt with, you always stood up to the bullies when no one else would. When someone cried, you were the first to crack a joke, and lead them to get some snacks to make them feel better. Mamoru, you were always the best of our clan, and your daughter, she has found someone as worthy of you, as I wanted. I, could you tell your wife, that I am sorry for how I have treated her the last couple of days. I don't mean to, but, I still love you so much, even thought I don't deserve to. I doubt that she truly understands how great a man she married. The kind of man that would do a strip show so that a camera didn't catch an upskirt of her."
Mamoru's eyes went wide, "How the Hell do you know about that?"
"Me and Utsuki have been talking. I mentioned that, even as much as I love you, I couldn't understand how as gorgeous a woman as her could have ended up with a shrimp like you. When she told me about that, and what Tamiko said her thoughts were, I couldn't help but be reminded how little you cared about what was thought of you, as long as you could protect others. I doubt her getting outed for going commando would have been that big of a thing for long, but it was still the sweetest thing I had ever heard. How did you get her lingerie size though," the bed bound woman asked.
Even though he hadn't realized that his manner had changed he replied, "She was a big drinker in college. Everyone but me in our study group was. You would not believe how many times I had to strip an entire dorm room full of drunk twenty somethings, man and woman, wash their clothes, and then redress them before the reek of vomit threatened to overwhelm me. I can deal with rotting corpses better than vomit."
"So you aren't quite as innocent as you would make people believe. What would she say..," the door flew open, and an enraged Tamiko stood in the doorway.
Annalise, Ustuki, and a freshly arrived Karasu were pressed against the wall across the hall, completely surprised at the violence of which the woman that had been eavesdropping suddenly lost her cool. Danger was ripe in the air.
"SO YOU WERE THE REASON THAT I KEPT WAKING UP WEARING ASUKA'S UNDERWEAR? DO YOU KNOW HOW EMBARRASSING IT IS TO GET TO THE POINT YOU REGULARLY HAVE TO TRADE UNDERWEAR BACK WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND? WE THOUGHT WE KEPT BLACKING OUT AND GETTING IT ON. THAT IS IT, YOU AREN'T GETTING UNDER THIS SKIRT FOR THE NEXT TEN YEARS."