Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I’m not interested in answering. Don’t bother coming by.”

“Lt. Colonel!”

Shinoa’s voice echoed after him, but Guren paid it little mind. Yu was surrounded by his friends, his new family, and now it was Guren’s job to take care of Yu’s old one.

Mikaela wasn’t far away, watching from the across the battlefield as Shiho threw Yu over his shoulders and dashed toward the nearest medic.

By the similar, gut-wrenching reactions Mikaela and Yu experienced when they reunited, Guren had no doubts that Mikaela cherished his best friend as much as Yu cherished Mikaela, so he wouldn’t just allow the “filthy humans” to steal his precious family member again. But as Mikaela started toward the retreating pack, he only met Guren’s sword, which tapped the vulnerable curve between his chin and neck.

“Looking for a rematch?” Guren couldn’t help the smirk that overcame his face.

Mikaela’s scowl promised death to those who stood between his family and him—mainly Guren. “Move or I will kill you a second time.”

Guren sliced just a thin wound across Mikaela’s neck, a warning more than an injury. “You can take on the entire Japanese Imperial Demon Army, but that’s not going to get Yu back. And where will you go, even if you could survive? Back to Sanguinem where your precious family will once more become livestock?”

“I—I—” Mikaela faltered, eyes growing distant as he watched Yu get farther and farther away before he snapped. “It doesn’t matter. I won’t let you and the other humans harm him again.”

“Would you believe that I actually want what’s best for him?” Guren allowed his voice to soften, but it still retained a threatening edge. “Perhaps even what’s best for you?”

Mikaela laughed, a pitiful sound of derision. “And what’s actually best for a filthy bloodsucker like me? Cursed gear right through the heart? Like you could even hope to perform such a feat.”

Guren heard the muffled shouts of the army, especially those loudmouth Hiragis. Time to finish this before they saw Mikaela. “You said you were holding back, right, brat?”

Mikaela’s eyes widened, alarm evident within them, and Guren felt Mahiru’s presence in his demonic smile, in his pulsating eyes.

“Well, guess what? So was I.”

*^*^*

Apparently, Lt. Colonel Guren Ichinose had a soft heart for lost teenagers. That was the only explanation he could think of as to why he sat across from the young vampire who took up his couch. Mikaela Hyakuya was nothing like he’d pictured the boy. Yu spoke about him few and far between and only after a nightmare. “Mika,” as Yu always called him, was an overly kind, infectiously sweet kid no one could help but adore, and even the hardened Yu, who refused to let anyone in, found himself unable to repel Mikaela’s disarming smiles. All Mikaela ever wanted was to love and be loved, and he’d found that in a dark-haired, green-eyed brother.

And perhaps, when Mikaela slept like this, with his legs curled up to his chest, subconsciously facing Guren as if awaiting an attack, dressed in sweat pants and a one-size-too-big T-shirt—Guren could almost believe the vicious vampire who almost brought him death was in fact that adorable little kid Yu needed so desperately.

But then Mikaela awoke, not like most people did with a yawn and a stretch, but with a simple flick of his eyes, and he was off the couch, tearing toward Guren like a demon. Guren found it all too comical when the chain around Mikaela’s ankle snapped him back, jerking his leg in a painful fashion that face-planted Mikaela on the floor with a half-growl, half-whimper. He was practically looking up at Guren like a tied-up Rottweiler, ready to gnaw through its own leg to get free—or rather, that’s what he tried to look like. Mika actually reminded Guren far too much like a poodle puppy, all sad and frightened and ready to yip at his fingers.

“Well, good morning to you, too. How’d you sleep? I gotta be honest. I really thought your kind slept hanging upside…down…”

The restless fight drained from Mikaela as Guren’s good-nature jesting continued, until he was curled up against the front of the couch, eyes dazed and weary, panting and clutching at the T-shirt on his chest.

“Hey, come on, kid. It’s not fun if you’re not going to get riled up and—”

Mikaela winced and contorted, letting out a longer whine this time. Shit. He really did sound like a kicked puppy, and what in the world had possessed Guren to think he could he take care of a vampire? God, if he let Yu’s beloved Mikaela die, that kid’s demon would eat him alive, and Guren would let him.

“It…hurts…” Mikaela whispered, trembling fiercely.

“What does?” He wouldn’t get any closer. This could be a ploy, and Guren wasn’t going to fall for it. But then Mikaela swallowed hard and persisted.

“The curse…”

The curse? Of course. How many times had Mikaela been hit with cursed gear in the last batttle, and at the very end, he even took a hit for Shinoa by…well, whatever Yu had become. But Guren couldn’t detoxify him without the proper gear, and that would require him to take Mikaela to the Hiragis. No, thank you. But how else could he clean the kid unless…

He freed his sword from its sheath and uttered, “Mahiru…cleanse him.”

Guren then stabbed Mikaela through the heart and immediately regretted it. That was his favorite shirt, and now it had a hole in the chest area and blood spurting down the front. Ah, well. The curse flew off Mikaela’s shoulders in purple waves, and when the vampire collapsed back against the couch, his face was no longer contorted, his eyes clear.

Mikaela barely took a second’s breath before he shot to his feet and tugged on the edge of his chain, trying his best to get free and at Guren. And Guren indulged him with a condescending pat on the head.

“Now is that anyway to treat your savior, hm?”

“Savior?” Mikaela spat. Seeing the situation hopeless, he fell back onto his butt. “You attacked me with your demon, knocked me unconscious, and then chained me to your…” He glanced back at the offending furniture, as if he couldn’t believe his situation. “…couch.”

“It’s a titanium chain, attached to a hook under the couch, so good luck getting free.” He smirked. “Isn’t that what you do when you find a stray? Chain him up until you can tame the wild beast?”

Mikaela growled at that. “Who are you?”

Guren once more took a seat opposite the couch and rested his elbows on his thighs, so he was leaning down to speak with Mikaela as if he were a young child. “I’m Lt. Colonel Guren Ichinose of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, specifically of the Demon Moon Company, Vampire Extermination Unit.”

Mikaela looked less than impressed. “So why haven’t you exterminated me yet?”

“Because I have use for you and because a certain snotnose would have my head if I did.”

That brightened Mikaela’s eyes, and Guren allowed himself the delight of real and tangible love. “Yu-chan? Where is Yu-chan? Is he okay? What have you done to him?”

At the end, Mikaela grew fierce, demanding. Guren indulged him with another little pat on the head.

“He’s fine, recovering. Have you heard of the Seraph of the End?” By the narrowing of Mikaela’s eyes, Guren knew he had. “The vampires told you, didn’t they? It’s the angel or angels who will come down and purify the world. Humans believe the angels will free them from the vampires.”

Mikaela said nothing, but Guren could see the condemnation screaming on his face.

“The Hyakuya Sect was a powerful religious organization in Tokyo,” Guren continued, this time stone-faced. There was no humor here. There was only a cold and ruthless truth. “They also ran orphanages, collected children to experiment on to find those who have the Seraph gene.”

Guren waited now for those dark, bitter eyes to lighten just a little, and for the questions to formulate once the shock wore off.

“Are—Are you saying Yu-chan and I—everyone at the orphanage was—”

“Experimented on, yes. Contained the Seraph gene? No. So far, I can only surmise you and Yu have it. That’s the reason why the vampires want him back so badly.” Guren met Mikaela’s unwavering gaze with his own. “It’s the reason they made you into one of them.”

“And now you’re experimenting on Yu-chan!” Mikaela flew forward again, only to slam hard against the ground once he reached the end of the chain. Still, his conviction remained. “I won’t let you hurt him anymore!” But then the fight in him died once more, and he looked up at Guren with an alarmingly vulnerable expression. “If—If you need someone to experiment on, don’t use him. Use me. I’ll—I’ll do anything you want. Just leave Yu-chan—”

“I plan to use you, even experiment a little on you, but nothing we haven’t done before or that you’ll probably even notice.”

“So that’s why you brought me here? To restart the experiments?”

Guren let out a hearty laugh. “You really thought I brought you to my barrack for that?” Though his room was large by the army standards, it consisted of a small living room-kitchen combination, one bathroom, and his bedroom off to the side. “I brought you here for a few reasons. One, the kill order went out for all vampires in the Shinjuku area. I wasn’t going to let you die after Snotnose just found you. Two, if the Hiragis got a hold of you, then they might have actually kept you. You wouldn’t have liked that. Trust me.”

“I don’t.”

“Then start. Three, you’re one of only two known persons with the Seraph gene, so I wasn’t going to let the vampires keep you. And four, you’re Snotnose’s family, so that makes you my family.”

“And this is how you treat family?” Mikaela jingled his chained ankle.

“The ones who try to kill me, yes, but once you’re housebroken, I’ll take off the leash.” Guren stood and yawned, stretching as he headed toward the bedroom.

“I’m not your pet,” Mikaela snarled, though it sounded tired and exasperated.

Guren didn’t reply, though the truth in Mikaela’s voice startled him. Just whose pet did Mikaela think he was?

*^*^*

Mikaela was a rather low-maintenance pet. The chain reached into the bathroom, allowing him to do his business. After Mikaela showered, Guren held him at sword-point as he put on a change of clothes, which happened to be Demon Moon Army casual gear—usually just the top and slacks. Only once he fought back, but Guren taught him quickly not to, pressing his sword blade against the boy's upper thigh. Apparently, vampires didn't like to increase their numbers, but they liked to keep all their options open.

He lounged around like a cat, and when Guren returned home, he usually found Mikaela on the couch, flipping through books or reading whatever Guren left on his tablet.

They hardly spoke. Guren tried a, “Honey, I’m home,” but Mikaela refused to even spare him a glance.

Mikaela pulled back his hair sometimes in a low tail, showcasing his ears that weren’t quite round but not quite pointed either. It was an unusual combination, but other than the occasional wonderment, Guren cared little. He wondered if all vampires were this antisocial or if Mikaela was just the exception. If so, then how did he ever worm his way into Yu’s heart with such a cold disposition?

He finally asked one question during dinner, munching on his late-night sandwich while Mikaela sucked down one of the blood vials Guren had found on him.

“What color do you pee? Red? Yellow?”

Mikaela blinked but ultimately averted his eyes, staring at something utterly fascinating about Guren’s area rug.

“Come on. It’s a valid question. It doesn’t make sense that you pee yellow, and if all you eat is blood, then you should pee red. But what about your body processes? They should be taken into account.”

Mikaela pulled the blanket up and over his shoulders before turning his back to Guren. Guren, of course, took that as progress. Mikaela trusted him enough to leave himself open to attack. So Guren, of course, attacked, ruffling a hand through Mikaela’s soft locks as he passed on the way to kitchen. He must have shocked Mikaela because he retained his hand, and no protest came from the couch.

Finally, a whisper floated through the air between them, “I want to see Yu-chan.”

Guren smiled over his shoulder at the rumpled vampire who looked very much like a human teenager with his bare feet and honest face.

“You will. I promise. Once I know that you won’t steal him and run back to Sanguinem or whatever you’d take him.” He washed his dish and Mikaela’s vial before returning to the living room with a drink of water. “He has a new family now, one that will include you. I want you to be ready to be a part of them before I let you loose.”

“They’re not my family!” Mikaela snarled. “They are filthy, greedy humans!”

“Like you were? Like Yu is? And are we any different from filthy bloodsuckers?”

“I hate humans and vampires,” Mikaela added, softer now.

“Then what does that leave? Demons and angels? I tell you from experience, demons aren’t all that nice, either. Rather rude and pushy individuals if you ask me. And from what I’ve seen with Yu, seraphs can be nasty creatures, even more so than demons.”

“But humans experimented on our family, and vampires—”

“No kind is perfect.” Guren sat closer than he probably should, within reaching distance of Mikaela, but Mikaela wasn’t even looking at him. “Humans and vampires are sinners just the same, and just because you lust for human blood doesn’t make you a monster, Mikaela. Or a ‘filthy bloodsucker.’ It makes you a vampire. That’s all.”

As Guren stood, Mikaela asked, “But you’re part of the vampire extermination unit. If being a vampire wasn’t so bad—”

“You are not like most vampires, and hopefully, you’ll see, I’m not like most humans.”

*^*^*

It was almost a week after Guren brought Mikaela to his quarters that he came home to find the young vampire on the floor, arms wrapped around himself, shaking and panting. Acute pain clouded his eyes, and he struggled to even breathe, his tipped back, neck exposed.

“Mikaela?” Guren approached quietly, a hand upon his sword just in case. Mikaela seemed not to recognize him, fighting a battle with an enemy Guren couldn’t see.

But then, with a feral light, Mikaela’s eyes locked with Guren’s, and he shot forward, his hands reached for Guren’s neck. Guren barely made it out of the leash’s radius before Mikaela snapped back, thumping to the floor with painful reverberation.

“Damnit…” he muttered, his hand reaching for a pouch that no longer hung on his side. “It hurts….”

That pouch had contained the vials of blood, but why did Mikaela drink pre-packaged blood? Why hadn’t he drunk from the humans around them? From the Demon Moon Company? From any humans?

It didn’t matter. Mikaela needed blood now, so Guran pulled his sword and poised it over his wrist.

“No…stop…” Mikaela whimpered, reaching out a shaking hand toward Guren. “Not… human ...blood. I’ll never drink human blood.”

“That makes no sense, dumbass. How else can you survive if you don’t drink human—”

Guren froze. Actually, it made perfect sense now—why Mikaela hadn’t desert the vampires, why he had to stay in their city, even join their guard, if his uniform proved accurate. If Mikaela refused to drink “livestock” blood, then he’d have to drink a vampire’s.

“I’m not livestock, Mikaela.” Guren lowered his sword. “I’m offering you my—”

“No!” Mikaela contorted, shifting his eyes so he couldn’t watch Guren’s reactions. “I—I can’t…Please…”

Fuck. Guren was the worst vampire owner—master—ever. At least the army base had vampires in captivity for experimenting and intel-gathering, and it shouldn’t be too hard for him to procure a few vials of blood from them.

Mikaela writhed, sweat dribbling down his cool cheeks, his eyes liquid. Guren risked the distance between them to ruffle Mikaela’s soft mop and press a gentle kiss to the top of his head.

“I’ll be back. Hang in there, kid. Hang in there a little longer.”

Draping his jacket over Mikaela’s shoulders, Guren hoped it gave the kid some solace for when he dashed from the apartment. He refused to think about how long Mikaela had been in physical agony, and Guren returned almost an hour later to find Mikaela clutching the edges of the jacket about his shuddering body, seemingly numb from the pain. His eyes were closed; salvia dribbled down his chin.

Guren forced his heart to continue to beat normally, forced his arms and legs to work as he crossed the apartment, sunk to his knees, and cradled Mikaela’s head. He trickled the first vial’s contents down Mikaela’s throat, and when the vampire coughed at the intrusion, Guren slowed the pour until it reached a manageable stream, allowing Mikaela to swallow properly.

When Guren popped open the second vial, Mikaela shot upward and grabbed it, sucking the contents with a fury of delight. After the fourth, he swiped the back of his hand across his mouth and relaxed against the couch, satiated and content.

“Better?” Guren asked, and Mikaela flinched, as if he’d forgotten that Guren was there. Those blue eyes fluttered toward him before Mikaela dropped his chin to his knees, wrapping his arms around his legs and looking away.

“Yes.” He hesitated before relenting, “…Thank you.”

Guren watched Mikaela closely for a long moment, so long it became awkward. Mikaela glanced back at him to see that yes, Guren was still staring, before tightening his grip and averting his eyes again. But Guren had to be sure the kid was all right. He had been in so much pain. It was gut-wrenching, and he knew vampires didn’t have low pain tolerances.

Once he determined that Mikaela was, in fact, okay, Guren relaxed back against the couch as well and sighed. “…I’m sorry.”

Mikaela actually looked startled, his head whipping around, his uncertain eyes surveying Guren.

“Yeah, you heard that right, idiot. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you only drank vampire blood or the frequency you need it—and what the hell is up with that? Why don’t you drink human blood?”

At first, Guren was sure Mikaela wouldn’t answer. He didn’t most of the times Guren posed questions, even simple ones like, “What type of books do you like to read?” But this time, Mikaela’s raw voice graced him with a quiet but earnest reply.

“You know I was livestock once. I won’t…I can’t take—It’s not right…I just can’t,” he finally settled on, his body so tight Guren thought it might break. “And I don’t want to be a true vampire. Drinking human blood will stop the last of my mortal biology from working, and I—”

Guren ventured a hand upon Mikaela’s shoulder, squeezing with just enough force for Mikaela to feel him. “You…were forced to become a vampire?”

Mikaela looked ashamed, and he ducked his head until his face was pressed against his knees. “…yes.”

God, why did all of his kids have to have issues? Why couldn’t at least one of them be normal? “Then I am grateful to the vampire who turned you. I’m sure Yu and your new family will be, too.”

Mikaela’s tear-stained face shot up, and Guren could clearly see the lost little livestock boy behind the mask of an apathetic and cold vampire.

“Yu thought you’d died, so when he left you, you must have been close to death,” Guren explained, teasing that one strand of hair that never stayed flat upon Mikaela’s head. “Whoever that vampire is, he saved your life. You’re alive in some form or another, and I’m glad for that. And I’m glad you’re here, with me and the Demon Moon Company.”

“I’m not part of your forces.”

“Family. We’re a family, Mikaela. And not yet, no. But give it time. I think you’ll come to like being around certain humans.”

Mikaela let out a humorless laugh. “Don’t hold your breath.”

Guren stood then and make sure he was outside of swiping distance when he retorted, “Really? You were just within killing distance of me twice, and neither times did you act. What does that say?”

He smiled when he heard the chain rattle and turned to find Mikaela at the very edge of his leash. He gave up the fight easily, though, and simply stood, his eyes almost equal to Guren’s. “No more games, greedy human. No more lies or tricks. Why did you bring me here?”

“Family works to bring back family,” Guren replied. “It’s that simple. I told you. You are part of Yu’s family, which makes you part of mine. I can’t have you running around killing humans to find Yu and then carrying him princess-style away. I can’t have you being found the Hiragis, or they’ll start experimenting on you. And damn well can’t have you killing me in my sleep. So this is where we stand as of now.”

“You’re using him. You can’t care about him as you say you do if you’re willing to—”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have the luxury of having people around me whom I can’t use. That’s not how the world works now, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t do everything in my power to safeguard him—and you.” He cocked a smile, then, arrogant but genuine. “I have great use for you, too, so yes, while I will use you, I will also always be there for you.”

Mikaela’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t trust you.”

“So you say.”

“If you get him killed, I will kill you.”

“And I would let you.” And then Guren took a step forward, then another, until he was in swiping distance of Mikaela’s claws. Mikaela looked bitter, resentful, and so very, very young and frightened. Guren just offered him another smile and patted his head. “See? Sometimes when you give a little trust, you gain a little trust.”

Of course, Guren didn’t tell Mikaela that he’d grounded up pills in the vials he’d fed him or in the others he left for Mikaela to drink. He’d hoped Mikaela wouldn’t notice because he was so hungry and later, because he would think the blood tasted differently as it came from someone outside of Sanguinem. And Mikaela must have assumed just that because he never said anything to Guren about the taste, and the vials were always empty when he came home.

But Guren rose in the morning hours day after day to tiptoe to the living room and run his hands over the softest white feathers he’d ever felt and through the brightest, silver-laced hair he’d ever seen. Mikaela sometimes woke up from his deep slumber, silver-speckled blue eyes unfocused but seeking Guren, and Guren would shush him with a gentle whisper and a brush of his cheek.

Guren’s heart ached. Despite the awesome power Mikaela held, either as a seraph or a vampire, he still lost his mortality somewhere, but then Guren smiled when the angelic boy shuffled closer to his hand, unconsciously seeking its warmth.

Despite what biology might have claimed, the boy certainly hadn’t lost any of his humanity.

Chapter Text

The days seemed to blend into one another, and Guren began to look forward to seeing Mikaela after a long day of fighting vampires or the Hiragis. Mikaela didn’t speak much, kept to himself mostly, but he slowly was coming out of his proverbial shell. From what he’d taken away from conversations with Yu, Mikaela used to be rather annoyingly outspoken, but all Guren had experienced was the kid laying stomach down on the couch, feet kicked up in the air, flipping through the tablet Guren left him.

Still, coming home to a pet vampire was better than coming home to no pet vampire at all.

Then, one day, Guren opened the front door to find Mikaela hanging upside on the couch with his butt firmly planted on the middle seat, his legs over the spine, and his head dangling below the middle cushion. And there was only one response to it.

“You don’t actually turn into a bat, do you?”

Mikaela’s gaze was tolerant, perhaps even…amused?—but he remained upside down. “I was trying to see if blood will still rush to my head. I haven’t checked since…y’know.”

“And?”

Mikaela flipped his legs off the spine, righting his body slower than his usual supernatural quickness. “It does, but it seems to take longer…ow…”

“Hm.” Guren hid a smile behind his water bottle as he leaned against the wall, legs crossed at the ankles. “So then it’s not actually rushing, is it? The blood is crawling into your head.”

“How is it you got to be a lieutenant colonel in the Japanese Imperial Demon Army again?”

“By exterminating cheeky bloodsuckers like yourself, so you better watch it.”

“I doubt that. Vampires are rarely cheeky, except…” His expression closed off, and if Guren hadn’t observed Mikaela so closely the past few weeks, he wouldn’t have known just how despondent and utterly devastated Mikaela truly was. It was way too close to his annoyed expression, but Guren could tell the difference.

He took a seat next to Mikaela on the couch before bumping his shoulder into the kid’s. “Hey, let me in there, will you? What are you remembering?”

The silent treatment returned, but Guren didn’t mind. He stayed there a while, simply finishing his drink and working on some paperwork. He changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt and sat on the edge of the couch, forcing Mikaela to hitch his legs up to sleep. And he finally did almost six hours later, a little after midnight, not speaking another word. But Guren knew what was coming, so he waited, even though he’d be sleeping through his meetings tomorrow with the Hiragis. Ah, well. This was more important anyway.

Less than an hour later, Mikaela started to whine, mumble, and then eventually scream in muted tones, but Guren was on his knees next to Mikaela’s head in a second’s time. He trailed his fingers through Mikaela’s sodden locks, murmuring soft reassurances until Mikaela woke up, eyes wet and bright with an old fear come alive. Guren didn’t even need to say anything before Mikaela launched himself at Guren, burying his face in Guren’s shirt and muttering over and over that it was all his fault and he should have known better and he was sorry and he wanted Guren to forgive him.

But Guren somehow knew Mikaela wasn’t talking to him, but he still wrapped an arm about Mikaela’s trembling shoulders and continued to brush Mikaela’s hair with the opposite hand, whispering reassurances that he wasn’t sure Mikaela heard.

Mikaela eventually fell asleep against Guren’s chest as Guren still knelt on the floor, and he wondered for the umpteenth time how the hell he ended up raising a bunch of brats—and when the hell he was going to get a decent night’s sleep.

Mikaela didn’t say anything when he work up the next morning, though the expression on his naturally pale face was an amusing mix of apologetic and horrified when he noticed Guren was still awake, sitting on the floor beside the couch.

Guren said nothing. There were no words needed, but he stood, patted Mikaela’s head, and headed off to take a shower. When he returned twenty minutes later, dressed in a pressed uniform and looking somewhat respectful, he left a phone on the end table next to Mikaela’s head. “If you have another nightmare, hit speed dial four and ask to talk to me. Say you’re part of the Demon Moon Company. They’ll connect you. Okay, Mikaela?” He ducked his head in hopes of finding the boy’s eyes, but all he saw was a curtain of blond bangs.

He didn’t expect a reply, but as he turned toward the door, he received one anyway. “Mika.”

“Okay, Mika-chan?” Guren wouldn’t be proud at himself. Not yet. Not when the progress came at such an emotional cost. “Will you be all right today?”

When he looked up, Guren was shocked by the tears that remained. “I want to see Yu-chan. When can I see Yu-chan?”

“He’s currently training with his squad in the disaster zones.” And that wasn’t a lie. “When he comes back, I’ll bring him here.”

That wasn’t a lie either. Mika needed family, and though Guren loved being the one Mika now turned to, he alone wasn’t enough. But together—Yu and the Demon Moon Company—just might be.

For now, Guren would revel in the simple pleasure of being needed, and when Mika called that day, they didn’t even need to talk. He just left the phone on his desk and went about his day, knowing his stable presence was a reassuring one.

*^*^*

When Guren returned to his barrack after a week away, he never expected to find Mika on the floor at the very edge of his leash, as close to the door as he could be, tearstains long dried upon his pale cheeks. His unbelievably wide eyes took in the dried blood upon Guren’s torn uniform, his disheveled hair, and the wounds that had long begun to heal since the all-out battle.

“Miss me?” Guren smirked, but Mika’s expression didn’t thaw. Instead, it remained frozen until Guren stepped within touching distance. Only then did Mika launch himself at Guren, clamping his arms about Guren’s torso and squeezing with his superhuman strength.

“I’ll take that as a—kid! Don’t squeeze the life out of me!”

Mika didn’t released him, but he softened his hold, his face still pressed against Guren’s chest. His violent trembles shook Guren, too, who snorted before folding his own arms about Mika’s shoulders.

“Hey, come on. What happened to my apathetic vampire who ignored me half the time and made cheeky comments the other half?”

Mika’s expression was accusatory when he finally met Guren’s. “Where were you? Why didn’t you come back?”

Guren’s own steeled. “War doesn’t happen from nine to five, and you had enough food to last the time. My other commitments took precedence.”

“But you couldn’t have let me know somehow? I thought—I was afraid that you—what happened if you had been…” Mika looked down at the cuffs about his ankle before his hands curled into shaking balls. “Don’t—Don’t leave me here…” He straightened his back as if hardening his resolve and glared up at Guren. “Take me with you next time.”

“I can’t take someone to the battlefield I can’t trust.”

Confusion enveloped Mika’s face.

Guren separated himself from Mika, eyes harden and unrelenting, as he stared down the shorter vampire. “You weren’t honest with me. I thought you were turned by the Seventh Progenitor, Ferid Bathory, but you weren’t, were you?”

Mika glanced away, but Guren snatched his chin, raising it painfully high so their eyes had to meet. “You were turned by Third Progenitor, the Vampire Queen herself, Krul Tepes, and do you know how I know that?”

“Let go of me,” Mika growled, but Guren pushed, “She came to Shibuya and drank some of best officers and even some civilians dry before we finally chased her back to her throne under Kyoto. She came here in search of her loyal dog. She came here for you, Mikaela Hyakuya.”

Mika’s hardened exterior only solidified, which only inflamed Guren’s anger. “You did not ask.”

“You should have told me,” Guren snapped. “People died for you, Mika! Good people because you weren’t completely honest—”

“Don’t blame me for your mistakes,” Mika replied, jerking his chin from Guren’s grip. “I carry sins, too, but I won’t carry yours. You’re the one who took me from the battlefield and from my master.”

“Yes, but if I had known the Queen herself had turned you—”

“Then you wouldn’t have taken me? You would have left me there, with the vampires?” He didn’t sound hurt, only callously calm, like he had been waiting for this sort of resignation. His shoulders slumped, and a self-loathing bitterness tainted his usually soft voice. “Humans can never be friends with vampires. You’ll never accept—”

Guren shouldn’t have, but there was no better response to what Mika said than a swift punch to the face. The force, thanks to Mahiru, sent Mika flying back into the couch. The young vampire brought his hand up to his no-doubt stinging face.

“I don’t know who the fuck put that into your head—whether it was the queen or that bullshit lord who almost took my head off, but I have never seen anyone be more loyal to anyone than Yu is to you. And what the hell do you think I’ve been doing here, Mika? Do you think I would put my entire career, my life, the ultimate end to this horrible war on the line…for what? What do I gain from this if I’m not—”

“The Seraph of the End.” Mika’s words were a bitter condemnation. “You said it so yourself. You can’t save anyone who can’t be of any use to you. And that’s all I am, aren’t I? A means to an end, a way to win this war, and so—”

“If that were true—if after all this time you still think of me as another greedy human, then why didn’t you just kill me when you’ve had the chance? Why don’t you just kill me now?” He definitely stood within Mika’s swiping range.

But Mika dropped the hand from his reddened cheek, his chain jingling through the awkward silence. “Because…you are Yu’s…family. I—I saw the way you protected him in the battle. I saw how the others, even that—that girl. She brought Yu back to himself after he became—whatever the hell that was.” He eyes grew dark again. “Whatever the hell you made him into. But if she’s that important to him—to not throw away everything and run with me, and if Yu knows what you’ve done to him and still trusts you, then…”

“Then you’ll trust me, too.” Guren faulted then, dropping to the couch to be even with Mika. He wouldn’t tell the vampire that maybe Yu didn’t quite remember the whole incident or even know what exactly he was becoming, but the rest was mostly true. “I still would have saved you, Mika-chan, even knowing what I know now. You’re family, but you need to—”

“Am I?” Mika asked, and Guren saw the genuine wonderment—no, fear—in his eyes. “Am I your family? Or am I just your newest pet and you’re my newest master?”

Mika was right, of course. He was on a leash. He was cherished, petted even, and all he did was lie around all day, waiting like a lost puppy for his master to come home. He’d even come as far as his leash allowed, watching the door and hoping to see Guren walk through it.

So Guren did the only thing that could prove his point. He unlocked the cuff.

The metal shattered the unbearable silence of the apartment, but Mika never glanced down at the chain. He only kept his eyes focused entirely upon Guren, hope and love and all those warm emotions shimmering there. Damn, it was hard to look at all that mush.

So Guren rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before patting Mika’s head and heading toward the shower. “Yu’s still not in Shibuya, so don’t go running around looking for him.”

“Is that where we are? Shibuya?”

That struck a chord somewhere in Guren’s heart, and he turned halfway around to stare Mika’s even gaze. “Yes. You didn’t know that?”

Mika shrugged. “I couldn’t look outside.” He motioned toward the chains again. “I couldn’t go out, so I wasn’t sure…”

Fuck. Masters were supposed to their pets for walks, weren’t they? God, he was so bad at this, but his self-loathing ended the minute he came out of the bathroom, towel about his waist, to find Mika rummaging through the things in his closet.

“Why don’t you just help yourself?” he snapped.

Mika’s smile was nothing less than cheeky. “I think I will, thank you.”

“I can put the leash back on.”

“You can try.”

The new-found sparkle in Mika’s eyes made him not want to.

*^*^*

After a few days of resting, Guren dressed Mika up in full Demon Moon Company gear and dragged the young vampire through his front doorway. It was the daytime, so the kid shrieked about burning up or some craziness.

“Shut up, will you? I know I made some mistakes, but I do get that vampires can’t come out into the sun without protection.” He tapped the edge of Mika’s jacket, which was modified specifically for him. “UV blockers. Better than SPF 50.”

“That is a horrible joke.”

“Maybe you’re just no fun.”

Guren took Mika to a remote part of the city, the young vampire glancing about them every so often as if awaiting a surprise attack. The ruins were fantastic training grounds with natural, unnatural, and supernatural hazards to help bring all members of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army up to battle standard.

“What are we doing out here, Guren?” Mika finally asked as they stood upon a pedestrian bridge that somehow held together, and Guren sucked in a sharp inhale and looked over the broken remnants of the once powerful—and beautiful—city. Against the light blue canvas and puffy, cheerful clouds, it still had a breathtaking quality to it, despite the ruins of the once tall skyscrapers. For a second, Guren wondered how Mika saw it before he chastised himself for thinking such frivolous thoughts.

“It’s almost time to put you into the field,” Guren said evenly, not meeting Mika’s suddenly widened eyes.

“I’ll get to see Yu-chan?”

“He’s where we’ll be going, yes, but before then, I have to assess your full strength.”

Mika tried to keep a straight face, Guren noticed, but he couldn’t keep the slight upturn of his lips from surfacing. “Are you sure you want to lose to me a second time?”

Oh, he was getting the original Mika now, wasn’t he? “I’m not worried about taking on a low-ranking city guard.”

Mika accepted his sword from Guren and spoke to it. He barely flinched when prickled vines wrapped around his wrist and painted his sword red. “You should worry about taking on the Third Progenitor’s favorite pet.”

“Why? I shouldn’t kick a dog when he’s down?”

“She taught me how to fight.”

That concerned Guren, even though he wasn’t surprised. He still managed to cock his most arrogant smirk as he unsheathed his blade, allowing the dark purple and black streams of demon power to weave through the air. He’d need Mahiru to protect him from the beast he was about to poke.

“I lied to you.”

Mika’s open expression snapped closed, and the silent treatment once more reigned. A gentle breeze acted as a pacifier for the moment, but Guren saw the feral beast ready to lunge.

“I gave Yu to the Hiragis to experiment on. I’m not even sure he’s alive, but he really doesn’t deserve to be if he can’t last three weeks in one of their guinea pig labs.”

It was downright torture to watch Mika’s face twist in absolute shock before darkening to outright disbelief, horror, and finally, unbridled rage.

“How—How could you? You…You said we were family. You said Yu was part of it.” Mika’s blade dripped with fresh vampire blood. “How could you just give him to those bastards!”

The emotions trembling in Mika’s eyes was nothing less than pure human fear, and Guren wondered if perhaps Mikaela Hyakuya was the most human creature he had ever met—including humans themselves.

“They asked for him. I wasn’t going to say no.”

The nonchalant tone was horribly faked, but Mika couldn’t tell with the blinding anger heaving his chest and forcing breath after breath through his gaping mouth. Then, with an agonized cry, Mika launched himself at Guren.

He was stronger than Guren remembered, faster too, but with Mahiru’s assistance, Guren combated strike after strike with precision. Mika was a smart fighter, Guren knew from their earlier battle, but then Mika was controlled by his apathetic outlook when he was on the side of the vampires. He held back. He didn’t care about his comrades, if they lived or died. Guren wondered if Mika even really cared if he, himself, lived.

And so during this battle, Guren would find out exactly what Krul Tepes’s favorite pet, Mikaela Hyakuya, could do.

At first, the attacks came frequent and ill-timed, thrust with prue rage and searing betrayal. Someone he trusted, some he started to think of as family, had given his precious brother to the labs to be tested. Mika was probably wondering if he’d simply been played, wondering how Guren could do such a thing. But then he saw the trip wires Shigure Yukimi had placed, just like their first fight, and instead of trying to avoid them, he sliced through them.

Good. He learned from his first mistake on the battlefield. That sort of intuition was hard to hone.

When Norito Goshi began to weave his spell, Mika reached Shigure who stood not too far away upon a low-rising building, and Guren was a second too slow. Shit, no! Mika was going to run her through.

But he didn’t. Instead, Mika snatched her wrist and threw her against Norito, sending both to the ground below. He continued effortlessly, ducking an attack by Mito, but she worked in tandem with Sayuri, their moves swift and coordinated. Though they sought an opening, they were only a distraction for Norito and Shigure to regroup and counter.

But it was Guren who came from above, clashing his blade against Mika’s and disarming the young vampire. Norito slammed his heel against the back of Mika’s knee, forcing Mika to fall, and then Guren tapped the end of his sword against Mika’s chin, raising the stained face until Mika’s vibrant blue irises burned him with their furious gaze.

“Not bad. I still don’t think that was your full strength, but it was impressive.” He drew his sword away and offered Mika his hand.

Mika eyed him distrustfully, and three long seconds drawled out before he accepted the help and was hauled to his feet. “And I thought Krul was evil.”

“Your inhabitations lie in your arrogance,” Mito clipped, arms crossed in front of her chest. “You believe you are better than your opponents, so you hold back because you think you do not need full strength to beat them.”

“I don’t,” Mika admitted.

“Really?” Norito laughed. “Is that why you were just on your knees?”

Mika opened his mouth to retort, but Guren slapped him on the shoulder. “Mentioning Yu seemed like the best way to make you lose that edge and allow us to see just how much power you really possess.”

“And?” Mika waited, and though Guren doubted the others heard it, there was a smugness to his tone.

So Guren decked him—again. With Mahiru’s help, he barely managed the feat on the battlefield, and Mika remained on his feet.

“Once you realized my intension, you still held back, didn’t you?” He didn’t wait for Mika to reply and instead, ran him through with his blade. The sickening noise of tearing flesh pained Guren more than Mika would know, but he persisted, face and eyes hard. “You want to join Yu’s unit? Right? Well, unlike you, humans aren’t immortal. Our demons give us some enhanced powers, but we’re not even in the same realm of vampires.” Cringing, Mika tried to free his body from Guren’s blade, but Mahiru held firm. “And until I know what you can do, I’m not going to endanger your new family, Mikaela Hyakuya.”

Mika winced. “You mean, you want to know what it’ll take to put me down.”

Guren released him then, allowing Mika to tumble to the ground. “Yes.”

Ragged breaths were sucked through his clenched teeth; Mika clutched the front of his blooded shirt. “What happened to giving a little trust and gaining a little in return? Do you not trust me, Guren Ichinose?”

“No, Mika-chan. I don’t. I think you have good intentions. I think you love your family and will love your new one. But a master always makes sure he’s stronger than his pet, even his most loyal one.”

Mika pushed himself to his feet, eyes averted, too belligerent to be ashamed, and so Guren smacked him up the back of his head.

“It’s not because you are a vampire, brat. I can defeat everyone in the Demon Moon Company. I need to be able to do so, in case their demons take over their bodies.”

“And who can defeat you, Guren?” Mika asked.

Guren just smirked. Mika blinked at first before he read it as the challenge Guren meant it to be, and then Mika’s own shit-eating grin found his lips.

It took not even a moment for Guren to regret his decision as Mika crossed the small distance in less than a blink, but Mito was there with a swift kick, which he evaded easily. Sayuri compensated, throwing down spells to trip him up.

The fight was shorter but more intense, Mika stabbing Norito first when the man tried to weave a smoke screen. Mito went down next, kicked off of a high-rise building, before Sayuri actually landed behind Mika and swiped. He parried the attack and ran her through in one forceful swipe.

Guren watched as Mika’s sword drank more of his blood, making his movements faster and faster, but it didn’t help. Guren’s squad was still a challenge and refused to give up, so Mika’s fighting stance, slowly but surely, began to evolve. Where he began by relying upon his sheer power, he now assessed each fighter’s strengths and weaknesses and struck accordingly.

Once, Mika didn’t utter, “Sword.” In its place, Guren heard the breathless plea, “Akane.”

So…Mika had a demon, too, did he? Guren filed that away to explore another day. Now, he finished off Mika, impaling him through the front when Mika turned from the combat with Shigure.

He would have grabbed Mika and kept him from the ground, but Guren collapsed a moment later next to the fallen vampire, utterly exhausted. The others followed, and they remained comfortably silent for several minutes, simply recovering from the all-out battle.

“You could have won that battle,” Norito finally huffed, knocking Mika’s boot.

Mika remained still before his head rolled to the side to look at Norito, a silent question in his eyes.

Norito nudged him again. “You could have asked for help, y’know? That’s what family does—help each other.”

Guren couldn’t sit up yet, but he could imagine the eye roll Mika would give, which Mito would then tear him a new one for. But the atmosphere was unusually silent, and Guren craned his neck to see Mika studying Norito fiercely before he simply glanced up toward the sky.

Guren followed his gaze. “Mika-chan, you’ll be meeting daily with my squad. They’ll teach you formations and attack plans.”

“I don’t need—”

“You have no idea how to work with a team or how to protect your own. My squad will teach you what you need to know.”

When Guren glanced over, he pretended not to see the glimmer of tears upon Mika’s suddenly flush cheeks. Instead, he reached out and gripped Mika’s hand, and for a moment, he felt all the anguish and despair that lived in Mika’s heart. It was the same crippling pain that lived in his own, but the world didn’t seem as dark or as hopeless as it had just moments ago. Now, he shared his burden with another, and that allowed him to find some solace.

Guren had long since given up on finding out the truth of Mika’s past, but Mika asked for help carrying his own sins when he squeezed back Guren’s hand.

“Thank you,” he muttered so softly, it was caught by the wind.

“You’re welcome,” Guren wanted to reply, but this wasn’t coddling time. Instead, he gave Mika a swift kick in the side. “In the future, don’t question your superior officer, idiot!”

*^*^*

Guren heard the shower stop a moment before a forceful knock shook his front door. He glanced back at the bathroom, making sure the door was shut, before he left his reports on the coffee table and headed off to answer. He coughed when he found Lieutenant General Kureto Hiragi waiting on his stoop.

Fucking shit.

Kureto was seemingly alone, but that meant nothing. The Japanese Imperial Demon Army knew how to hide and attack, and if Kureto wanted Mika and had brought his underlings, there was very little Guren could do, despite the demon-lover possessing his blade.

“So where is he, scum?” Kureto barked as he pushed the door open all the way and stepped past Guren.

“Oh, Lt. General Hiragi! So nice of you to pay me a visit.” He projected his voice as loud as he could without sounding too awkward. “I see your manners are still as impeccable as always. Thank you so much for taking your shoes off at the door.”

“You always think you’re better than everyone else, don’t you, Inchiose?” Kureto growled, swiveling on his heel without entering the apartment further. “But you’ll always be of a junior branch in this army.”

“Then why even bother coming to see me?”

“Because every so often you get the notion that you can rise in power, and someone has to remind you of your place.” He glanced about the barrack, taking in the extra mug on the table, the clothes a size too small on the couch, and of course, the sword left right in plain sight by the bathroom door. “Did you really think none of us would notice?”

“Hm?” Guren shut the door behind him and ventured forward. “You’re going to have to be more specific. Do you mean the boring meeting I missed this morning or the one I missed last week? Maybe the report from Shinjuku I was supposed to file—”

“I questioned Yuichiro Hyakuya, and I am convinced that he’s not working for you or for the vampires but for himself.”

“He doesn’t work for me,” Guren insisted, all his good nature lost to bitterness. “I saved his life, so he’s indebted to me. And I plan to collect for a very, very long time.”

“So you just collect experimented teenagers?” Kureto asked, hand resting on his katana, though Guren recognized it for the threat it was. “You can’t possible think your junior fraction can combat let alone overthrow the Hiragi Family in the Japanese Imperial Demon Army.”

Nothing Guren could say would change Kureto’s mind, but that wasn’t why Kureto had come, Guren knew. They’d have this discussion before, and they’d most likely have it again. Today’s agenda was something different, so Guren clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

“Are you going to say what you came to say? If so, get on with it. You’re boring me.”

“Some of the ground forces saw you take a vampire from the battlefield in Shinjuku,” Kureto began with little spite. “I thought nothing of it at first. So what it tore you to pieces? No one would care, except maybe Shinya. And no one really cares what he thinks.”

Except everyone but you and the fucking Hiragis.

“But then vials of vampire blood started to disappear from the labs. Coupled with the new member in your squad no one seems to recognize and reports that Hyakuya has a brother among the vampires—it wasn’t that hard to put together. You were stupid to think you could pull one over on us, Inchiose.”

“Worked for three months or so,” Guren was smug to point out, but then the bathroom door swung open. He immediately threw himself between Kureto and the charging Mika, grunting when the young vampire slammed into this back.

“Heel, Mika!” Guren ordered. “Heel!”

“But—”

One powerful kick, thanks for Mahiru, sent Mika tumbling backwards into the small hallway between the bathroom and bedroom, and Guren would have laughed when Mika lost his towel if Kureto hadn’t pulled his katana. So in retaliation, Guren took out his and walked over to fallen Mika, tapping his blade against the vampire’s chin.

“What did I say about second guessing your commanding officer, Vampire?”

Mika began to growl, teeth bared and ready to pierce, when Guren allowed Mahiru’s power to burn the edge of his blade. With a soft whimper, Mika pulled back his head and thankfully, kept his mouth shut.

“What is your endgame, Ichinose?” Kureto demanded, hard eyes drilling into Mika’s loathsome eyes. “Vampires are our enemies. They will never be welcome in our ranks.”

“Well, good, because neither am I.” Guren stepped down on Mika’s towel and slid it toward him. “We can use vampires, Lt. General. It is a mistake to dismiss them as nothing more than demon feed.”

“As opposed to us, who are seen as livestock in their eyes.”

Guren slipped his blade against Mika’s neck, a warning more than a threat, and Mika remained obediently silent, though defiance flashed in his eyes.

“Mika, get up and get dressed.”

Mika, now sporting his towel, eyed Kureto distrustfully as he stood and grabbed his clothes from the couch. He didn’t leave the room, quickly tugging up his underwear and pants before button up his uniform’s undershirt.

Kureto refused to take his hand off his katana. “So, you’re saying you’ve tamed the wild beast, is that it? You’ve made him into your loyal dog.”

“Vampires aren’t that much different from us. They crave affection, camaraderie—”

“And our blood. You can’t tell me, you of all people think we can have peace with these filthy, overgrown bats.”

Kureto’s callous gaze upon Mika disturbed Guren, and he wouldn’t feel safe until Mika was close to him once more. “Come, Mika.”

With an expression that burned with the fires of hell, Mika came to Guren’s side, and Guren slipped a hand against Mika’s cold cheek, pulling him close while crossing his sword in front of Mika’s body. It was a very protective stance, Guren using own body and cursed weapon to safeguard the vampire.

“Imagine a trained vampire, loyal to the Demon Moon Company, in every squad, willing to fight for our side, protect our side, and give us an edge in fights against nobles. Where our squads are sometimes lucky to survive, they will now have a chance to win.”

“And what will keep your vampire dog from biting its owners?”

“Because it knows I will put it down if it does.”

Kureto’s sharp eyes raked over Mika again, as if he were nothing more than a rabid dog, and Guren barely kept from burying his sword in Kureto’s gut. Mika was a person, whether he was a vampire or human, and not all vampires were the bloodsuckers Yu called them. Kureto had yet to discover that, but Guren doubted he ever would.

The air was heavy with condemnation, and Mika fidgeted, shifting from one leg to another like a dog ready to charge. Kureto finally glanced away, sheathing his katana and heading toward the door. “I am sending the Demon Moon Company down to Nagoya for the specific intent to kill vampire nobles. Take your dog with you. If he is as loyal as you say, then he just might save your life. If he isn’t, you’ll just be one less junior branch I have to worry about.”

“Aw, Lt. General! I didn’t know you cared.”

Kureto started toward the door but stopped as soon as he laid his hand upon it. “But know this, Lt. Colonel. If your mutt does go rabid, I will exterminate both him and Yuichiro Hyakuya.”

Fuck.

Mika was out of his grip before Guren could blink. Kureto had unsheathed his blade, waiting for Mika to pounce, and Guren thought his heart had been ripped out his chest when Kureto muttered, “Raimeiki, possess me.”

“Mika! Stop!”

And Kureto combatted Mika’s swipe and thrust him against the wall, pinning Mika with a stab to the chest. Despite his fierce trembling, Mika managed to stammer, “I will…not…let you harm…Yu-chan.”

“Hm. You are very much like your brother. Loyal to Guren but more loyal to your desires.” He slapped Mika hard against the cheek before tugging out his sword and allowing Mika to paint the wall red as he slid to the ground. “Be good, mutt, and I might even allow you to lick my boots.”

When the door reverberated shut, Guren let out a loud sigh he didn’t know he’d been holding. His eyes swiveled to find Mika, breathing deeply, hugging his legs to his now leaking chest. His head was tipped back against the wall, eyes widen and frightened. He must have realized just how close Kureto had been to activating his curse. Even Guren wasn’t exactly sure why he hadn’t, and that worried him all the more.

Once he retrieved another vial of blood and came to sit side by side with Mika on the floor, he could only think of one response.

“New orders for you, Mika-chan.” Guren inhaled sharply. “I want you to head to Akita. I have a place up there for emergencies. I’ll send up Yu once he reaches Nagoya.”

Mika stopped in mid-gulp, slowly dropping the vial from his reddened lips. “Didn’t that bastard just tell you to take me with you to Nagoya?”

“He did.” Guren lost the spirit to kick Mika in the side for questioning him. “And you came. But then you were killed by one of the nobles. So was Yu. We mourned your losses and burned your bodies, and so—”

“No.” Mika’s face darkened, and he finished his blood with one gulp before wiping his mouth.

“You don’t get a vote on this, dumbass. You’re going to listen to your—”

“Yu has a new family now, and he’s not going to abandon them. And neither am I.” Mika’s wide, cheeky smile grew until it overtook his face. It was beautiful, radiant, so precious, and Guren couldn’t believe that in only a few short months, he’d been able to find the boy Yu cherished so much. And now, Guren knew why. “I’m not abandoning you.”

Now Guren found his strength and used all of it to deliver a crushing blow across Mika’s face. “You fucking idiot! Do you have any idea what I’ve done to you?”

“Isolated me from the rest of the world, reduced my entire existence into this tiny room, and made me dependent upon you and only you until I became the loyal mutt that Hiragi believes me to be.” That smile now turned mischievous. “Unlike Yu, I have that gray matter in between my ears. I’m practically a genius.”

“And yet…you let me...?”

“I want to see Yu again, and the only way to do that is through you. So I went along with it. But then…” His face fell, and suddenly, his eyes shimmered. They grew distant, and he murmured, “Did Yu ever told you what happened to our family?”

“He said they were slaughtered by a noble as you were trying to escape the vampire city.”

Mika didn’t hide his face in his knees like Guren thought he would, but the tears stained his cheeks in slow rivers. “Yu used to say he was going to get strong and kill all the vampires, so we could be free. After awhile, even I began to believe him, but we were kids. There was no way back then we could survive, and Yu—he kept provoking the city guards. I thought—they almost killed him a few times, and I wasn’t going to let that happened. So I approached the Seventh Progenitor, Lord Ferid Bathory, and offered my blood to him.”

When Guren spoke, it was low, so as not to interrupt. “That super strong vampire noble you were with in Shinjuku?”

“Yes,” Mika whispered, and he continued in a gutted tone, rubbing his neck absentmindedly, running his fingertips over invisible scars. “He took it, and in exchange, he gave me anything I wanted, including good food for my family and a good bed to rest on in his good mansion. But I didn’t rest. I searched his place and found a map out of the city and a gun to use on any resistance, which I gave to Yu. And we were almost out—we almost made it when—when—”

Violent, ugly sobs wracked Mika’s body, and Guren pulled him against his chest, wrapping the young vampire in the strongest embrace he could. He couldn’t hear exactly what happened in those final minutes, but Guren understood the gist. Ferid had killed their family for nothing more than entertainment, and Mika felt responsible. It had been his plan, his decision to leave, and it cost him the lives of his family and his mortality. And now that he had another family, with Yu and Guren and his squad, and he wasn’t going to lose it again.

Once Mika calmed down and simply hid his wet face in Guren’s shirt, Guren ruffled his hair. “Mika-chan, you were twelve. Twelve. There was no way—”

“But because of me—”

“Yu is alive. And now you’re a vampire with a new-found strength to protect your family.”

“But—”

“Enough, Mika.” Mika had been mourning for four years. It was time for acceptance and healing. “Your old family is gone. There’s nothing you can do for them anymore. Get over it. Your reason to live is to protect your new family, and they need you now, in Nagoya.”

Mika’s eyes shook, but there was an unbelievable strength in them, one that allowed him wipe his face and nod.

Chapter Text

“It’s a crap mission.”

“Maybe if you wore the hat, I’d give you a better one,” Guren laughed.

“It’s a stupid hat,” Mika pouted, standing outside of Ebina Rest Stop. He now sported a special private’s uniform with his hair tied back in a short tail, waiting alongside Guren’s squad for deployment.

Norito tossed an arm about Mika’s neck, tugging him close. “But it’s part of the special private uniform.”

“I don’t think ‘chained to Guren’s couch’ for three months qualifies me for special private status, but…” He pulled a magazine out of his bag and offered it to Norito. “Look what I dug up in Guren’s closet.”

“WHOA!” Norito snatched the unfurled pages and started to drool. “It’s been forever since we’ve seen bikini-clad chicks, right, Guren? It’s not like Sayuri and Shigure run around in ‘em.”

Guren shared a brief glance with Mika that said nothing short of, “I’m going to get you for this.”

Mika replied with a shrug, “You gave me a crap mission. This is what you have to deal with.”

“Hey, Mika! Don’t you want to see them in bikinis?” Norito called. “Ask Guren to get them into bikinis. Please!”

“Female nobles generally wear less clothing than members of the Demon Moon Company, and they’re not particularly fond of keeping themselves covered at all times.”

Norito was on him in a second. “I want to be a vampire! Make me a vampire! Come on! I want to hang around with scantily clad bloodsuckers!”

“But would they want to hang around you?” Shigure deadpanned.

Mika tried to free himself from Norito’s hold. “I can’t just make you a vampire. I’m not a noble, and even if I were, you don’t want to be a vampire!”

“Have you ever seen a vampire’s woman parts?”

“Norito, leave the kid alone,” Guren ordered, but Norito refused, tugging on Mika’s arm.

“Come on, Mika-chan! Tell me the truth! Have you ever seen any vampire’s boobs? How about that queen? Did you ever seen the queen’s? She’s hot.”

Mika looked like he was about ready to die from disgust—Krul Tepes was a mother-figure more than a love interest—but Guren just flashed him a crooked smile. “You brought this on your own.”

Mika narrowed his eyes and stuck out his tongue. God, he was an adorable pain in the ass, and he reminded Guren so much of Yu. They really were related, one way or another.

It was Mito who eventually saved the kid, walking out of the rundown rest stop. “I have searched the premise. There was no sign of any vampire presence—uh, other than you, Mika-chan.”

“You always say the nicest things to me, Mito.”

“Hey! Add a ‘Colonel’ before that, or I’ll kick your ass!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Mika even flashed her a mock salute, and Mito responded with a quick kick to his backside before pulling him into a headlock. “Where’s your hat, huh? Huh?”

Guren allowed himself a small smile as he watched the friendly exchange. He almost thought about assigning Mika to his squad. All of his family members had taken a liking to Mika since they began training him, and Mito especially acted like the overbearing sister who would pick on her brother and defend him all within one breath. But Mika and Yu would be best placed together, even if putting two seraphs on one team was a horrible tactic maneuver. But Guren doubted he could keep them apart any longer.

“Hey, Mito!” Norito called. “Wanna put on a bikini for us? Guren was perving on the idea of you in one.”

Mito’s brush spread across her cheeks and down her neck, and Mika came to her rescue this time. “Hey, Colonel! Isn’t it your job to rally the troops? What better way than in a—OW!”

“You little bloodsucker! Don’t make me bleed you dry!”

The good nature drowned in the massive revving of a super charged sports car, and though shocked, Guren greeted Shinya with his usual mixture of disdain and fondness. A brother of sorts, Shinya was both an annoyance and comfort, and it showed, especially when Shinya looked over Guren’s shoulder with quasi-smirk. There waited Mika, watching their exchange with his usual sharp but outwardly aloof gaze.

“Ah. So this is your vampire, huh? You got Kureto all worked up, y’know. I loved every second of his bitching.” He walked right up to Mika, his easy eyes surveying the vampire in a Demon Moon Company clothing, and Guren blinked. Shinya and Mika’s facial features paralleled, their hair and eye color almost identical. It was downright uncanny. Why hadn’t he noticed it before?

“So, you’re Mika, huh? Yu’s Mika? Or should I say ‘Guren’s Mika’ now?”

Mika looked less than pleased. “Who are you?”

“Oh. You haven’t heard of the great Major General Shinya Hiragi of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army? I’m offended. Guren, how could you not have raved about me to your vampire?”

Guren shoved his hands in his pocket and shrugged. “I might have mentioned a pompous windbag somewhere in our conversations, but I don’t think I mentioned you by name.”

“Aw, your love for me is always touching.” Shinya turned his attention back to Mika, his once calm expression now more thoughtful. “What’s your real name, kid?”

Confusion swept through Mika’s gaze. “What do you mean?”

“If you’re Yu’s Mika, then your last name is Hyakuya, but I doubt you are actually blood-related to the Hyakuyas. What was your first last name?”

Mika’s entire body tensed. “My biological parents abused me before they finally tired of me and threw me from a car.” More than a few shocked gasps sounded from Guren’s squad behind Mika. “I don’t like to associate with them.”

“But you’d rather associate with the Hyakuya Sect? Interesting…” The sickening sweet smile upon Shinya’s face was suddenly so familiar, and Guren cursed himself. How had he not seen it all this time? And yet, Shinya seemed to notice the moment he laid eyes on the kid.

“It was Shindo,” Mika spat, once bored eyes now piercing into Shinya’s. “What’s it to you?”

Fuck. No one else in the Demon Moon Company understood that revelation, even Mika. The kid was sixteen, and with Shinya more than eight years his senior and adopted by the Higaris at five…well, unless the Shindos spoke about selling their firstborn, which Guren highly doubted, then there was no way for Mika to know of any relation.

And Shinya seemed, at least for the moment, to want to keep it that way. “Hm. Dodged a bullet, didn’t I?”

“Really?” Guren snorted. With the two choices being experimented on by the Hyakuya Sect or put into a medieval type gauntlet by the Hiragis, Shinya thought he had the better of the two lives? “You think so?”

Shinya ignored him, just patted Mika on the head and asked where his hat was. Mika looked like he was ready to tear him to shreds. Guren took it as the cue to get things moving. The rest of the Demon Moon Company, including Shinoa Squad, would be coming, and he needed Mika repositioned by then. If Yu was to do his job and finish off the noble with Makoto’s squad, he needed to be focused, not overly giddy from just reuniting with his brother.

Jumping on Shinya’s car—he seriously wanted to take it for a ride—he began his speech to his close company. “…But we have to answer the call. If we fail, humanity dies. And so Shinya, Norito. Mito. Sayuri. Shigure.” He made a point to look directly at his vampire, who waited patiently by his squad. “And Mika. I want to complete this mission with as few casualties as possible. For that, I ask your help.”

Sayuri nodded. “Of course.”

Mika was serious, but there was a soft smile on his bright features when he nodded.

As Shinya and Norito muttered to the side about something or other—Guren would take care of that in a moment—he jumped down to Mika’s side. “So what are your mission perimeters again?”

“You remember I’m the Hyakuya with brain matter, right?”

He deserved the slap up the back of the head Guren gave him. “Again.”

“I’m to go to the Nagoya Airport and secure it. If there are any nobles, I’m to hide and double-back to report to you.”

“Good. Norito and Mito will take you as close as they can before the raids start.” When Mika nodded, Guren grabbed him by the front of the jacket and jerked him close. “You follow those orders. Do you understand me? If you do anything, anything that deviates, you better pray you die because you will be living chained to my couch for the rest of your immortal life. Do you understand me?”

Mika gave Guren the most facetious smile and salute anyone had ever given him, including Yu. “Sir, yes, sir!”

Guren pushed him away then. “Then get out of my face and watch your back, kid.”

Sticking out his tongue, Mika headed off to join Norito and Mito, and though he wanted to spare at least one person to back up Mika, he doubted any one person but Yu could keep up with the vampire. And not to mention, Mika was posed to the only survivor of this suicide mission.

*^*^*

Guren had never been so grateful to his fore-thinking. Shinya would take control of the mission and make sure all the snotnoses got out of danger. Shinya also met Mika, which meant he would look out for the vampire, perhaps even “adopt” him and Yu, keeping them out of Kureto’s hands. After all, Shinya hated Kureto just as much as Guren did, even if they were brothers, so all and all, Guren felt confident in the choices he’d made for this particular battle.

“Do it, Norito! Do it now or everyone dies! Get everyone out of here!”

Mito objected, but that was to be expected. “Don’t you dare, Norito!”

What Guren hadn’t expected was for a vampire to break through one of the windows, and before Norito could weave the curse, Mika kicked Horn out one window and Chess out another. He raced toward the unsuspecting Crowley who turned toward him, eyes wide, but then the momentary fear shifted into confusion.

“Hey, aren’t you one of Ferid’s—”

He’d barely managed to raise his sword when Mika delivered the crushing blow, forcing Crowley through the side wall and down the five floors, to the ground entrance of city hall.

He swiveled fast, swiping a hand. “Get out of here! I’ll hold them off as long as I—ugh!”

Thanks to Mahiru, the deck was about as crushing as it could for Mika. “What the hell is wrong with you? You say you have more brain matter than Snotnose over there, and yet here you are, disobeying orders just like him.”

Mika’s expression was all too amused. “Family trait?”

“Mika!” Yu cried, a mixture of relief, confusion, and absolute delight, and Mika’s eyes filled that sweet affection that first endeared Guren to him. And as he opened his mouth to reply, two elegant hands suddenly snatched Mika’s shoulders from behind.

“Aw, aren’t you going to come out and play?” Horn and Chess purred in his ears before tossing Mika out the hole of the destroyed wall. The two vampire nobles remained on the floor, smirking at the human squads like the lesser lifeforms they believed them to be. “Don’t run too far, Livestock. We really don’t want to have to wrangle you again.”

And then they were off.

“Mika!” Yu would have jumped out the window after them if not for Guren, who snagged him by the waist.

“Seriously! Are all you kids dumbasses?” he muttered.

Yu gripped Guren’s lapels, tugging Guren almost down to his height. “What the hell? How does Mika know you, and why is he fighting the vampires? I thought—he was—I don’t—what is going—hmph!”

Guren clamped his hand over Snotnose’s mouth to stop his yapping. That was a conversation he had hoped to save for when they weren’t on the battlefield with one of their own surrounded by enemy forces, but Yu never grasped the whole “priorities” thing when it came to blind love.

Mika held his own at the moment, shifting in a perfect battle stance, eyes locked with Crowley, but every so often, a tilt of the head indicated he shot glances at the two female nobles flanking him. None of the nobles were close to him, about ten feet away, but they were ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.

“Lt. Colonel?” Shinoa asked, and he heard the unspoken questions in those two words. What is happening? What should we have done? What should we do now?

They needed to extract Mika before this escalated and get the hell out of the city.

“Okay, let’s form three groups. Shinya, you and Yoichi will take perch up here. At any time you have an open shot at one of the nobles, take it. My squad, we’ll attack Chess. Shinoa Squad, you have Horn.”

Yu mumbled something, but Guren refused to release him, still holding Yu in a quasi-headlock at his hip. God knows what the kid would do if Guren let him loose. “Your brother was turned into a vampire by the Third Progenitor, Krul Trepes. I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt that he can hold his own against the Thirteenth Progenitor long enough for us to put the other two down.”

That seemed to calm Yu somewhat, though Guren thought maybe he was more in shock than actually sporting a level head. Guren released Yu then and shoved him toward Shiho, who caught him effortlessly. “All right, everyone. Move out. And keep your wits and demons in check. This is going to be the hardest battle any of us ever fought, and we’re all making it back alive, vampire teammate included. Got it?”

He received a round of affirmatives, but just before they broke, Yu turned to him, apprehension tainting his expression and voice. “Guren…have you had Mika since the Shinjuku battle?”

Guren averted his eyes. “Time and place, kid. This is an active battlefield. Focus on the mission at hand, and bring your brother back alive.”

“You better come back alive, too, so I can punch you properly.”

He received no respect for being the leader of the Demon Moon Squad. He was going to have to do something to change that, like beating the living shit out of a couple of brothers.

But Yu’s resolve hardened after that dig, and he shot off quickly with Shinoa and his squad. Guren and his squad headed for the nearest stairwell.

His body ached in places he didn’t know it could, but Mahiru helped to heal him as quickly as possible. Shinya also allowed Guren to lean on him a bit, probably more than he should have, but they made it to the battle line in record time. As they began to line up in the entry way of city hall, readying their cursed gear, they came into hearing distance of the verbal taunting.

“—can’t be serious. Siding with livestock.” Crowley never seemed to growl. He was too easygoing, too lackadaisical with the battle for such a feat, but he sounded at least perturbed now.

Guren snorted. Good. If Mika was going to annoy him, the kid might as well annoy the vampires, too.

“That’s offensive to every vampire,” Crowley continued. “How can your pride allow for such… degrading?”

“They’re not livestock,” Mika, of course, snarled. “They’re human beings.”

“And like I said, livestock—oh, that’s right.” Crowley huffed a laugh. “Lord Bathory said you were human once, but still—the favorite of the Third Progenitor choosing livestock over his own kind? She will not stand for this. Lord Bathory will not stand for this.”

“Like I care.” Guren never heard Mika use such a disgusted tone.

“Hm. Then I guess we have no choice, ladies. Lord Bathory will want his favorite toy over any human commander.”

Guren felt ice slide through his veins. This was Mika’s objective. This was why he’d come. He must have known Crowley would abandon the Demon Moon Company to capture him instead, giving them time and distance to escape. The little bloodsucker. Oh, he was going to get such a beating from his squad.

“Let’s collect the traitor and get out of here,” Crowley ordered. “We’ll leave Krul’s forces to deal with the livestock.”

As Horn and Chess lunged forward, Mika managed to counter both of their blades before Crowley rushed forward, his hand clasping Mika’s neck. Mika would have lost his sword to Chess’s blade, but Guren parried first while Horn struggled with Yu.

“Mika!” Yu yelled again, and that was all the encouragement Mika needed before he buried his sword in Crowley’s stomach. It wasn’t enough to win the battle, but the move freed Mika for the moment.

He back-flipped out of the Crowley’s reach, then caught Crowley’s counter with his blade. They were off in a moment, bouncing around the buildings and clashing time and time again.

Guren wished he could watch the beautiful, deadly dance. Mika sung with his blade and body, the two working as one when he fought, and he had no doubt Crowley fought similarly, a noble worthy of the title. But Guren pushed all his strength and Mahiru’s energy into the losing battle with Chess, who systematically worked her way through his team until they were left bleeding and groaning upon the ground but far from defeated. They rose up behind him and countered in their formation, drawing blood from her and tearing his dress.

Guren risked a glance at Shinoa Squad, who seemed to be faring about as well against Horn, but they needed something, some edge to defeat these monsters.

Shit. Shiho slipped up, and Horn dove for the kill, sword ready, teeth bared to suck all the blood and life from him—except instead of sinking her blade into Shiho, she tore through Mika’s back.

Mika coughed blood, two thin lines dribbling from the corners of his mouth ashe growled, “Move, Shiho!”

He didn’t need to be told twice, but Yu actually came to Mika’s aid, sinking his sword into Horn’s backside. Unfortunately, Crowley was there in an instant, smacking Yu to the side as if he were a gnat before thrusting Mika against the city hall wall and promptly digging his teeth into Mika’s neck.

“NO!” Yu’s vehement cry was desperate and wet with tears.

Mika lost his sword somewhere, his wrist gushing blood as if the prickly vines had been torn from his skin. Various wounds darkened his suit with blood and dirt, but he still struggled against Crowley’s larger form, his neck jerked in an awkward angle to accommodate Crowley’s head, Crowley’s teeth deep in the soft skin between his neck and shoulder.

Shinya and Yoichi threw shot after shot, battering the vampires with their demoned projectiles, but one well-placed hit brought the wall crumbling down upon them. Mito and Shinoa charged simultaneously then, ready to rid of the world of two more noble bloodsuckers when a whip and claws brought them close and made them treats for the pair.

Mika was deathly pale, all but a limp mass now in Crowley’s hold, and Crowley coughed, spitting little droplets of blood upon Mika’s once pristine shoulder.

“What disgusting blood! What have you been drinking, kid?”

Mika gasped as if it could breathe after minutes under water, but he hardly had time to recover before Crowley went down on him again, as if ready to bleed him dry.

He met Yu’s eyes first, tears of apologies bright within them before he looked to Guren and offered a silent plea.

Go. Please.

“Enough, Mika!” Guren’s voice resounded through the destroyed city street. “You can’t protect your new family if you’re dead!”

Mika’s eyes widened; they shimmered with the dying light.

“You’ve already given your life once. You’ve already given your humanity. You’ve atoned enough. Now suck it up, decide to live, and fight back! If not for you, then for Yu! For your new family! Fight to not lose them where you lost your first one!”

And Yu was there, always ready to support his family.

“You filthy bloodsucker!” Yu growled, leveling his katana once more. “Let Mika go now!”

But Crowley paid Yu no mind and instead glanced at Horn and Chess. “Ladies?”

They pounced as if never hit, as if never beaten, tearing through the remaining squads. Chess only stopped once she fought Yu, tossing him against the wall and licking her lips. Horn, in return, choose Guren, tearing open his collar and slowly diving for the kill.

“No…” Mika fought against Crowley’s hold, but it wasn’t enough. His vampire strength, despite his sire, could never overcome a full-powered noble.

But he had to. And he would.

Guren commanded, “Mika!”

Crowley pulled away, confusion tainting his once cold eyes. “W—What…?”

And Mika’s own darkened, though his irises glowed an ethereal silver. Then, a crimson filled up one of his eyes before a steady stream dribbled down his right cheek.

Guren smirked. Finally.

Where Yu had transformed into a black seraph of death, ready to exterminate all humans for their sins, white, majestic wings grew out of Mika’s back. His hair now glimmered with sliver highlights, and an unfathomable blue color, flecked with white, glistened in his eyes. He was undeniably beautiful and divine.

But then he snapped Crowley’s wrist in two without a shred of remorse upon his face, and that was downright disturbing.

He kicked Crowley half-way down the street, and both Chess and Horn turned from their victims.

“My lord!” They dashed toward Mika, weapons and teeth ready to pierce, and Mika would have none of it. He spread his wings, taking out both with one blow, and as they groaned upon the ground, Guren screamed, “Yu! Shiho! Exterminate them! Now!”

“Everything must be cleansed,” Mika whispered, gentle like prayer. “Humanity and vampires are the virus that must be purged, so we may start over.”

He found his sword, not too far away, and as it dug into his skin, feeding on what appeared to be silver blood, Guren felt the air torn from his lungs.

Mika touched the very tip to the ground.

The silence was deafening, fuzzy in Guren’s ears with a dull ring, as if he should be able to hear something but couldn’t. He couldn’t actually remember being tossed by whatever force spread from Mika’s sword, but he sure felt the remnants in his body and the warmth of fresh blood upon his suddenly cold skin.

The fall-out separated Guren from the squads and the noble vampires from the humans. As he attempted to gather his bearings and his team, he eyed various members lying prone upon the pavement and struggling against their newly formed wounds. The nobles, it seemed, decided to flee while they could, running in the opposite direction from the city hall and Mika, who currently walked in the center of his destruction, where a small path remained clear.

“What the hell?” Mitsuba rasped next to Guren, struggling to find stable ground on the now rocky street.

Guren snorted. “The exact opposite.”

Mika stopped before Mito and Norito, who seemed to flit in between consciousness and acute pain, and raised his sword. Guren started to shout, but it was Yoichi, the sweet, frightened and yet fearless child of them all, who jumped on Mika’s back without a second thought and screamed, “No, Mika-kun! You can’t!”

“Human…die.”

“If you’re Yuichiro’s family, then that makes you our family, too! And family protects family!”

Mika tried to shake him off, fighting against the will of the unbreakable embrace, and though Mika would eventually win, Yu rose then from where he’d fallen and met his family’s gaze with undeniably relief.

“Mika…it’s okay. I’m here. You can let go now. It’s okay. It’s finally okay.”

Guren couldn’t see Mika’s eyes, but he watched the shoulders sag and the hair lose its silver glow. His white wings began to retract as Mika’s whispered prayer somehow crossed the battlefield.

“Yu-chan…”

He collapsed to the ground, dragging poor Yoichi with him.

Shinoa Squad pounced upon their new member then, checking him for injuries while Yu laid Mika’s head upon his bloodied lap. There was much to answer for and even more to explain, but as Shinya came to his side, his hands in his pockets like they hadn’t fought another hard-won battle in a very, very long war, Guren muttered, “Don’t say a word.”

“About giving yourself to the enemy? About using kids as experiments? Maybe about the half-cocked battle strategy you came up with, which included two squads of five humans each taking on three nobles? Wouldn’t dream of it,” Shinya laughed, but then with a sigh, his voice dropped all the pretense of humor. “Looks like you have yourself a pair of seraphs. You really enjoy hard-luck cases, don’t you?”

“Ng.”

“After seeing all the ferocity these creatures possess, you can’t tell me you still believe Yu to be humanity’s savior.”

Guren sighed. “I do, Shinya. I really do.”

“And Mika?”

Guren cocked a smile as if telling a private joke. “Who else do you think is going to save Yu? We all need someone to save us from the darkness, Shinya. Don’t you agree?”

Shinya just let out an exasperated sigh and wrapped an arm about Guren’s neck. “You are going to be the death of me, Guren. No doubt.”

“If these kids don’t kill me first.”

That earned him a noncommittal grunt from Shinya, and they both turned back to see Yu now pressing his face against Mika’s neck, as if he could heal Crowley’s attacks with sheer will. Guren knew the feeling, his hand laying on Shinya’s slowly recovering chest.

*^*^*

Mika slept for three days straight. He should have slept for five, like Yu, but vampires heal quicker than humans. Still, it gave Yu enough time to try to deck Guren, get his ass kicked, and then learn just how many times Mika had asked to see him in the brief months Guren kept Mika sequestered. When they were finished, Yu sitting cross-legged in one of the workout arenas, his shoulders slumped, Guren tried to ignore the sincere gratitude in Yu’s liquid gaze.

Seriously, why did all his kids have to be broken?

“Guren…thank you…for saving Mika.”

“Go run five laps around the base.”

“What! Why?”

“Because you might hug me again and I don’t want to choke on all this emotional mush.”

“We just went three rounds, and you kicked my ass. I’m too tired to do anything like that.”

“Are you questioning your superior officer? Do you want to make it ten laps?”

“Going! Going!”

When Mika finally awoke, he was surrounded by his new family with Yu’s head lying next to his shoulder, Yoichi by the foot, and Mitsu, Shiho, and Shinoa all huddled on the nearby couch like a pack of puppies. It was adorable, if Guren only admitted it to himself—and Shinya, who came around more than once in the three days since the battle. Apparently, he would do something about his new found biological ties but had yet to decide just what.

Guren sat by the window, watching the moon skim across the clouds in the night sky. Part of him feared the vampires would return, demanding Mika once more, but none came. And they shouldn’t have. The Demon Moon Company survivors moved quickly from Nagoya to Hamamatsu to Tokyo, making sure to leave the battle and nobles far behind. No one followed them, and no one should know where Mika was, hidden in a base hospital in Shibuya.

The knowledge gave Guren little comfort, and since the vampires were so desperate to get their own back, he’d have to pick and choose which missions to send the newly grown Shinoa Squad.

But that mattered little. Though he’d lost good men and women, he’d retained his close comrades, his surrogate little brothers-slash-sons, his seraphs, his human weapon and his vampire. And their team. For that, he was grateful to any higher power who still listened to him.

When Mika grunted, this time regaining consciousness like a normal person with blurry eyes and light shifting, Guren came to his bedside to ruffle his hair.

Mika didn’t flinch away, but he certainly was not pleased. “You did something to me,” he accused.

Guren weighed his options and decided on a simple, “Maybe.”

“Like you did to Yu?”

“Your wings are prettier. All silver and white. But you sing the same song of death.”

Mika looked uncertain, frightened even, and he met Guren’s eyes with that lost expression he wore the first night in Guren’s apartment, chained to the couch and desperately wanting to see his brother.

“What—What happens now?”

“No one but my squads saw your transformation, so…” Guren offered him a gentle, indulgent grin. “You live, Mika. One day at a time. And you protect those you love with all the power you’ve been given, starting—now!” He slapped Yu across the back of the head. “Wake up, Snotnose!”

“Ow!” Yu shot up in a second, wincing and rubbing the suddenly red neck. “What gives, Guren!”

Guren simply pointed to the sitting-up Mika, who beamed when Yu glanced toward him. “That. Say hi, won’t you? Use your manners.”

Of course, Yu didn’t say hi. He immediately tackled Mika in a crushing embrace, startling even the stronger vampire, and there was a mixture of embarrassing blubbering, both from Yu and his vampire brother. Slowly, the other members of Shinoa Squad began to awaken, and Guren sat back, trying to hide the soft smile that crept across his face. Shinoa tried to make proper greetings and failed miserably when neither Yu nor Mika pulled away from their embrace, and she eventually smacked them both across the back of the head.

Mitsu accused Mika of not keeping formation, while Yoichi hung off both of them, welcoming Mika into their family. Shiho just pushed up his glasses and said he was a better fighter than the Hyakuyas, and Mika shared a quick, surveying glance with Yu before they broke into fits of laughter.

Guren started out, proud of himself for his good work.

“Hey, Guren!”

Guren half-turned. “What do you want now? You’ve taken up enough of my time these past few months, and I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep—finally.”

Mika’s eyes softened, and oh, God. Was he going to thank him, too, and get all misty like Yu? He couldn’t take all these gushy emotions—but then Mika stuck out his tongue. “You are such a loser. You should be thanking me for saving your ass back there. If it weren’t for me, you’d be getting interrogated by Crowley right now.”

The kid deserved the kick that sent both he and Yu tumbling from the bed. “Show some respect for your superior!”

The twenty-hour rest refreshed Guren’s abused body and mind, and the time with Mahiru was needed and pleasurable. It had been a while since they met like that, and he missed her greatly. But perhaps…just perhaps in the last year, watching over Yu and Shinoa, now Mika and the rest—he would miss her. He would always miss her, but he had a new mission now, a new reason for living, and it felt good to be needed again.

Then again, giving up his couch to now not one but both Hyakuyas had never been part of the plan. Geez, didn’t these kids know anything about boundaries? Hm…though, now that they were here, he might as well get out the shaving cream and have some fun. He would stick Mika’s hand in warm water to see what color he peed, but he liked that couch.

*^*^*

Krul Tepes despised Ferid Bathory and his annoying sing-song voice with a passion vampires usually didn’t feel, but when he pranced into her throne room without warning and took an elegant, exaggerated knee before her, she just wanted to tear his head from his body.

“Oh, Your Majesty. You must have heard,” he lamented. “Crowley-kun found our little lost Mika-chan. I was so worried. But those filthy humans are using him again. What ever will we do?”

The entire declaration dripped with sarcasm, and though Krul would enjoy draining his body until it was nothing but a dried husk, the truth was—Ferid was useful, even if he had his own agenda. He was one of the very few vampires who could keep Mika in line, and she would need that in the coming months. After all…

“Everything is as it should be, Lord Bathory.” Her smile was fierce and anything but kind. “Mika is now embedded with the human forces, and when the time is right, I’ll have him gut the Japanese Imperial Demon Army from the inside out.”

“He won’t like that.” His usually sly smirk demonized. “You haven’t told him about the special relationship between a vampire sire and its children, have you?”

Krul fumed but kept her tongue silent.

“Oh, then let me be the one to tell him. May I? May I! Pluh-leeeze!”

“Shut up, Seventh Progenitor, and know your place.” She kicked him to the ground, then stomped on his stomach with her high-heel, ignoring his pained whine. “You are to stay away from Mika as long as he is part of the Demon Moon Company. We cannot have him or his new comrades knowing anything until our forces have gathered and are ready to attack.”

“And then I get to tell him?”

Krul rolled her eyes and stomped across him as she headed out of the room. “Trust me, Lord Bathory. You won’t need to.”

*^*^*

“A rematch?” Guren blinked, his squad assembling behind him in various battle stances. “Are you sure you want to go there again, Shinoa Squad?”

Yu’s stare was more serious than usual, but there was a hint of amusement hiding in those eyes. “What? You scared or something, Guren? Is the powerful Lt. Colonel afraid he’s going to get his ass kicked by a bunch of special privates?”

A gentle breeze brushed across Guren’s shoulders, but that generally happened in the ruined streets of Shibuya.

“We’ve grown since the last time we’ve fought, Lt. Colonel,” Shinoa added, something downright sinister in her gaze. “We can fight in formations, attack as one, and a few of us have even mastered possession.”

“And you think you’re ready to take on my entire squad, who has been fighting for the last eight years together?”

“Duh, or we wouldn’t be here right now.” Mitsu already had her weapon out and ready to slice.

“If we win—” Shiho interjected, all smug and…giddy? Was that even possible? “—you’ll get Major General Shinya Hiragi to let us drive his sports car.”

“And access to the officers’ pantry,” Yoichi added.

Oh, Shinya would never let that happen, but Guren wasn’t going to let them know that. “And when my squad wins, Shinoa Squad will take all the remaining grunt work for the rest of the—wait.”

Why wasn’t anyone chiming up behind him, and why did he only count five members of Shinoa Squad?

Shit. He’d been played, and that fact became humiliatingly obvious when Mika came up to his side, arms tucked behind his back and glancing backwards with that annoying, self-satisfied grin.

“It’s over. All your friends are dead.”

Hm. He’d said that to Yu during the first fight, hadn’t he? Maybe that been a little extreme, but he wanted to prove that war was scary, painful, and dangerous. Now, he glanced back his squad to see them all unconscious, left at his feet like his favorite broken toys. That was pretty intense, even for him.

But Guren wasn’t going to lose to five snotnose grunts and one snotnose vampire.

“I technically haven’t signed over Special Private Mikaela Hyakuya to Shinoa Squad yet. According to the records for the Nagoya raid, he’s still listed under mine. So…I guess this means it’s two against five. This is really going to be embarrassing for you guys.”

Mika’s face fell. “Hey, now waita—”

Guren allowed the overly bright smile to take his face. “Sic, Mika!”

“I’m not a dog, y’know!”

“There’s a titanium chain with your name on it under my couch.”

“Do you seriously want to know what color my pee is? Because I can show you the next time you chain me to your furniture.”

Good point. And masters needed to give their pets treats, after all. “I’ll get Shinya to let you drive his car if you beat them.”

Mika’s eyes widened then, and his quasi-pointed ears perked up like an excited puppy’s would.

“Hey, hey, Mika. Come on.” Yu tried to sound tough, but his voice cracked with the weight of his plea. “You can’t seriously be thinking—we’re family. And family always sticks—oh, shit.”

Shinoa Squad took off as Mika started toward them with an evil grin, and Guren just stayed back to watch the show. Hm. Perhaps he wasn’t so bad at this vampire-owning after all.

The End