THE last Azusa saw of Kouya, he was sleeping on a bed like he was on the verge of death.
“Don’t worry, he’s not dead,” Tsukiharu coaxed with a smile at Azusa who was staring a hole through Kouya’s reflection in the water mirror.
Knowing he was alive didn’t keep his deathly ill countenance from haunting her. She saw him in that state three days ago.
“Are you okay?” Kouya asked, looking her over with his usual expressionlessness. He put her on the ground in front of him. His deathly pale skin had regained its color. Azusa felt all the strength rush out of her body.
“Kouya, you’re all right!” Azusa closed the distance between them, forgetting to answer the question he asked her. She hysterically grabbed the hem of his shirt and clung to him with teary eyes.
Kouya gulped and caught his breath. “Yeah,” he replied.
Azusa relaxed and smiled. “Thank goodness.”
“What about you?”
“Ah, yes. I’m all right. I was doing well enough to have just finished cooking a meal.”
“Huh?” Kouya gawked. He hadn’t expected that answer.
“I’m glad to see you’re safe, Azusa. Kou, let’s hurry home. Things are going to get ugly if the silver-haired man gets back, right? We’ll void the point of attacking while he’s away,” Subaru cautioned, while twirling an unlit Molotov cocktail. He nonchalantly waved at Azusa when their eyes met. “Ichi hasn’t woken up yet, so you’re stuck with someone who’s not as good at fighting. Sorry about that.”
“Is Ichi all right?”
“The poison left her system. I think she’ll wake up soon… We really should start running while we chat! My friend here acts as little more than a distraction.” Subaru flicked the Molotov cocktail in his hand and winked. Kouya nodded lightly in agreement and picked up Azusa.
The roof of the brilliantly burning mansion crackled as it collapsed in on itself.
“This sucks. Sucks. Sucks. Sucks!”
A sinister groan rumbled the very earth they stood on as the mansion further collapsed. A shadowy figure slowly stood from the flames and rubble.
“What is Shiro doing at a time like this? I have to scold him when he gets back.”
“Tsukiharu?” Azusa gasped. Kouya and Subaru turned toward what she was looking at.
“What is he? He wasn’t just the lookout?” Subaru marveled.
“…He looked human to me. At least, for now,” Kouya added.
“But he seriously doesn’t look like someone who hasn’t awakened yet,” Subaru said, cold sweat trailing his brow as his eyes locked onto Tsukiharu. Kouya gravely watched him too.
Tsukiharu had created a transparent, thin membrane oval around himself. His clothes were seared in various places, but not a single scratch was on his body. As if to display his fury, his hair swayed even though there wasn’t any wind.
“Ahh, but Shiro’s can come later. Your punishment needs to come first. And Azusa, dear, where were you trying to go?”
“……”
“Oh, I see. I see. You still prefer them? I expected as much. Yup. It’s fine…it’s just peachy, really. I planned on having you sympathize with me, but I’ve changed my mind. I’ll kill these guys and become the target of your hatred. Yeah, I’ll do that. I don’t know if I can defeat the Akaoni with a body that hasn’t awakened yet… But I’ll probably do fine. I won’t lose to a fool who doesn’t drink blood. Cheer me on from the sidelines, Azusa,” Tsukiharu babbled on maniacally.
Something was off about him. Azusa held her breath at the completely different aura coming from him than what she had experienced until now.
“Kouya, Subaru, it seems like he is a human with an Ancient’s body, created from another experiment like me.”
“…Huh? What the heck? I never heard anything about an experiment like that…”
“……”
“I don’t know if it’s true or not, but that is what he told me.”
“…This is bad.”
“Let’s run for it, Subaru.”
“Right there with ya!”
“I won’t let you escape.”
Subaru’s body went flying. His body slammed against a tree, cracking it. Subaru moaned as some of his bones broke.
“Akaoni, put Azusa down. I don’t want to hurt her too. I’m not good at controlling my strength yet.”
Kouya put Azusa down.
“Kouya!”
“Go over there,” Kouya ordered, pushing Azusa away. She fell forward and caught her balance. By the time she turned around, their battle had already begun.
✦ ✦ ✦
TSUKIHARU swung his arm, his fingertips cleanly slicing away the bangs hanging over Kouya’s eyes. Kouya grabbed his arm and threw him off-balance with a one-arm toss. A tree shattered at the impact, softening his blow. Tsukiharu stretched out both arms and summoned a wall of blue flames to surround them both.
“This is all I can manipulate at this point. But it’s more than enough for you. You’ve awakened as vampires, but all your intermarriage with humans has rendered you incapable of doing something as simple as this, hasn’t it?” Tsukiharu taunted.
“……”
“I’ll burn you alive.”
Tsukiharu raised his hand and the flames converged into a raging tornado that came down on Kouya. A scream ripped from Azusa’s throat, but her voice couldn’t reach them now. Kouya narrowly dodged the shrieking flames of the tornado, but the seemingly living flames circled around and around to engulf him. Kouya barely escaped by forcing his way through the flames in an explosion of inhuman speed. The shockwave scattered the flames.
“You’re as tenacious as I would expect for the Akaoni. How do you like this then?”
The flaming tornado suddenly split into three and two of the three tornados convolved on Kouya. The third tornado headed straight for—
“…!”
Azusa!
She heard Kouya click his tongue next to her ear. He had thrown himself in front of her and was swept up by the spiraling third tornado. It sucked him up to the top and slammed him back on the ground.
“Kouya!” Azusa shouted. The oscillating flames engulfed him. It all happened too fast. The blood drained from her face at the terrifying scene before her.
“What an idiot. There’s no way I would harm Azusa,” Tsukiharu laughed mockingly. His face filled with the confidence of a guaranteed victory. But one second later, his face stiffened.
“Did you say something, brat?” snarled a deep voice as the blue flames instantly vanished. Amid the vanishing flames stood Kouya, his eyes glowing a deep crimson.