Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ Her Face Haunts ( Chapter 71 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

By: MellyN

XxXxXx

Sacrifice

Chapter 71: Her Face Haunts

By: Melissa Norvell

XxXxXxXx

The air in this place was warm, and it was among the few places in Sumeria where it was. A thick fog was present on the top of the steaming waters as Shizume, Constantine and Ko relaxed in the hot springs. The blonde vampire was in the water up to her breasts, Shizume sat on the ledge with a towel around her form and Ko sat beside of her with a single white towel draped over her lap, trying her best to rest as well as she could, despite her altercations earlier with Hiroshima.

"How did the end of the war go?" Shizume asked and lazily looked over to the white-haired girl.

"Baratone is dead…Vasca killed him," the detached answer came as Ko clenched the wash rag tightly to her chest, almost as if saying those words brought her some sort of physical pain.

"I wondered why he left and took Sola with him," Constantine looked thoughtful at the idea.'

"Sola?" Ko asked. What in the world was 'Sola'? The only thing that the white-haired girl saw in Vasca's possession was a large staff that had a sun on it.

"That staff with all of the points," Constantine said below her, "that's Sola. It's said to possess the powers of the sun." Other than that, the blonde vampire didn't know any other information on the strange magical instrument that Vasca kept at his side.

"Vasca made it himself. He's a powerful sage," Shizume shed a little more light on the weapon and it's origin.

"So, that's how Fife knows magic?" Ko assumed that his father taught him from a young age.

"Yes," the black-haired vampire propped herself back on her hands and gazed across the foggy waters of the hot spring, "he's taught Prince Fife since he was young."

"Did everyone make it back?" The pixie-cut blonde asked the human girl. The very question sparked a chord deep her in her being. It was as if Ko was reliving all of the madness over again- the death, the pain, the war and her false accusations of her team mates and the hand they had all played.

"Well…"

"Someone died, didn't they?" Shizume's voice was a smooth as velvet when she asked that question. Ko looked over to the older woman and stared into her purple eyes that were filled with wisdom. It was as if she had known it all along and in many ways, Ko felt as if she stared into the vampire's eyes for too long, she might read her mind where she sat.

"Azmy is dead," the white-haired female then looked down as tears clung to her pained face, refusing to fall. It took all of the concentration she could muster to try and not cry about everything that had happened. The war and an ally that she considered one of her best friend's death wore on her, decaying her from the inside.

"My little gun slinging friend?" Constantine was shocked by the revelation. "Damn…I liked her. She had potential. How did she die?"

"She killed herself," Ko's voice was low in defeat of answering it and being forced to open the wound once more. She then felt a cold, elegant hand on her shoulder. Looking over to her left side, she saw Shizume smiling peacefully at her with those same calm eyes that never seemed to waver, no matter what the situation was.

"I'm sorry about your loss," the purple-eyed vampire apologized.

"Hiroshima was supposed to protect her…" Blue eyes glared down at the water below as she clenched the wash rag in her hand tighter.

"Sure you don't blame him for this?" Shizume asked as her dull, dark purple eyes continued to stare her down. It was as if she knew that Ko didn't really mean what she had said.

"I did earlier when I was upset. I feel kind of low. I mean, he's probably more of a wreck then I am. I mean, he saw it but you think that since he saw it, he could have stopped it," that was Ko's reasoning. If you witnessed it, then you must have had the power to stop the event from happening.

"If someone's got their mind set one something, then they usually go through with it," Constantine told her. It wouldn't have mattered if Hiroshima tried to save Azmy if she was really intent on killing herself. When she really got down to it, there was nothing anyone could have done if that was the slate-haired girl's desire.

"It isn't fair," Ko's voice threatened as tears rolled down her cheeks, her long, white hair and bushy bangs provided excellent cover for her eyes, however. "Why didn't she let us help her?"

"In life, we don't always make the best choices, the only thing we can do is learn from them." As unfortunate as the situation was, Shizume could only offer that information to the girl. It was a cold, hard fact of life that none of them could get around.

"I just don't understand how she can be so selfish. Didn't she see that people cared about her?" Ko wept.

"Not everyone knows that you do, I'm afraid," Constantine agreed with her fellow vampire. Humans could be such selfish creatures at times. "Sometimes the phrase, things are better left unspoken doesn't apply."

"Maybe she thought that you cared about her a great deal and she would have rather killed herself then be thought of as lowly or adulterous," the black-haired vampire stated. It seemed more on a personal scale to her, then the fact that Azmy simply didn't think anyone cared for her.

"I just can't believe this," Ko sniffled, her voice trembled with emotion. "I never thought that someone in my group would die." They had been through so much and despite how bad their prior situations had been, everyone managed to make it out, even if they were wounded. No one ever died, even though there were a couple of close calls.

The idea of someone actually dying seemed so far-fetched until now but the harsh reality reminded her of her own weakness as a human, only having one life to use wisely.

"Did Hiroshima tell you that there was a chance that you'd die?" Shizume remembered that Hiroshima had told her that they were advised on such a thing.

"He did, it just didn't seem real at the time. I mean, we were all doing so well." Or rather, they were alive and for the most part uninjured. Death was never a close subject to Ko and she had so much involvement with most everyone that it seemed like an adventure game with friends more than it did a real threat until they confronted the big boss. She had seriously underestimated the fact that all of the fantasy-like worlds that they encountered were very real, and just because you frolicked with angels, didn't mean you were completely safe.

"Does Hiroshima have a new donor?" The black-haired vampire asked. Even though Azmy was dead, he would soon be if he had not acquired a new source.

"I don't know. I was so mad that I didn't even ask," Ko replied. She felt a little guilty about that. What if the spiky-haired angel had collapsed again and he needed someone to supply him blood? The white-haired girl had made a huge mistake and she knew it.

"We're having a party tonight and I wanted to invite you all to the ball room. Want to come?" Constantine tried to lighten the tense mood that was filling the air around the women. The hot springs were for relaxing and she hardly wanted to feel stressed out in a place like that.

"It would be rude not to invite you," Shizume decided to play along with the blonde. "You're heroes here and I'm sure the prince would be happy as well. Tonight is his coronation."

"Coronation?" Ko asked with a look of confusion. What did Fife need to be coronated for? He was a prince by blood and he was accepted as such by the royal court, so what could it be then?

"He's going to become king? Isn't he adventuring with the kids and those angels?" Even Constantine was shocked by the news. She had heard of the party but not of the coronation. The blonde vampire simply thought of it as an end of war celebration, not something as fancy as a coronation.

"King Vasca will still rule in his place when he's gone."

"Fife is going to be…A king?" Ko's eyes widened. The girl remembered when she and Fife first met and his transition from a prostitute to a regal vampire prince and now he was going to be king. The girl smiled to herself after she thought about it for a while. She was happy that things turned out well for Fife.

XxXxXx

Mikunai stood by one of the elongated windows of the castle, glancing out over Sumeria through the intricately curved bars and design work crafted from the black iron. The long-haired vampire turned his gaze back to his donor and asked him when the two of them were leaving. On the outside, Mikunai appeared his usual crazy self but on the inside, he was a little worried about going back into enemy territory, as he should, considering the only thing that Helix asked for was that he becomes a spiritual leader among its people. That didn't erase the fact that they still hated vampires.

"After the party," Helix packed a few things that he thought he would need.

"Are we going to leave with those kids?" Mikunai asked. In a way, he hoped that they would. It would make things a little less intimidating to have Hiroshima and Fife around, considering they were the only two vampires leaving besides himself.

"I can't," his donor told him as his glasses flashed in the darkness from a small beam of milky light that bled through the elaborate window of the castle room. "They're going the opposite direction of us."

"You really want to do this, don't you?" The vampire took his gaze from the light of the window and looked through both the darkness of his round framed glasses and the room to see the white-haired man. The dim lighting was easier on his eyes.

"I just know that I can make a difference. With you by my side, I can overcome anything," Helix hoped to give his lover a little better look on things. He could tell that Mikunai felt uneasy about the situation and he had all the reason to, considering his condition.

He would be the only vampire in Baklava, unless someone was hiding something that he didn't know about.

"Are you sure that you should take the neighborhood psycho with you?" The white-haired vampire's voice was close to his ear as he wrapped his arms around the other man's waist and placed his pointed chin on the Catholic's shoulder.

"Just don't kill anyone," Helix knew how right Mikunai was about being a psycho. Before the two had met, he was nothing more than a blood thirsty rouge who needlessly killed and thought of humans as scum and a disease to the vampuric race and a crippling dependency to them.

"Only if they try to kill me first," the long-haired vampire teased, causing Helix to produce a disgruntled face.

"Don't ruin my reputation before I get there."

Mikunai lovingly nuzzled the other man's face. "Okay, okay, I'll be nice just for you."

Helix thanked him for that comment. He knew that his master would actually give it consideration and that usually took a lot for Mikunai to do, considering the crazy factor. If the two of them could be close, then he didn't see why the people of Baklava couldn't learn to at least live in peace with those in Sumeria.

XxXxXx

Soel watched the events unfold before her with intent in her dull, slate-colored eyes. After watching for a few moments in silence, the woman heard one of her inferiors speak from below her elevated throne.

"What do we do now, Mistress? One of the members of that team has passed," Zangief asked. In the beginning, Soel had told him how crucial it was that certain members of the team had lived and now there was one less and he wondered if that sole girl meant anything to the plan's well-being.

"She's not a key in our plan," the sorceress informed as she glanced over to him and smiled. "There are only five people who truly need to be alive for this to work. As long as the main focal points stay, then we don't have to worry about changing plans. However, we do need to advance while they are resting, Eclipse."

The short, bi-toned haired woman stepped from out of the darkness and placed her right arm to her chest, bowing politely to her mistress. "Yes, Mistress?" She asked, knowing that she was about to be called to perform a great task for the woman.

"Head to the shore side three towns to the west of Sumeria. There will be a bunch of islands there. I want you to go there and dive for a pearl oyster shell the size of a large chine plate. The shell has the power to amplify one's magic up to one-hundred times. We'll be stronger if we can get our hands on it, plus, you'll get the opportunity to view the scenery. Grab a bathing suit and a water proof eye patch. You'll need it." Soel instructed. "Stay focused on the mission at hand. Don't worry about acquiring the legend right now, just get the oyster and if you can't or you fail, then report back to me."

"Right, I'll do my best," the woman saluted, happy to finally have her opportunity to go on a mission. Unlike Ceres, she would not fool around on this one.

XxXxXx

Two handfuls of white carnations were laid in front of a large cross-shaped grave marker as Hiroshima and Vasca stood side-by-side and looked at the sad sight before them.

"What a shame that things couldn't be helped. I feel bad knowing that he was simply a victim as well. He was so bent on love that it caused him to simply become blind and all those years of being pressured by his brother Orchestra to carry out the families' will of slaying vampires for the wrongful death of his parents must have been hard," Vasca stated.

"Unfortunately, in situations like this, there really is no good or evil, just everyone fighting for their dreams and what they think is right," Hiroshima frowned deeply. "Baratone was no more evil then you guys and if he wasn't so stubbornly set on being with Amante, then he wouldn't have died. Although, when you think about it, he finally has his wish. He can see her now and I can only hope that they can get things settled there that was unsettled here."

"We could have been the greatest of friends, if we had only tried to understand each other's pains," Vasca said with regret on the subject.

"Love makes you blind," the angel told him. "You'd do anything to protect her, and in a way, he would as well. He thought that he was doing the right thing and his collapse of emotions during his final fight only proved that he was simply deceived by Fife's mother. When he found no other option, he didn't want to think that the war was for nothing. It would be far too large of a guilt to bear, so he simply decided to revert back to his old goal- the very thing he didn't want to do because of his hatred of being forced into it. Even when I encountered him in the past, I could tell that he was just going along with it to shut his brother up and cause less tension between them."

"I can't help but think that there was some other way I could have gotten to a peaceful end but I suppose the Time of Ending was right about a few things. Everyone turned against everyone else and it's like you said before, there were only people out there, fighting for their dreams." The vampire looked to him, changing the subject. "I'm sorry that they think you killed her. I assumed that since they were your team mates that they wouldn't judge you like that."

Hiroshima was silent as he stared down at the white flowers, gently fluttering in the wind.

"Hiroshima…" He heard his voice in a sympathetic tone as the green-haired man frowned and closed his eyes. A few minutes later, he opened them and a sorrow-filled expression came to his face.

"No matter what and no matter how bad I feel, I can't cry."

Vasca looked a little concerned at his phrase. He knew how depressed Hiroshima had been the past burdens that he carried on his shoulders. When the king thought about it, he could not remember a time when the angel had wept and thought about how hard it must be to forget how to cry.

"I envy you," Hiroshima told him in a low voice as he glanced at him.

"Why?"

"You're kind enough to mourn your enemy but I can't forget the past. I try but it constantly plays over and over. It's just as real as the day that it happened. I can still feel the pain and I can still hear their screams, echoing through my mind…I can still see her expression just before she pulled the trigger," the angel looked as if he could be crying and his voice was in evident pain but no tears ever came, nor did they even dare to cling to his eyes. Vasca could tell that Hiroshima was stressed, frustrated and sad at what had happened. "I was helpless to do anything. I had come far too late. I tried to help her figure out her feelings but instead of growing stronger, she let it consume her."

"Not all people are strong. Hiroshima, you have lived under very cruel conditions and your life hasn't been any better when you traveled with Teruna. I remembered that you told me that you traveled with her so that she could pardon your bad name when you were done helping her out. You were strong, even for the sake of your team mates and you remain strong even now but you have to remember that you can only be strong for so long," Vasca stated. All good things must come to an end, even strength.

"I'm an angel. I'm designed to take other's burdens," Hiroshima stated the cold truth about what an angel's job really was. There was no pawing his pain off on another; he wouldn't even if he wanted to. He would bear the burdens of everyone in the group, for it was his job…No, there was even more to it than that.

"Yes but you can only do that for so long. You can only take so much pain." Everyone had a breaking point, even Hiroshima. It was perfectly normal to cry and become upset as it was to be weak when you should. The king knew that the rage of battle had caused him to become emotionally constipated over the years and silent grief clung to him like a terminal illness, slowly eating away at his nerves and sanity.

Hiroshima said nothing to the comment, knowing that things were much different for him as an angel. He was designed to take away the burdens to others and if he caused them instead of taking them, he suffered.

"I'm having a party in your honor," Vasca looked to him and smiled. "I hope you plan on staying to attend it."

"I'll go. Do you have any clothes for us to wear?" The angel didn't want to go in his tattered and dingy war-ridden ones.

"Feel free to wear anything you wish." They were the heroes, after all, so they got the first pick in what to wear and if they wanted anything, his tailors would do a custom make as quickly as they could. No matter what, they were going to show up as his guests of honor.

XxXxXx

"How do you like it?" Fife asked as he stepped out in an old vintage Victorian suit that was blue in coloration with gold embroidery and masses of white ruffles from the ends of the sleeves, bottom of his form-fitting jacket and pristine necktie. The soon to be king held out his hands and spun in a circle to show off his new threads to his donor.

Keiji glanced up from his frilly neck-tie to glance at the vampire. A slight blush crept to his cheeks as he lay sight on the other man. Fife looked as if he had stepped right out from a dark fairytale. He was whimsical and darkly beautiful. "You look really nice."

"Just like a prince from a Victorian Romance Novel, huh?" Fife asked with a smile.

"You read romance novels?" The green-haired boy teased.

"I can't like romance?" The vampire asked innocently. There was nothing wrong with a good romance here and there. Besides, it gave him the opportunity to pretend that he was the main female character and that he was being romanced by one of the many hot men within the contents of the book.

"Heh, seems like something you'd do," Keiji told him as he continued to try and fix the frilly piece of material. Over and over again, he struggled with the odd piece of clothing before he finally grew irritated with it and pulled down on the front of it, stretching it out in a huff. "How come everyone can do this but ME!!" He yelled in anger.

Everyone- Fife, Hiroshima, Tsurugi and even Chichiri could tie those things but somehow, it completely baffled him as to how it was done.

Suddenly, a pair of slender arms reached from behind as he could smell the familiar scent of Morning Glories and hair product as he felt a soft chin rest on his shoulder as the elegant hands, laced with rings, tied the piece of material with natural ease. Keiji blushed at the closeness and intimacy of this action, and thanked his master.

Fife smiled as he rested his head on the other male's shoulder. "I have to take care of you, you know?"

It sure was odd to hear that, especially considering the fact that it had been the other way around before they reached Sumeria.

"What are you saving me from? The inability to tie a frilly neck tie?" Keiji joked with a half-smile. He knew that the vampire had saved his life on many occasions as he had done for him but for some reason, he liked joking around with him in hopes of bringing a true smile to his face.

"If you want me to," the prince giggled.

"You're still a dork," the green-haired donor sighed.

"…and you're a butt head," the playful reply was given.

"Why am I a butthead?" There were WAY more people who deserved that title a little better than he did, so why was he being singled out?

"You just are," Fife teased

"What about Hiroshima? He's a bigger butt head then I am."

"How are you going to be mean to the depressed person?" The navy-haired prince further teased, accusing Keiji of being mean to the angel.

"Hey!" The donor shot. "I'm depressed too!"

Fife sighed. "So mean…"

XxXxXx

Ko stood before the crowd of vampires and humans alike, all adorned in elaborate dresses. The glanced down at her own dress, which was black and white in coloration and looked like a corset at the top and a knee-length tattered, black dress with a white ball gown underneath. A belt of silver interlinked loops was also worn loosely around her waist. She clasped her black gloved hands, staring at the wrist length pieces of material with white ribbon accents around the tops. Her hair was pulled back into a single ponytail, accompanied by a small, black lolita hat that was tilted to the side.

The girl thought to herself for a while before she finally got up the courage to walk into the crowd. 'Here goes nothing. I'll apologize to Hiroshima and be happy for Fife. This is his big day after all.'

On her way through the crowd she spied Zangetsu, who looked rather dashing in his outfit. It was a simple Victorian coat and slacks with golden embroidery. He wore a full cape over his right shoulder, concealing his wing underneath the material. His white gloved hand held a wine glass that was filled with a purple substance and he seemed to be chatting with a couple of male vampires.

"Zangetsu, hey," she greeted her ally, trying to sound as happy as she could.

The ninja smiled at her kindly. "Hello Ko, I thought you'd be with Chichiri."

"I just came out. You were the first person that I've seen. You look really nice," the white-haired girl complimented him. His outfit did him a lot of justice. He looked like a dark prince, especially with his black hair, thick, bold eyelashes and deep blue eyes.

"Thanks, don't you think my cape looks strange like this?" Zangetsu really didn't want to stick out and he thought that he could pull off a shoulder cape but now he was feeling a little self-conscious about the whole ordeal.

"You're covering up your wing, aren't you?" Ko knew that he would most likely bear that scar from Serenande for a while. She wanted to help him break his curse, but she wasn't sure of how exactly to do that as of yet.

"Well, I don't want anyone here to think-" He started to say but was cut off by the black-and-white clad girl.

"I'm really sorry that happened," the blue-eyed girl told him with a great deal of sympathy as she laid her hand gently on what would have been his bicep muscle underneath the cape.

"Ko…" Zangetsu began, then trailed off as a moment of unspoken words had taken place before the girl smiled at him.

"Let's have fun, okay?" Ko smiled the best she could, though a little sorrow managed to hold to her red lips. She was genuinely happy that the ninja was so understanding of her situation and didn't blame her for anything that had happened.

He was a true friend to her.

"Of course," the young man smiled at her. After all of the stress of the war, that's exactly what he intended to do.

"Let's dance," Ko suggested.

"But, my arm-" Zangetsu tried to protest but Ko cut him off again in hopes to get him out of his shell.

"I don't care what it looks like," The girl grabbed both of his hands, feeling the difference in texture from the wing-like limb. The feathers and frills of his clothing tickled her skin but she didn't mind. She was happy just making him feel better about himself. "You're fine."

The dark-haired ninja blushed slightly at her comment. He was happy that she didn't see his wing as a deformity but rather, accepted him as he was. "Thank you, Ko," Zangetsu replied as they walked, hand-in-hand towards the dance floor.

As they began to dance, two pairs of eyes that were different shades of blue watched them from across the floor, where they were seated in elaborate velvet chairs. Hiroshima sat in a velvet purple and gold chair as Tsurugi leaned against one of the arm rests as he held his slit wrist over a nearly half-full wine glass, draining his blood for his new master and lover to drink.

As the last of the blood ran into the glass, he then healed himself and handed his mate the glass.

"Are you alright?" Hiroshima turned to him and asked as he noticed how much blood he had placed into the glass.

Tsurugi smiled in a reassuring way. "I'm fine."

"You half-way filled the glass," the green-haired angel expressed his concern on the matter. That was a lot of blood and he didn't want to drain him dry, even if he was still weak.

"You need it. You haven't drunk in a long time. You've been sleeping a lot because you're drained…" The blonde angel stated as a serious look crossed his face and his voice dropped a pitch.

"I sleep when I'm depressed," Hiroshima tried to wave it off as a simple fix but Tsurugi knew better.

"Not like that. I tried to wake you up and I nearly couldn't. It's dangerous to sleep like that."

"I can handle it," Hiroshima took a sip of the blood in the glass.

"Stop being so stubborn. You need to take care of yourself," Tsurugi began to scold but he was caught off guard by the entrance of the king. "Hm?" The angel asked as Hiroshima's eyes went to Vasca as well.

"Excuse me," the king cleared his throat as he spoke on a microphone. He managed to get the attention of the entire ball room. The music and noise stopped as all eyes were upon Vasca. "At this time we will have our coronation." The man announced as Fife stood behind him, looking very regal and refined.

"There's Fife," Zangetsu pointed out from his position on the dance floor with Ko.

"He looks so pretty," the girl complimented, earning a look of confusion from the man.

"You mean handsome," her friend corrected.

"Pretty actually suits him better," Ko noted that he had more feminine qualities then masculine.

"Hey, Fife looks nice," Chichiri walked up behind Keiji and playfully slapped him in the back, causing the green-haired teen to stumbled forward a few steps and nearly bend over before he caught himself. "Eh, Keiji?"

The boy blushed and looked a little irritated, "Is that another gay joke about us being lovers?"

"Nope," Chichiri said all too innocently for the situation, "just asking for an opinion."

Behind then a few steps, Bass and Treble talked amongst themselves about the prince that was about to become their king, Both of the winged canines were very enthused about the prince's coronation and chattered away, lost in conversation as they proudly witnessed the birth of their new king.

"He'll be a splendid king. I wish him the best," Bass complimented and sent out his feelings.

"He's grown a lot, hasn't he?" His brother asked with a nostalgic smile.

"Quite the strapping gent," Bass told Treble with a smile.

"It's hard to believe that he'll be our new king in a few years…I just hope that he'll be as good as our good King Vasca," Treble replied as the two of them watched as Fife knelt upon one knee and bowed his head to his father, who placed the crown of Sumeria upon his head.

"I now crown you the king of Sumeria," Vasca said, placing the crown of black crystals upon the boy's head.

Fife, now the new king of Sumeria turned to face everyone, who were all clapping and shouting in delight. The navy-haired boy waved his hands, a signification that they needed to quiet themselves so that he could speak. The voices grew dim and the crowd looked upon him with great interest to what he had to say.

"Thank you, I'm really not sure of what to say since I won't be here for a while. I can say that when I am here, I promise to do my best to protect Sumeria and despite what happened before, I won't steer the people in Sumeria wrong. I want to follow in my father's footsteps. I hope that you all can appreciate me as much as you do my father." After his speech was given, the crowd all clapped for him, even his allies and friends.

Turning his wrist to face him, green eyes studied the cut for a while as Keiji seemed to be in deep contemplation. 'I still don't know what to think about being this man's donor but I have a feeling that things will only get more complicated from here. Until now, I haven't had a purpose…but now…' Keiji then looked to the new king as he continued to think to himself. 'I have someone who has to depend on me to even life. It feels so strange, having such a big responsibility. Not only is he my team mate and friend but he's the king of a country now.'

As she stood in the crowd, Ko glanced over to see Hiroshima and Tsurugi, watching the event intently as they spoke few words and Hiroshima occasionally sipped on the angel blood in his glass. The white-haired girl decided that now would be a good time to approach them. She made her way to them and was greeted with a brash stare from Hiroshima and the usual calm façade of his lover.

"What are you doing here?" The spiky-haired angel sat the wine glass down on the table. A thick film of blood still clung to it. "I get on your nerves and you get on mine. I'm just an axe murderer who killed your friend."

Ko could sense the depression and anger that he felt and she knew that she had to say what was on her mind now before things got any worse between them. "About that…I came here to apologize-"

"Don't say it if you don't mean it," Hiroshima replied. A meaningless apology held no ground simply because it was not heartfelt in any way and was specifically designed to get him off of her ass for a while.

"I've been thinking about it and I do." It was not an answer that the angel expected. "I know that you and I haven't got off to the best start and I was just emotional because she died when she was with you and I wished I could have helped her. I know you probably couldn't and you probably tried-"

She was cut off by his baritone voice. "I got there as she pulled the trigger…She told me that she loved me and ran off. I tried to chase after her but the guards and soldiers held me up. By the time I arrived, she was already dead."

"I really am sorry," Ko felt like an idiot, now more than ever.

"I really tried to save her from herself but I couldn't," Hiroshima looked stressed out by the cold fact of the matter. "It consumed her and she felt weighed down by her own guilt."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"What?"

Ko gave him a serious look, hoping that he would answer what she was about to ask him. "Is there something that I'm supposed to be getting? Is there a reason that you're here?"

"There are several reasons that I am here. I serve a greater purpose then you think I do," Hiroshima vaguely unable to reveal his true intentions at the moment.

"What does that mean?"

"You're supposed to figure it out yourself," the angel pointed out. If she could, then he would reveal the reason to her in private but not until answered her question, then.

XxXx

Keiji stared down the king as the two males stood together, facing each other in a moment of silence. Throughout their adventures, Keiji saw Fife fall and bounce back in the most remarkable ways, as well as learn his irritating, yet interesting quirks, such as his ability to be a compulsive liar and his paranoia of his weaknesses being revealed to others. Now, as he stared into those lazy eyes, he saw someone who took pride in themselves and was genuinely happy. Seeing a real smile on his face was something that made Keiji feel good for some reason that he couldn't quite figure out, as well as other feelings that placed close to the same category.

"Do I still call you Fife-kun?" He finally asked in somewhat of a joking way, although he was curious about the subject as well.

His question was first answered when the king took his hand and brought the back of it up to his lips, kissing it sweetly. The very contact made the blush creep back up to his cheeks once more. Keiji felt his heart race at the contact and for some reason; he could not shake the intense feeling in his chest.

As Fife looked up at him with genuinely kind eyes, there was something different about him. For some reason, he seemed romantic in nature and not just because he knew that he liked him. There was something different and he could not put his finger on it at all.

"Call me whatever you want, but first dance with me," the new king took his hand and led him out on the dance floor. It was, after all, his first dance and he wanted to have it with Keiji before any of the vampuric women decided that they wanted to dance with him. He felt more comfortable around men anyway, and he felt the most comfortable around Keiji.

"What?" Keiji was slightly caught off guard with that request. He had never been asked to dance from another guy before. It was strange.

Fife gently took his hands and caressed them sweetly. "You're my donor so you deserve the first dance," the navy-haired king told him as he pulled the other boy close to his body, the familiar scent of Morning Glory intoxicating Keiji's nose as the two spun around on the dance floor.

Then, an irritated look crossed his face as he closed his eyes and frowned. "You're so gay."

"Maybe so, but is it really so bad?"

"I…I don't know…" The reply was unexpected, even from him. Keiji didn't know what had possessed him to say such a phrase but after it was unleashed from his lips, he felt a lot better about himself.

"Keiji…kun…" Fife's eyes widened upon hearing him say something like that. Was Keiji really falling for him?

"Don't look at me like that," the green-haired boy turned his sights away from him. "You act like I'm thinking about liking you or something." The boy instantly found himself hating having even utter that phrase.

"You certainly blush around me." Fife pointed out.

"Don't flatter yourself."

"I don't have to flatter me, you flatter me for me," the king smiled brightly. It didn't matter in the end, all that matter to him was that they were together and this was as close as they could possibly get.

"Be glad that today is your coronation," Keiji teased with a glare.

"Otherwise you'd dance with Ko? She doesn't seem your type," his master pointed out. They may have been in the same band but he never saw anything between them at all. Ko seemed much more interested with Zangetsu and Chichiri then she did with Keiji.

"How do you know what my type is?" The green-haired boy never even told him who he liked or what qualities he liked so how could he judge that so easily?

"Consider it an observation. You seem to like hanging around Hiroshima-sama, Tsurugi-san and I. It's kind of funny since none of us are human," the new king commented on Keiji's preference in friends. Judging by who he was friends with was an easy way to judge who he could possibly like simply by looking at his trend pattern in friends.

"I spend a lot of time with you guys," Keiji responded.

"You do with Chichiri, Ko, Zangetsu and Undine too," the long-haired vampire pointed out.

"I don't know why but I can relate to you all a lot better. I guess I just grew apart from them," the green-haired boy told his master. Even though they had been together for as long as they could remember, Keiji had grown apart from them and he found himself identifying more and more with the angels and vampires for some reason. He really couldn't explain it and thought that maybe his dark attitude caused it to come out that way, but he had a lot in common with the aforementioned people and felt as if he could identify with them better then he could other people.

"People seem to do that when they grow apart," Fife stated. Once you started to relate to others, you often found out just how far apart you from those you used to consider your best friends.

"They are too involved in each other anyway," the green-haired boy noted Ko's situation. It seemed that his friend was too busy thinking about which guy she liked then really paying any attention to him. Anyone who wasn't a love interest was worth ignoring and he had better things to do with himself then stick around and not be talked too. Besides, Keiji didn't want to get into anyone else's relationship issues. He had enough of his own to deal with.

"What about Undine?" Fife asked as he noted that the slate-haired girl had nothing to do with that situation.

"I don't really know much about her. She hardly speaks and she's never said anything too serious about herself. All I know is that she's a friend of Hiroshima's, she's a magician and she knows a lot about the legend." Those were points of interest but nothing noteworthy that made her stick out in any way.

"True, that's all she's ever said, even to me," the vampire replied.

"Don't you think that's a little strange?" As much as she wasn't noteworthy for anything, all the same she was suspicious.

"I suppose it is but everyone has their secrets," Fife explained, knowing a vast majority of how something like that felt. Although he didn't have much to cling to as far as secrets went, but he knew how it felt to not want something told and try to keep it in by any means possible.

"People can't keep secrets for long," Keiji stated the true nature of the fact. There was no way a secret ever went to the grave without someone knowing something of it or unknowingly coming to a correct hunch on the matter.

"Don't I know that one?" Fife's voice picked up in tone a little. It was almost as if he found it funny and ironic in a way.

"You should have learned your lesson when the joke was on you," the green-haired boy told him sternly and leveled him with a glare. He saw nothing funny about the situation at all.

"Yes, that's what I get," the very fact that the king agreed with him caused him to stumbled a little in shock.

"Huh?" Green eyes widened as they looked at the king, trying to read a rhyme or reason why he would so shamelessly agree to his own mistakes and furthermore, take the blame for them instead of being bitter or pawning them off on everyone else.

"What? Did you think I was going to say something that made me feel sorry for myself?" The vampire leveled his shocked expression with one of calm. It was what someone would expect from anyone in that situation, but then again, Fife never acted in a way that was typical. If anything, he had proven a great strength for bouncing back and showing an uncanny maturity.

"Sometimes your honesty is a little hard to bear," Keiji sighed. Although Fife was a compulsive liar, his witty observations and truths about important subjects made it hard for the human mind to accept such concepts. To understand him, was strenuous in a way.

"That's why I lied to you so much." Well, it was one of the many reasons. The truth was often hard for others to bear, even himself, so lying would be the greatest solution to the problem. It provided both himself and the others with a sense of false delusion, pushing the reality of the situation behind so that they could continue with their lives easily.

"Well, don't lie to me anymore," Keiji didn't like lies in the slightest. He, like Hiroshima, would rather know the reality of the situation then have a false calm where it didn't need to be.

"If I can help it," Fife couldn't completely promise such a thing.

"You'd better help it," the other male warned.

"Maybe," the vampire tested.

Keiji just shook his head and sighed. "You really are an enigma, my king."

'I don't know why but I feel closer to you now than ever before. I don't like you in that way. You're just my friend so why do I feel this way?' He thought as an uneasy feeling washed over his body that caused him to feel nearly entranced and in a drunken state, even though he had not had a single alcoholic beverage. 'Maybe it's the contract that's doing this. Is it possible to feel this close to someone and still consider them a friend?'

…To Be Continued…