Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Seraph of the End or any of its characters.

Chapter 16: Facing Demons

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

To most, the dusky ghoulish green glow of Sanguinem wouldn't be described as 'eye-catching' and for someone like Mikaela Hyakuya would definitely agree. Who could blame him? But then again, from where he was sitting, the sight couldn't have been more beautiful. The whole irony of the situation caused the normally stoic half-ling to smirk. He hated the place or he wanted to hate it at least. But how could he? It had been his home for the better part of his life and the place that had brought his 'family' closer together. Even in all of its misery, the city of Sanguinem had offered him more than anything the world up above ever did.

And that was the sadness of it all. The wonderful world above just wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Yet, here he was, sitting on the ledge that he and his family had used to escape to that glorious myth. "Too bad it was all for nothing." He thought. Then just like that, the city of Sanguinem had lost its beauty in his eyes and he shifted his gaze to the jagged cavern rooftop above. The rocky surface offered him nothing in the department of scenery, but it did grant him temporary solace of the painful memories that were slowly beginning to surface.

"Well, are you ready to go yet or what?" A voice called out to him. Mikaela closed his eyes and let his head drop against his chest. He'd forgotten that he wasn't alone in his little trip back to the surface. "Hello? Earth to Blue! Is anyone there?"

"You don't need to come with me you know. I don't need you." Mikaela responded in his usual disinterested tone. Having sat long enough, the blonde vampire rose to his feet and dusted himself off as he waited for his red-headed companion's reply.

"And let you wander the surface all by your lonesome? I wouldn't want you to get lost or eaten out there Blue." Scarlett replied sarcastically.

"I can handle myself."

"Uh-huh. Sure you can." Scarlett said as she pried the gate off the sewer entrance. Mika just grunted as he walked up to join her. "Jeez, you really are always like this aren't you? It's no wonder you don't have any friends." Scarlett called back as she entered the sewers.

"Who needs friends when you have family?" Mika shot back as he caught up with her.

"Ouch. Guess I know where I stand in your circle." She paused, "Even so that doesn't change the fact that we're stuck together on this mission, so if you can stop being such a buzzkill I'd really appreciate it."

"We don't have to be. You could always just turn around and head home and no one would ever have to know. I wouldn't say anything." Mikaela put in. The smirk on his face told Scarlett that for once he might actually be joking, but then again she knew that even if he was there was still a part of him that wanted her gone.

"Ooh—you'd like that wouldn't you?"

"Yes."

"Well too bad. Maybe if you hadn't gone and blown up the infirmary at Krul's castle then maybe you could be trusted. That new sword of yours has a nasty habit of turning you into a weapon of destruction and since you gave us such a hard time when we tried to take it from you, the only option you are left with is in being chaperoned." Scarlett argued.

"I wouldn't need to be chaperoned if you hadn't dragged me into that hole in the first place." Mika retorted.

"No one asked you to take the sword. Besides Krul ordered this, not me. If this bothers you so much then go take it up with her. Do us both a favor." She grunted. After their little adventure in the Cave of Origins, Scarlett thought that Mikaela was beginning to warm up to her. Then came the incident in the infirmary and it was like he was back to his normal attitude. Krul was the only one that Mika seemed comfortable around, but that was a given considering she was a walking blood bank for the guy. It wouldn't be very smart for Mikaela to bite the hand that was feeding him. Still, the way he was acting was really starting to get on her last nerve. Scarlett could be extremely patient, but even the carefree vampire had her limits.

"Whatever." He grunted in defeat as they began their trek through the winding sewers. Neither of them really spoke to each other after that as they were both preoccupied with their own thoughts. Scarlett had her head filled with questions, specifically about Mikaela and the role he played in Krul's schemes. The red-head was no stranger to the political processes of Sanguinem and given Mika's Seraph status, there was no doubt that Krul was planning something very big.

On the other hand, Mika's thoughts were in the one place that he never thought they'd be. On the mission. While Krul Tepes had indeed saved his life, Mikaela had no interest in the affairs of vampires. He knew that he was being used in some grand scheme, but he didn't really care. The only thing that mattered to him was in 'reuniting' his family. He promised Akane and the others he would and nothing was going to stop him this time. Not only did he get the go-ahead from Krul (no doubt because of the commotion he caused) but, he didn't have to travel with anyone else. Well, sort of.

"All I have to do is give her the slip when the time is right. Then, I can escape with Yuichiro and I can reunite with the others once more. Our family will be whole again and no one will ever bother us again." Lost in his thoughts, Mika was brought out of them when he slammed into Scarlett's back sending them both falling into the filthy waters of the sewers.

"What the hell is your problem!?" Scarlett roared as she got to her knees. The fiery red-head had finally had enough.

"My problem? You're the one who stopped walking!" Mika countered.

"Uh—DUH! What, did you want me to walk past our destination? Or did you forget where we were going?" she said with her arms now on her hips. Mika just rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. While he wasn't entirely thrilled about Scarlett's company, he knew that in this particular situation he was in the wrong.

"You're right…I'm sorry… I wasn't paying attention." He muttered beneath his breath.

"What?" Scarlett asked.

"I said I was sorry."

"Holy shit. You actually apologized." She said dumbfounded.

"Yeah—look—whatever okay? Can we just get going?" Mika said in a rare display of discomfort. For Scarlett however, it was almost like they were having a normal interaction. This kind of thing seemed to happen on occasion the more time that they spent together. Did she have this effect on him or was he always like this? Of course, she'd have no way of knowing but for now she decided to continue on their way.

"Sure thing, just don't go knocking me into any more puddles okay? I know you must love seeing me all—"

"DON'T!" Mika interrupted before she made things awkward. The blonde teen couldn't have been more thankful for the dim lighting of the sewers that hid the mad blush that had taken over his pale face.

"Are you blushing?" She teased further.

"NO!" he denied vehemently.

"Jeez." She chuckled. "Lighten up will ya? I was only teasing you…or was I?" she replied just as they exited the sewers.

"This is going to be one LOOOONG trip." Mika thought with a sigh. Most people would have been worried about their food supply or avoiding the Four Horsemen. For Mikaela Hyakuya, it was in hoping that they could make it through to their next checkpoint without Scarlett seeing the blush on his face.

Meanwhile…

Even in her subconscious mind, Yuichiro Hyakuya had somehow found a way to bring about that aching feeling in her chest. It wasn't like it was a bad feeling or anything. As a matter of fact, Shinoa kind of liked the fact that he had this effect on her. For someone who spent most of her time getting underneath people's skin, she had to say that it felt good that someone else had finally managed to get under hers. Still, ever since the discovery of her feelings for him she couldn't help but feel like they were a weakness, like it was holding her back from being herself. That alone frustrated her and more often than not she found herself questioning what she should do. Tell the boy of her growing affection? Hell no. There was no way she'd put herself in any position like that. Then again if she did it would finally yield her with the answer she so fervently desired. Does he feel the same way?

Oh what to do, what to do!

"Get out of the way!"

"Huh?" And like a deer in headlights, Shinoa remembered where she was. A hulking beast was rampaging toward her, swinging an otherworldly scythe around like a crazed madman. Suddenly the voice she heard earlier made sense. Her brain scrambled to send signals to her legs. Move! Move! It commanded. A second later and Shinoa was out of harm's way and her foe was swinging at a ghost from her past.

Having narrowly avoided death, Shinoa let out a sigh of relief. "Ooo! That was close." She giggled. Now that her body and mind were back on the battlefield, Shinoa Hiragi was ready to play. Fully aware that she was in her own mind, Shinoa decided a change of scenery was in order. Before anyone knew it, the dark and gloomy void that they were trapped in had suddenly been cast out for a nice and sunny day at the beach.

"What the hell?" Yuichiro commented. To go from a dark and tense atmosphere to one of relaxation was definitely reason enough to raise an eyebrow. Seeing the look on Shinoa's face was enough for him to figure out that the change in venue was definitely her doing.

"All right!" she said, successfully gaining both Yuichiro's and the demon's attention. "I am going to be nice here and give you one chance to make this easy on yourself!" She pointed her finger at the Shi-Guardian hybrid.

"What the hell is she doing now?" Yuichiro thought.

"I am going to give you to the count of three to drop the scythe and get the hell out of my head! One!" she began. Her lack of fear and willingness to speak caused the great demon some confusion, giving Yuichiro a splendid idea. "Two!" she warned. Moving as discreetly as possible, Yuichiro positioned himself behind their lumbering adversary and waited for the perfect moment to strike. Before Shinoa could finish her countdown, the Guardian unleashed a roar so loud that it caused a shift in the incoming tide. Unwilling to be stalled any longer, the hulking demon rushed forth only to encounter a startling surprise.

"You asked for it now." Shinoa thought with a smile as the sandy shore made it difficult for the monster to keep its footing. Leaping over the kicked up sand, Yuichiro landed at the nape of the creature's neck and reached for both of its devilish horns. Jerking its' head sharply to the right, Yu succeeded in steering the creature off course.

Unable to fight and balance itself at the same time, the creature shifted its battle strategy to remove Yuichiro from its back. With one arm focused on slapping away the vampire slaying teen, Shinoa saw the perfect moment to run in and do some damage.

Materializing her familiar old scythe, Shinoa charged forward with the intent on finishing this fight in one move. Unfortunately for her, she failed to anticipate that her opponent would launch an attack of its own in the form of a low sweep attack. Luckily, Shinoa had enough sense to leap over the scythe but, because she had to dodge she lost her kill window. So, instead of leaving empty-handed, Shinoa seized the opportunity that was available and brought her scythe down onto the beast's pectoral. The sharp blade dug in deep and with her downward momentum, she was able to leave a vicious wound running down a few inches above the creature's abdomen.

With a blood-curdling roar the creature howled out in agony. With its senses shifting into overdrive, the demon grabbed hold of Shinoa's embedded scythe and surprised the orchid haired girl by lifting her up into the air and slamming her down into the sand.

"Ooof!" Shinoa was sure that she'd broken a couple of bones from that attack, but because of the adrenaline coursing through her veins she didn't feel a thing. That or this whole ordeal was all just her imagination. Whatever it was she wasn't going to wait around any longer for her foe's follow-up. Crawling her way out of the sand, Shinoa rolled in between Shi's legs just as Yuichiro dislodged himself from its back.

"Over here you damn demon!" He called out as a distraction. Shi would not be fooled twice. Instead of taking the bait, the Guardian hybrid reached down and plucked Shinoa from between its legs and kept her in a death-like grip. "Damn. This is bad." Yu thought. Donning a wicked grin Shi applied more force to the hold making it harder for Shinoa to breathe.

"THIS POWER…IS UNLIKE ANYTHING I HAVE EVER FELT BEFORE…" Shi's twisted voice echoed throughout the beach. "WITH IT, I'LL FINALLY BE UNSTOPPABLE. NO LONGER WILL I HAVE TO BE A PRISONER AND SLAVE TO THE HUMANS! THE ONLY THING STOPPING ME NOW IS YOU, YUICHIRO HYAKUYA."

"Let her go!" Yuichiro demanded. He was a little surprised to hear the Guardian speak and even more so when it sounded like Shi was in control.

Shi erupted into a fit of demonic hysteria. "WHO ARE YOU TO MAKE DEMANDS OF ME? FILTHY HUMAN, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU ARE…"

"That doesn't matter to me! Just let her go!" Yu tried again.

"STUPID BOY! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE TRYING TO SAVE!? THIS GIRL YOU CALL 'FAMILY', IS THE REASON YOU HAVE SUFFERED SO MUCH!"

"Yuichiro! Don't listen to—"

"SILENCE! THE BOY DESERVES TO KNOW THE TRUTH."

At this point, Yu didn't know what to do. Yuichiro had grown up in a world of lies. For the most part, lying was just a way to cover up the pain, to make putting one foot in front of the other so much easier. In the world he lived in, lying was almost always actually a good thing. Now that he was faced with a potential truth, Yuichiro was terrified.

The truth had always hit him hard. His first lesson came when he learned just how powerless humanity was when faced with the vampire menace. His hopes to escape to the outside world were crushed when Ferid Bathory took away everything that he had. It was then that he vowed to eliminate every last bloodsucker to avenge the ones he lost. As headstrong as he was, Yuichiro wasn't stupid. He had been lying to himself this whole time. It was something he never wanted to acknowledge, because then he'd just go back to being the scared little boy he once was. The fear was always there. The truth was, he couldn't eliminate every vampire on his own. He couldn't even best Crowley.

The truth really did it hurt.

"The…truth?" he said.

"YESSSS" Shi hissed, "ABOUT THE EXPERIMENTS… YOUR HERITAGE… AND WHAT THE HIRAGI'S DID TO YOU…" The demon pressed on.

But the thing was… Yuichiro never really cared for the truth. As far as he was concerned, the 'truth' was only a matter of perception. Yeah, he knew that it would be highly unlikely that he would single-handedly wipe the vampire scourge off the face of the earth, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try. The only truth Yuichiro was ever going to accept was his own, because in the world he lived in, it was the only way you survive.

Shinoa watched and awaited Yuichiro's reaction. Would he be angry with her over the experiments that her family was involved in? Would he leave her to die because of the horrible things her family put her through? Was there any chance he'd forgive her? Then there was that curious part of her that wanted to know the truth. She was never really made aware of the things her family had done. As a matter of fact, she was just another experiment herself. She had been wronged too, but unlike Yuichiro, she shared the family name. How would he know that she had nothing to do with it? She wouldn't even blame him. Shinoa understood what it was like to be used. To be treated like a lab rat without any care in the world about how she felt or lived. It was horrible.

"THE HIRAGI LINE…" Shi began…

"I don't care about the Hiragi line!" Yuichiro interrupted.

"HUH!?"

"I can't go back and change the past. If I could, I wouldn't even be here right now. Knowing what they did to me—it wouldn't change anything! It's not going to bring back the people that I've lost or solve any of my problems. So what's the point? The Hiragi's did their thing. Shinoa's not one of them. So don't go trying to make it look like she is responsible for the things that they did to me. Besides, the Hiragi's will get what's coming to them. I'll make sure of that myself, and so will you if you don't put her down." Yuichiro threatened.

"FOOLISH BOY—YOUR IGNORANCE TO WHAT YOU REALLY ARE WILL ONLY MAKE YOU A TOOL FOR OTHERS TO USE AS THEY SEE FIT. YOU ACT LIKE A HERO, BUT REALLY YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER PAWN IN ANOTHER DIRTY HUMAN SCHEME! AND YET, YOU WALK FORWARD BLINDLY AND OBEDIENTLY LIKE SOME LAP DOG."

"Someone very close to me said the same thing once, and we got into a good fight over it. If when he said it to me and I didn't change my stance, what makes you think that you'll affect me any different? The whole world can use me all they want, I don't care. As long as the people I care about are safe then that is all that matters."

"I NEVER UNDERSTOOD YOU HUMANS. THE WAY YOU ALLOW YOURSELVES TO BE WALKED ON AND TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF… IT SICKENS ME. YET, YOUR SPECIES WONDERS WHY IT WAS DRIVEN TO NEAR-EXTINCTION. NO MATTER, ALL I NEED TO DO IS KILL HER AND THIS FIGHT WILL BE—"

"No you can't. You and I both know that if you kill her then both of you will die. Even if you manage to somehow take control of her body, you'd still need her alive in order to move it. All that talk of being free and you still don't realize that you are always going to be a prisoner. Now, me on the other hand, I'm perfectly killable. So what are you waiting for?"

Shinoa's jaw had literally dropped. Never in a million years did she ever expect for Yuichiro to knock some sense into—well anything! He was always so headstrong and gung-ho about battling things out and yet, here he was being reasonable. Well, reasonable in a way that was true to Yuichiro at least because he did incite a fight at the end of his rebuttal.

"YOU—I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!" Shi's demonic voice roared out over the sea. Tossing Shinoa off to the side, Shi leapt high into the air with the intent of crushing Yuichiro beneath its cumbersome weight.

"I was counting on it." Yuichiro muttered beneath his breath as he rolled out of the way in the nick of time. Yu didn't have much time to plan his next move either, as he was busy dodging the maniacal swipe's of the Origin scythe.

"WHEN I CUT YOU DOWN BEFORE HER EYES SHE WILL FINALLY BREAK. THEN YOU WILL KNOW THAT IT WAS YOU WHO BETRAYED HER IN HER FINAL MOMENTS. YUICHIRO HYAKUYA—THE FAILED SAVIOR!" Shi taunted hysterically. Judging by her tone, Yu understood that Shi's mind had been taken over by the twisted Guardian. Every move Shi was making was reminiscent of his battle with the Guardian in the Forgotten Cave making it very easy for him to predict her move set. With a backflip kick to the jaw, Yuichiro managed to finally put some distance between himself and Shi, but more importantly had finally positioned himself next to Shinoa.

The girl was at a loss for words, unable to comprehend how Yu was managing to make a complete fool out of her inner demon. Somehow, Yuichiro had gotten much better as a fighter and as a strategist, almost making her job unnecessary. "Did they all get this strong while I was gone?" Seemingly able to sense her doubt, Shinoa felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"What's our next move?" he asked with a smile that boosted her confidence and gave her that aching feeling she was starting to become very familiar with. Rising to her feet, Shinoa materialized her scythe once more and took an attacking stance. While she may have been away for a while, she wasn't about to let her 'underlings' surpass her—yet.

"Isn't it obvious Yu?" she asked. "We finish this." Falling behind Yuichiro, Shinoa put the blade of her scythe just in front of him. Knowing exactly what she wanted him to do, Yu grabbed hold of the cold steel and looked back for confirmation. "Please be gentle. This is my first time." She said in a manner so like herself, that Yu couldn't help but roll his eyes and smile.

Pivoting on his heels, Yuichiro whipped Shinoa around with whirlwind like force and sent her corkscrewing towards the Guardian. With the speed and absurdity of the attack, Shi was too slow to block the attack as Shinoa's heels dug into its stomach. Satisfied with the damage that she had done, Shinoa leapt off of the beast's belly and tossed her scythe into the air.

Taking his cue, Yuichiro ran forward and catapulted himself over Shinoa to continue their synchronized combo. With the scythe in his hands Yuichiro rolled in the air and brought the curved blade down on Shi's exposed head.

The Guardian was faster unfortunately, barely managing to get its weapon in blocking position before the death blow came. With the end of the battle foiled Yuichiro grunted before retreating back with Shinoa to plan their next move.

"I really thought that was going to work." Shinoa said in disappointment.

"It was close enough. We need to be faster next time." Yuichiro commented.

"Yeah, but Shi isn't going to fall for the same trick twice. We have to catch her off guard again somehow." Shinoa replied.

"Well, how do we do that?"

"We're just going to have to come up with a plan as we go. Here she comes! Get ready!" Shinoa called out. Taking her scythe back from Yuichiro, Shinoa was the first to engage the demon in combat. Yuichiro couldn't do much but just sit back and watch. If he chose to jump in he'd surely get shred to bits.

As proficient as she was with the scythe, Shinoa was at a disadvantage. Incredibly, she was keeping the Guardian's attacks at bay, but her defense would only last for so long. Given that her opponent's scythe was much longer than hers, Shinoa was fighting at a reach and height disadvantage. Just as her guard was about to break, Shinoa saw an opening to turn the tide of the battle. Stepping in toward the beast's left leg, Shinoa dragged her scythe through the sand and brought it up towards Shi's abdomen.

What Shinoa did not anticipate was for her attack to be blocked. Using the shaft of its own scythe, Shi was able to halt the blade from puncturing its ghoulish skin once again. Staggering backward from the sudden collision Shinoa was left open for a counterattack, something that Shi capitalized on with a flick of her wrist. The shaft shot up from the sand and caught Shinoa in the jaw, sending her flying up into the air. The pop-up attack could have easily been followed up, but Shi instead had to switch her focus to Yuichiro who came barreling forward much more quickly than the demon anticipated. Shi tried to catch Yu with a half-hazard swing of her scythe, but the teen dodged it with little effort and unleashed a devastating blow to her stomach.

"WHAT THE HELL!? SINCE WHEN CAN A HUMAN…PUNCH SO HARD!?" Shi thought as the attack succeeded in pushing her back several feet. Still recovering from the winding jab, Shi was at the mercy of Yuichiro's fists. Yu delivered blow after blow, mercilessly letting the Guardian feel his rage as he pushed Shi back further down the beach. Despite his miraculous strength, Shi eventually broke free of her beat down by merely overpowering the vampire slayer with her own brute strength. Yu was taken by surprise when Shi's hand wrapped around him and slammed him into the ground with enough force to kick up a small sandstorm. "AND NOW YOU DIE!" Shi roared as it brought its accursed weapon down for the killing blow.

With his eyes closed, Yu heard the sound of clashing metal and opened them to find the green curve of Shinoa's scythe holding the cursed weapon from his skin. "It isn't like you to play the damsel…" Shinoa teased. "But, I guess you must be used to me coming in to save the day! Now Yu, let me show you how a pro does it." Right as Yuichiro rolled out of the way, Shinoa pulled back on her scythe allowing her opponent's to dig into the ground. With demonic like speed, Shinoa swung her scythe wide and dug it deep into the oblique of her former demon. A glowing purple hole opened up from the wound that let out a similarly colored gas. "Sorry Shi, but play time is over!" Shinoa leapt back to avoid the retaliation swing and countered from the left. Shi roared out in pain as more of the purple gas began to leave its body.

"I'M GOING TO RIP—" before Shi could finish her sentence, Shinoa followed through with another attack that disarmed the hybrid demon. Shi stumbled back on the sand and was now at the mercy of Shinoa's scythe.

"Let me set the record straight." Shinoa chimed triumphantly as she continued her barrage of her attacks. "While I do share the Hiragi name, I am not the monsters that my family is. Sure, I've done some questionable things in my life—who hasn't—but that's not the point. I am not THEM and I NEVER will be like THEM!" Shinoa capped off as she brought her scythe down into the behemoth's chest. Shi fell down to one knee and was starting to gasp for breath.

"MY STRENGTH…ITS…FADING" Shi thought as her arms fell weakly to her sides and her body slumped down. She watched as the small purple haired girl picked up the Weapon of Origin and walked casually over to where she was resting. "SO THIS IS HOW IT ENDS… DONE IN BY TWO… LOWLY HUMANS…"

Raising the scythe up above her head, Shi awaited the killing blow, but instead was greeted to the sound of Shinoa's voice again. "Because if I was—I would've killed you just now without so much as a second thought. My family bonded us together in some twisted experiment and when I was thrown out and felt like I had nothing—you were there for me. I want the old Shi back… the one that doesn't try to kill me or my friends. And you're going to come back to me—whether you like it or not!" Shinoa cried out as she slashed her new scythe horizontally across Shi's torso. With a howling cry, the remaining purple gas exploded outward, causing Shinoa and Yuichiro to be blown back into the beach.

As the dust settled and the purple mist faded away, Shinoa and Yu made their way back to the epicenter to find a familiar small object laying where the guardian once was.

"Well, what are you going to do with it?" Yu asked as Shinoa picked the object off the floor.

The small key-like object felt warm in her hands and felt almost as if it were humming. "Keep it. Shi was one of my best friends. My only friend for a long time actually. Then something happened and she… well you saw what." Shinoa replied.

"I see." Yuichiro commented. "Now that we took care of that—"

"We?" Shinoa raised an eyebrow and a mischievous smile.

"Yes, we. Anyways, can we get out of this place now? I think I've had enough of the beach." Yu said somewhat awkwardly.

"Already? I thought it was every teenage boy's dream to find themselves alone on a beach with a beautiful girl." Shinoa teased as she hugged herself and made kissing noises.

"There's the weird." Yuichiro said as he started walking forward, a small hint of red on his face.

"Whaaaat? You mean you don't want to be alone with a beautiful girl on the beach? *Gasp!* Don't tell me you've got a thing for Kimizuki!?" Shinoa called out sarcastically.

"What!? Hell no!" Yuichiro turned around immediately to deny.

"Are you lying to me?" Shinoa said whilst squinting her eyes and puckering her lips. She edged closer to Yuichiro knowing full well what she was doing. It had been a long time since she'd messed with anybody and now that she had a chance, she wasn't about to pass it up.

"Of course not!" Yu defended.

"Hmmm… I'm going to need you to prove it then." Shinoa said with her arms crossed. Yuichiro was about to ask her how he can prove himself when she spoke up again, but not before he noticed that something was off about her. Just before she started talking was when he saw it, like she was unsure of herself. It was only for a second, a second that made her look like she didn't know whether or not she should take the risk. He was beginning to wonder why he was noticing all these things about Shinoa lately, but then again these thoughts didn't linger very long because what she said next surely caught him by surprise. "Kiss me." She said.

"WHAT!?" Yuichiro yelled.

"I said, kiss me." She repeated, her cheeks beginning to turn a lighter shade of pink.

Yuichiro Hyakuya had fought foes who could probably kill him faster than he could bat an eye, and even then none of them could make his heart beat as fast as it was beating now. "Is she crazy!? Kiss her-now! I've never kissed a girl in my life—not that she needs to know that—but this is—AHHH!" Even poor Yu's mind was falling apart. "Oh my god—oh my god-oh my god—what do I do—what do I do—what do I do!"

"Well—if you don't want to…" Shinoa said with a disappointed downwards glance.

"No!" Yu cried out a little too quickly, causing Shinoa to jump back. "Sorry, I—it's just—this—how do I—you know—" Yuichiro stammered. With each break, Yu's face only continued to turn different shades of red.

It didn't take rocket science to figure out what he was trying to get at, besides Shinoa decided he'd suffered long enough. Stepping up onto her tippy toes Shinoa placed her lips on Yuichiro's, effectively silencing the babbling idiot. It was her first kiss and was as magical (and awkward) as she'd always imagined it would be. Sure, some people would argue that this was all in her head (literally), but it to her it was real and that was the only thing that mattered.

Yuichiro was already going through a total meltdown. The kiss—definitely didn't help. Her lips were soft and tasted like—well he didn't know what they tasted like but it wasn't bad. For a complete second, Yuichiro didn't know what to do, so he just kind of took it. Then, it was like his body was acting on its own as his arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled her close, like he'd lose her again if he let go. He deepened the kiss by pouring all of his pent up emotions into it. He felt Shinoa's warm hands on his cheeks as she returned the kiss whole-heartedly. Yuichiro felt like he was flying through the clouds. If he had known that this was what it was like to kiss a girl, then he would've kissed Shinoa a long time ago.

Unfortunately for the two teenagers, their kiss couldn't last forever as they were both in need of something known as oxygen. Still, that didn't stop them from letting go of one another. "That was…" Shinoa began.

"Yeah…" Yuichiro finished her sentence awkwardly. Looking up from his chest, Shinoa was greeted to the goofiest smile that she'd ever seen on Yu's face. It didn't help that she'd had the same expression and the two both burst into a fit of laughter as they fell down onto the sand.

"Well, you definitely don't like Kimizuki." Shinoa said as she laid her head down at the base of his neck.

"Told you so." He said with a triumphant grin.

"That doesn't mean you're off the hook, Yu." Shinoa replied with her signature mischievous grin. "I'm going to need more proof to make sure you don't like anybody else."

"Oh is that so?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, then I've got all the evidence you need—right here." And so they kissed. It felt good to forget the fact that the vampire scourge still roamed the earth and that they were all on the run for the 'mighty' JIDA army. The only thing that mattered now was that sweet and blissful kiss. Everything else could wait… but even if it couldn't—who in the hell was going to stop them!?

A/N: WOAH! It's been a really long time Seraphans…. NOW BEFORE YOU GATHER YOUR PITCHFORKS AND TORCHES LET ME EXPLAIN! So… in case any of you popped into my other story, the latest update described a very unfortunate scenario… You see, my kid sister needed the laptop for educational purposes and I found myself well unable to write most of the time because, well she had the laptop 99.99% of the time. So I worked towards getting myself a new laptop—but you all know how surprising life can be and setback after setback and all of a sudden I was wondering if I was ever going to write again! But then I got this thing—a break—(and a very generous paycheck) and WHAM! New laptop! So here I am again… with another update to a story you all probably thought was dead…. But NO! The story continues! REVIEW RESPONSE TIME! (Because you guys sure left a lot for me since the last update! XD)

A bestfriend: Fair point. Thank you for this. To be honest, the last chapter was when I hit that point in my writings where I just didn't know what to do and I guess I did fly off the handle for a bit there. Your review helped to ground me again and really made me go back and take a look at my story and how far I have come. In a weird way, it motivated me to get back to writing and try again (you saw how that turned out…its been months!) Still, I did join this site to grow as a writer and I really don't know what my style is yet… so I'm going to keep trying new things and trying to refine and develop a writing style that I can be proud of. Writing this has been a large learning process for me and I'm thankful for all the support that this story has gotten since its publication. So I guess I'm just trying to say is bear with me everybody, and if I do fly off the handle please let me know. I won't get offended I promise. It just means I need to find a better way to do it! Thank you for your review! (On a side note—I know my story shares some similarities with other stories—but is it really that similar with other stories!?)

Dlkg: Ah—you brought the ol' Spanish on me… well let me start with "Gracias—for your review!" Haha! Well, I DID understand most of what was written, my Spanish has gotten a little bit better over these last few months. I'm glad that you are enjoying this story and sorry that I kept you and everyone else waiting for so long. But here I am again with another installment! Hope you enjoy!

Ryujomaru15: It's been a while…. A long while… still thanks for the continued support! Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, because you are like my best reviewer! Haha! Hope to hear from you again!

Guest (SF): Lol. Glad you thought so. To be honest, I felt that the last chapter was probably one of the worst chapters I've put out and that was in part because I was starting to lose my motivation for a little bit there… But that moment has passed and I'm back again (and happy to be!) So I hope that this chapter is to your liking and I hope to hear from you again. Thank you for your review!

Guest: Thank you for the review! Like I said above, I personally felt the last chapter was well… eh. Still, thank you for the support and for showing me that even when I feel I'm not at my best, there will be those that still find enjoyment in my work. It only motivates me to keep getting better for you guys! Thanks again!

That was all of them I believe… and guess what—IT'S BEEN A YEAR! Yeah! I started this a year ago( well a year and a month ago anyway…) I never thought that I'd have my own story on this site, especially not one with over 85 favorites and 104 followers! That's right Seraphans… we hit the 100 mark! So thank you to all of you for continuing to find enjoyment in these little ramblings of mine. It means the world! So without further ado, if any of you have any suggestions, comments, questions, or concerns, please feel free to shoot me a PM or leave a review! Until next time Seraphans—Frosty out!