Utsuki had found that she was getting really hot at night. Hot enough that she couldn't sleep with heavy blankets in cooler months, or any kind of covers and wearing more than her panties. From what Moka had been able to tell her, it wasn't uncommon, though it was way more common for vampires to have major drops in body temperature, like Tekeshi did.
Before becoming a vampire she would have had an utter conniption fit at the idea of sleeping mostly naked like this. Of course Karasu slept completely naked, and it wasn't uncommon for one or the other to end up in bed with the other, so she had softened on the idea. Rather more than she would have really liked to have.
Due to the horribly unreliable air conditioning, something that only ever seemed to work in Asusa's room if a person was honest, they slept with the window open. They were several floors up, and there was a camera set up to catch pictures of the poor fools who tried to sneak into their room for lewd purpose when Karasu inevitably sent them flying. Harumi typically put it on the front page of the school paper. Those issues sold well.
So it didn't worry her to do so. In fact, she had considered just following Karasu's example to dodge a little more heat. If only the fiction of vampires not sweating was a reality.
Both were actually fairly deep sleepers though. Karasu had worked somekind of magic that woke her up if someone with nefarious purposes entered the window. That was the operative word though, nefarious. Any benign individuals wouldn't trigger it.
This led to Tekeshi being able to sit on the window sill watching the two girls sleep. He knew that he really should wake at least Utsuki up, as it was her that was the solution that he had missed. Her being different from all other Witches of War. What her abilities could accomplish.
He stood from where he sat and walked over to Utsuki's bedside. When he looked at her, all he saw was perfection. Her skin, her body, the slight stupid grin on her sleeping face, and what all of it together made. He wasn't sure he deserved her, but he knew that she was as willing to leave him, as he was her.
He knelt and put his lips against Utsuki's. Even asleep her body knew how to react. Seconds passed before her eyes started opening, and she pulled back to look at him.
"Tekeshi, girl dorm. Sleepy, kiss more morning," her sleep addled brain reminded him a little of Yusa with the lack of complete sentences.
"'Suki, I need your help with something, and it really can't wait. I guess it kind of could, but it shouldn't. Please wake up enough to understand what I am saying," he spoke low enough that the entire floor wouldn't hear him.
He gently picked her up and sat on the side of her bed with her on his lap, "Don't wanna. Sleep more, cuddle me."
He couldn't help but smile. He didn't care how childish she seemed with her protests, he would love her if she never spoke again. He just really needed her to wake up to some real level of coherrence.
"Utsuki, I need your help. Please wake up, or I am going to pinch your nipple," he really didn't have any other ideas on what to do.
She still didn't wake up completely, "Pinch. Dare."
He grimaced. Was she really this deep a sleeper? She had slept in his room a couple of nights the last year during summer, but he hadn't paid that much attention. Well, there might be one way, that would be less traumatic than pinching.
"Well, you asked for it," he said playfully.
He dropped his head down and planted a kiss directly on her left nipple, bringing her completely into the real world, "Tekeshi, what the Hell are you doing? Are you trying to get us split up until graduation?"
"Well, I will remember that for the future. Look, 'Suki, I need your help with Yusa," he told her once her heart rate slowed a little from the shock.
She climbed off his lap and stood in front of him waiting for an explanation, "And how can I help with that?"
Tekeshi started working to figure out the best way to explain it. He didn't fully understand how her powers worked. Actually, he didn't even know how his own worked. He really was ill prepared, but he was going to do his best.
""Suki, do you remember healing Kuyo." he asked.
She grimaced at the thought of the foxman, as she walked over to her closet to get a robe, "I do. I would rather not think about anything to do with Fairy Tale, but I do remember."
"Are you still able to use all of those powers?"
"Well, me and Kari are still sharing half a soul, and she is considerably more powerful than she was as a simple demon. So I am more powerful on the witch end of things, so I should be able to do more. Why are you... Oh, I see. I, am amazed that never crossed my mind in the entire time since I woke up. I must have been hyper focused on the vampire part of things," the realization of what he was thinking hit her.
Tekeshi nodded, "Do you think you can?"
"Without a doubt. Just, I was about to ask you to leave so I can put some clothes on, but you have done way more than just see me naked before," Utsuki started to get some clothes instead of the robe.
"Oh for the love of, if there isn't a threeway in the next few minutes, just shut up and go so I can go back to sleep. Do you know how hard it is to sleep with your two jabbering on like that," Karasu said as she threw a pillow at Tekeshi's head.
"Sorry Sis. Just let me put some clothes on, and I will meet you there. Otherwise Kari might just rape us both to shut us up," the dark joke took both the other occupants of the room off guard.
Karasu looked over at Tekeshi, "I blame you for this."
"I didn't mean to give her my sense of humor. I honestly don't know how I feel about this. I also know you might try, so yeah, I will see you at the mausoleum," he stood and was simply gone.
Karasu sat up and looked at Ustuki as she put her clothes on. Even sharing half a soul with her, she had not seen the rape joke coming. Tekeshi was well known for it, and given the attentions that his cousins and sisters had poured on him at one point, it made sense. He had a reason to make those jokes.
"So who are you, and what did you do with my sister," she said after a moment.
Utsuki pulled a swearshirt over her head and looked over, "You got me, I'm Utsuki's evil twin, and I like making dark jokes to amuse her boyfriend," the effort not to burst out laughing was intense.
"Hey, I'm the evil twin. No stealing my shtick. Wait, I might actually rape you both to shut you up. I am the evil twin after all. Seriously though, I am proud of you for resisting screwing him stupid after the nipple kiss, way better than I could have done," Karasu said sitting on the edge of her bed and stretching.
"I don't want to disappoint Mother and Father. They said no sex on campus unless absolutely necessary. Unless he starts getting into fights again, nothing else gets me going like that. It sucks, but we both agreed. That said, I think I have been doomed to being woke up having my boob sucked on for eternity," Utsuki said as she worked a hard zipper on the skirt she was putting on.
"There are way worse ways to get woken up. Plus, you enjoyed it didn't you," the nephilim said as she stood up fully dressed.
"How do you do that? I have been wondering, but I keep forgetting to ask. It's convenient," the vampire asked as she started putting her shoes on.
"I don't know, I just think of what I want to wear, and I'm wearing it," was the response through a yawn.
Ten minutes later, they were at the mausoleum.
Utsuki really didn't like the place that much, given that she had been laying in it for two months. Not to mention having to see Yusa laid out there. It hurt with how close she had become with the girl during their pursuit of Tekeshi after he went rogue.
"Hey, it's ok Sis. You've got this, I believe in you," Karasu took her hand and squeezed it.
Utsuki took a deep breath, "Thanks. Kari. I hope I'm not overestimating what I can do. I don't want to disappoint Tekeshi, Aunt Mizore, Mother and Father...," she trailed off.
Karasu took her in a hug, "You don't want to make Asusa cry. I know. I have faith in you, and I know you can do this. I can feel it in our soul. You've got this."
Utsuki smiled and then broke the hug. She set her shoulders back as she walked in. Mizore sat on the bench that was once the plinth Utsuki laid on. That was the park about the mausoleum that she hated the most. The reminder that at one point she was halfway between being alive and dead.
"Are you ready," she looked over to see Tekeshi standing by Yusa.
She walked over and looked at the ice crystal, "What, is your plan?"
"I'm going to take away the ice, and you, know what it is you do better than me. I don't know how bad the damage inside her is, but I hope that we don't have to go with what is now the back up plan," he said as he looked over in her eyes.
Utsuki nodded, "Whenever you are ready. All I have to do is touch her, and I will do what I have to."
The hesitation in Tekeshi's eyes was obvious. The hearstsworn link they had wasn't as strong as before he had become what he was now, but his feelings were strong enough for her to feel it. She looked over to Yusa encased in the ice again, and hoped that she wasn't just putting on a brave face.
Tekeshi placed his hand on the crystal. He took an extremely deep breath, almost like he was threatening to suck all the air out of the room. He looked back to Mizore, who gave a nod. Turning back the ice receeded.
Fog formed in the room as it sublimated. Utsuki reached up and placed her hand on Yusa's cheek as it was exposed. She went to work.
She wasn't sure if she could have ever explained it to anyone. She could just feel what was wrong, and somehow she knew how to tell it to fix itself. It was in a way enforcing her will like the proper Witches of War, but she didn't force anything. She just asked the problem to correct itself.
She could feel the shards from the girls shattered ribs. They hadn't penetrated any organs thankfully, but the muscles and blood vessels were mangled. Yusa was luckier than she had right to be, but she was losing blood again, and that was what threatened to kill her.
Utsuki asked the bone shards to go back to where they belonged. It almost seemed like they were suddenly confused as to why they weren't in place and whole. They moved back into place, and even the tiniest dust from them returned to make the ribs whole. When that was done the muscles and blood vessels just seemed to stitch themselves back like they should. The blood seemed to just soak through at the lungs, and then began to pump like it was supposed to. Her body just decided to go back to like it was supposed to be.
To her, it seemed like hours passed. Every else only saw a minute or two.
A minute or two before Yusa's eyes shot open, and her breathing became deep, and haggard. Her body didn't know what to do for a moment. The last she remembered she was dying, and now she felt as good as she ever had. It was something that she couldn't understand right off.
"Yusa, calm down and focus on my voice," she heard her mother say.
She looked over as Mizore forced Tekeshi and Utsuki out of the way. They didn't exactly fight her over it, understanding how she felt. Yusa then started to try figuring out where she was, and unfortunately, she was going to have to do her least favorite thing in the world.
"Mom, where am I? This isn't, the battlefield. Did, we win," they weren't long sentences, but they were complete.
Tekeshi stepped up, "We did, I killed him. It wasn't easy, but, he's dead. I, I took his power."
The girl took a second to process this, "Onii-san, I'm sorry."
"You don't have anything to be sorry about. Thank you for protecting me, even if it did very little, it was enough to let me beat him. We couldn't have won, without you," he knelt down and went to hold her hand, but she pulled back.
"No. Not me," she said, confusing everyone.
"Yusa, I need to tell you something. Those words...," Mizore started.
"I heard, couldn't speak. Couldn't move. Still hear," she fought and managed to sit up on the edge of the plinth, "Onii-san, is my real Onii-san. Asusa, where is Asusa? Is she ok?"
"Asusa is fine. This is going to be the best surprise for her, and she is going to be so happy you are back. We will make sure that you get caught up with everything, but for now, we need to get everyone here roused up, and let them know you are ok," Mizore wrapped her arms around her daughter.
Yusa looked over at Utsuki. She broke the hug and pushed herself up to stand on her feet, and unsteadily she walked over to hug Ustuki. The vampire started, not expecting this, unsure of just how much Yusa's opinion of her had changed.
"You, saved me. Thank you. I'm so sorry for how I acted, you didn't deserve it. Onii-san is yours, I give you my blessing on it. You deserve him, and you have earned him. I won't interfere again," Yusa said as she leaned against Utsuki.
"Thank you Yusa, thank you," tears began to run down Utsuki's cheeks as she returned the hug firmly.
Candace had a look of abject terror on her face. She hadn't said a single word since they had left the runway. Simona was enjoying it greatly. She was also enjoying the champagne that was apparently complimentary for the flight.
She didn't know who had made the arraignments, but they had made them very plush. Her Lady must have made enough of an impression to make the airport want them to be gone. Her knowledge of vampires might have been different from the general public's though. To her they were just aristocrats they could level entire cities by themselves, but really didn't want to put that much energy into anything that wasn't going to directly enrich and benefit them.
She took another glance over at the woman. She was still sitting there blank faced with her eyes almost as big as her face. She wasn't going to lie, there was something about her, that if Simona went for women... Oh, the vampiric charisma thing. She had forgotten about that, she was completely terrified, and Simona might need to lay off the bubbly.