Owari no Seraph: The Light That Disappeared

a/n; bc I suddenly realized that I still love GureShin.

And lol, I'm back here too, I guess.

Hopefully you guys enjoy, no promises of a permanent return (meaning I'm not promising that I'll ever finish this story, sorry). But I'll continue it whenever I find inspiration, I promise^-^ My writing style has changed, so don't mind if things seem off and different from other chapters (I did try my best to make them similar and I'm still following the plot so dw too much)

But anyway, happy readings!

D/C: I don't own anything from Owari no Seraph, I only own my own OC's.

Chapter 8

Guren's pov:

Shinya seemed to be really surprised by Guren's answer and even dared to start questioning him.

"Okay, what's wrong with you? Are you really Guren? Because he wouldn't answer like that", the silver-haired man questioned, moving his hand away from Guren's cheek and the raven had to do his very best not to pull it back. "Or maybe you're sick or something—this is not a trap, right?"

Guren's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Listen here, Shinya", he grunted. "I'm not sick and I don't care what you think—now, get your ass on the move, we're leaving now."

The doubt disappeared from Shinya's face and the silver-haired man chuckled. "I take back what I said, you're definitely Guren." A sigh left the perfect, now slightly bloodied, lips and for a moment, Shinya looked heartbroken—even with that smile on his face. "I hate you, you know? I really, really hate you."

"I know", Guren could only nod.

He really did know.

Shinya's smile turned a little more genuine at that. "You're such a fool."

"Okay, lovebirds, moving on!" Yu's voice interrupted them, and Shinya raised his brow questioningly, while Guren was prepared to kill the younger raven. "We have to go now, before more vampires appear!" Luckily, that was enough to stop him from actually doing it.

"Shinya, can you run?" Guren asked, not being able to hide the worry in his voice. Despite smiling and standing there, Shinya looked bad. Not like that, he was still beautiful no matter what happened, but he just looked… sick. He was really pale; his eyes were empty and there were dark bags under them—not to mention the cuts and the blood on his shirt. Who knew how bad it was under all his clothing.

"Are you actually asking me to?" the silver-haired man asked tiredly.

"If you can't then… Tsk, hell, if you can't run then I'll fucking carry you." The words he said made Shinya's eyes widen, before the man laughed quietly.

"Such irrational decisions, Guren. You can't carry me and run at the same time", he said and Guren was just about to retort his words somehow, but Shinya didn't let him. "I can run. I don't know for how long or how fast, but it's fine. I'll run."

"It'll hurt you, won't it?" Guren more like stated than asked.

Shinya smiled once again, his smile broken. "Idiot, of course it will."

"C'mon!" Yu yelled again, and this time both Guren and Shinya listened.

Guren was honestly surprised to see that Shinya ran easily as fast as him, or at least it seemed so. The silver-haired man showed no signs of being in pain, but instead of feeling better, it made Guren just feel worse. It was very obvious that Shinya was hurt, yet the silver-haired man was easily able to hide it. Just what the hell had he been through to learn to act so well?

Some of that Guren did know. The Hiragi-family had its own ways of… training their children and Guren was sure Shinya went through a lot there—but he didn't know everything. And the raven head bet it was the worst he did not know of.

They reached the stairs up and out of the dungeons quite quickly, Guren and Shinya as the last ones. No one stopped even for a second, running upwards without hesitation. They don't have the time to move with caution now.

Guren ran next to Shinya, afraid of the other accidentally falling or disappearing from him. The whole time up he kept an eye on the other, while Shinya kept his eyes ahead of himself, only emptiness in them. When Guren finally saw light, he could sigh in relief.

"Don't", Shinya said. "Don't sigh just yet. We're still in the middle of vampires. Now they will just see us more easily."

"You didn't need to point that out", Guren mumbled grumpily and Shinya gave him an innocent smile, shrugging his shoulders. But suddenly the silver-haired man stopped and Guren stopped with him. They had stepped out of the dark tunnel of the dungeons and were now standing where the door used to be. Guren stared at Shinya questioningly, ready to ask why the other stopped, until he realized that Shinya was staring at something else. The beautiful sapphire blue eyes were wide with slight horror and confusion, and Guren followed his gaze until he saw it too.

Or rather, until he saw her.

Airi Katagiri, still lying dead in her own pool of blood, just where they left her.

"Oh no—shit, Shinya", Guren said and the others who had stopped as well, shared panicked looks. "Listen, we can't stop—"

Shinya turned to give Guren an angry glare which slightly surprised the raven and shut him up. The silver-haired man then turned back to his dead teammate, with furrowed brows and eyes closing for a moment. He looked like he was apologizing—which probably wasn't too far from the truth.

Guren stayed quiet, his heart throbbing painfully in his chest. Now Shinya looked so hurt, mentally ill, physically tired. His long eyelashes casted shadows on his delicate, pale skin and Guren swore he saw a single teardrop fall down. It was the first time Guren saw Shinya cry, even though it was only for a second, because the silver-haired man quite quickly collected himself and wiped the tear away. Or maybe Guren was just seeing things and Shinya didn't cry at all because when he turns back to Guren, there's no sign of pain on his face.

Just nothing.

There's nothing.

"Shinya, we need to go", Guren whispered just loud enough for the silver-haired man to hear, offering his hand. "C'mon, it'll be alright."

He was pretty sure that Shinya knew he was lying but decided to take Guren's offered hand anyway. The raven then pulled the other on the move again, telling the blonde vampire to lead the way. Guren had to get Shinya out as soon as possible, get him far away from these vampires and far away from Kureto.

And then, fix him. Guren would need to fix Shinya, pull those broken pieces back together—pieces he probably broke. And Guren hoped that the silver-haired man would then learn to forgive him.

Maybe someday.

"Tell me Guren", Shinya suddenly said, his fingers curling around Guren's tightly. "Does any of you even know what you're doing? Do you know the way out? Or are you doing this without any kind of a plan—"

"Of course, we are. There's no real plan", the raven-haired man answered right away, making Shinya shut up. The silver-haired man stares at him for a moment, his smile slipping away and right then and there, Guren swears that Shinya was close to killing him.

"Tsk… why are you like this?" the other then asked, his smile slipping back on his lips but seeming a lot tighter than before. "You're going to get yourself killed for nothing."

"Not for nothing."

"Saving one man isn't worth risking the lives of many others, Guren. Despite, the JIDA will have no use for me anymore. I've failed the mission—nii-san won't let this pass."

"Stop thinking about the JIDA for a moment, okay?" Guren told Shinya, pulling him closer. The silver-haired man's steps had started to grow slower, his exhaustion probably catching up with him. But they couldn't slow down now—Guren would drag Shinya out with him, if he really needed.

"I'm doing this for your sake, Shinya. I came here to save your ass to let you live—this has nothing to with the JIDA and we're not going back there, either."

"You're kidding, right?" Shinya asked him, suddenly stopping. Guren stopped with him, frowning at the other.

"Shinya, we shouldn't—"

"How stupid can you possibly be, Guren? Of course we're going back to the JIDA. Of course I'm going back!"

"No, we're not. Kureto will just try to kill you off again."

The silver-haired man's eyes flashed in anger but instead of lashing out at Guren like the raven head for a moment thought he'd do, Shinya just started to run again, after their allies. "Well then, I hope he succeeds the next time", the silver head just muttered, ignoring the surprised look Guren send him.

"Vampires coming!" Yu's scream then echoed through the air and Guren looked up, gritting his teeth together as he saw a dozen vampires lining up around them.

"Keep running!" he ordered despite it. "If we make it to the tunnels, we'll be on safer ground!"

"Yes sir", Makoto answered to that and they sped up, trying their best to manage back to the tunnels. Guren knew they weren't that far away but if the vampires now attacked and managed to damage, they would never make it—probably.

"Yoichi-kun", Shinya suddenly called out one of the newbies, running a little faster to catch up with said boy. "Can you work as a sniper for us?"

The boy send Shinya a horrified look and Guren frowned—what was Shinya up to now?

"B-but sir! We're on the move and—"

"And? You should still be able to shoot. Not as accurately as in a correct position but if you cannot shoot in a situation like this, are you really a sniper at all?" Shinya said back, his smile very small. There was an edge of warning in his tone, his sapphire blue eyes cold and filled with emotions Guren couldn't read.

But he knew when the silver head was pissed off—and now Shinya was outraged.

"I-I…" Yoichi stuttered, both flustered and slightly scared by the major general's sudden coldness.

"Forget it", Shinya just cut him off, turning to glance back. "We need something to distract the vampires. If it's not going to be your demon, then—" The silver head stretched out his hand, a familiar yet still so very strange, sound echoing through the air before there was a long rifle in his hand. "—I suppose I should do it."

"Shinya, are you sure?" Guren asked worriedly. He knew that Shinya was running out of energy—if he used Byakkomaru too much, it was going to overtake him, Guren was one hundred percent sure of that. And it would drain Shinya completely—soon the silver-haired man wouldn't be able to run anymore.

The other just send Guren a smile—a smile that was painfully fake, but familiar. "It'll be fine, Guren. Don't worry."

But of course, Guren could not just stop worrying over someone he cared for so much. He would never stop worrying about Shinya.

"Alright", Shinya then spoke up again, sounding calm and lighthearted as ever despite their situation and his own condition. "Our plan to get out of here is going to go like this; I will be creating a distraction for most of the vampires, but I cannot guarantee that nobles will fall for it. Shinoa-chan, Mitsuba-san, Goshi, back me up on this. Combat fighters, Yu-kun, Makoto-kun, Guren, Mito-san, and Kimizuki-kun, you have to push our way through the vampires ahead of us. The vampire, you get us out. Shigure-san, Sayuri-san, make sure no one gets through or we'll be dead in less than a second."

Guren caught up with Shinya's plan quickly and continued for the other: "Once we're in the tunnels, it'll be too narrow for the vampires to attack us all at once. That's our chance to get out. If nobles come in our way, don't fight them. We're not in the situation to start picking bigger fights, all we have to do is get through and out of here. We left our cars close by, if we reach them and get out of this city, we'll be safe."

"And from what I've seen, the dungeons weren't placed in the most crowded area of the city", Shinya added. "So if we work fast, we'll be out of here before all the vampires are breathing in our necks. Did you guys understand?"

"Yes sir!" came the replies and Shinya sent Guren a smug smile.

"See? Everything's under control", the silver-haired man chuckled, weakly tapping Guren's shoulder before turning to look back once more.

I hope so, Guren thought grimly before speeding up a little more. There were now vampires coming at them from ahead—he should prepare to fight them off and get them through and to the tunnels. "Get in formation, everyone! Combat fighters, in front, Yoichi is with us. Shinya, Shinoa, Goshi, and Mitsuba to the back. Shigure and Sayuri, in the middle."

The group got quickly into their new formation, Guren, and Shinya separating from each other to complete their sides of the mission.

"Everyone in position?" the raven head asked, glancing around. He received confirming nods and simple yells of 'yes sir'.

"Alright, then let's get the fuck out of here!"

Shinya's pov:

The silver-haired man watched Guren charge straight towards the vampires coming from ahead with no hesitation, an amused smile playing on his lips.

"Yah… count on Guren to use such vulgar words", the major general sighed before getting a little more serious. "Shinoa-chan, to my right. Mitsuba-san, to my left. Goshi, surround our group with smoke but keep the head clear, got it?"

"No problem", Goshi nodded, giving him a thumbs-up and then he got straight to work.

"What do you want us to do, sir?" Mitsuba asked from Shinya's left right, nervously holding her cursed gear.

"If I mess up, you'll be our distraction", the silver-haired man shortly explained. "I can only pull this off once—at least in this condition. But it should set the vampires off, they won't know about my weaknesses." He turned towards the front.

"Guren! Ten seconds!" he yelled, receiving a quick glance from said man, messaging that he heard Shinya.

"Ten seconds to what?" Shinoa asked from next to him.

Shinya had no time to explain. Guren would understand him, they had been fighting next to each other for years—Guren had to understand him. He stopped fully, turning around and positioning his gun.

"Don't stop running!" he ordered Shinoa and Mitsuba. "And turn away!"

The silver-haired man didn't check if his younger sister and the blonde girl had listened to him. Four seconds, he thought, his hands gripping tightly onto Byakkomaru. He could feel the demon's power pulse in his veins, run through his body with his blood, whispering into his ear.

"Two", he whispered. Aim, he thought. Breathe. "One. Byakkomaru, now!"

The power that left his rifle is destructive, sending Shinya backward as well. He could see a surge of bright blue light, aiming at the floor right ahead the first vampires closing in from behind and then—everything exploded.

The ground crumbled and the buildings trembled from the force that had suddenly hit the floor, pierced right through it and deep into the bedrock of the whole city. Shinya couldn't see anything but smoke from the spot he had shot, no vampires coming through.

Success, he thought, swiftly getting up from the ground. Byakkomaru disappeared from his hands and the major general then started to run after the rest. He caught up with Shinoa and Mitsuba quickly, both girls trying their best not to look behind.

"It's okay", Shinya said, breathing quite heavily when he reached the two. "I warned you to not look because Byakkomaru's light could've blinded you. Now, just concentrate on running."

The silver head looked ahead, the tension in his shoulders easing a little when he saw that Guren and the rest didn't seem to be in trouble with the few vampires left ahead of them. But then he glanced back behind, seeing that maybe two or three vampires had started to make their way out of the smoky cloud he created.

They were noble vampires, one of them Shinya even recognized. The female vampire that had been with Zero when his squad got capture—she was strong, the silver head knew. They wouldn't be able to defeat her like this.

Shit… Shinya cursed, biting his lip until he tasted blood. "Guren! How much more? We got nobles behind us!"

"Just a little bit more!" came Guren's answer from somewhere ahead and Shinya could only trust that.

You can't, Byakkomaru darkly whispered in his mind. You can't trust him anymore. After all, he has that demon inside of him… And you're running out of energy.

Shinya's steps haltered, and he nearly fell behind. Not now! The silver-haired major general panicked a little, even his smile faltering. He could feel it clearly—his legs felt heavier, his body and mind hurting from all over—nothing felt right and Shinya could see dark spots start to fill his eyesight.

Putting all of Byakkomaru's energy in one blow like that was not something Shinya was supposed to do—he had been ordered not to use that once Hiragi Tenri had seen its destructiveness and the strain it brought upon Shinya.

It was a suicidal move, Hiragi Tenri had said to him once.

Byakkomaru! The major general thought, gritting his teeth together as he practically begged his body to run forward. He couldn't fall behind now, couldn't stop now—not when Guren had given him some hope of getting out.

And Shinya wanted to see the sun, at least once more.

He wanted to see the sky and the clouds, maybe even the stars and the moon. At least once more.

Give me strength, he ordered his demon. Give me the strength to run out of here and make sure that they survive. Just give me that and I'll—

You'll what? Byakkomaru asked him, sounding amused. Give yourself to me, finally?

I don't think I'm going to survive, Shinya honestly thought, breathing out heavily. But they need to. All of them, I have to make sure they do.

A picture of Airi, Hikaru, Hachirou, and Hibiki flashed in his mind and he smiled sadly. Byakkomaru, I don't care what's going to happen to my body. If I'm not going to survive, it's okay. I have people waiting for me, a lot of them.

Shinya could see all of them—all those people he had cared for that had passed away before him, left him too early.

His parents, Midoriya—the boy he had befriended when forced to go through Hiragi's training and eventually, the boy Shinya killed—, he could see his first mentor, the woman who had taught him to be a sniper and all his comrades. Shinya could see them flash before his eyes, it all ending with his squad.

Airi-san, the silver head thought. Forgive me.

His demon gave it to him, power like Shinya asked. The silver-haired man sighed as he felt his limbs moving a bit faster again, his eyesight sharpening and breathing easing a little. He could do this, Shinya could get out—get them out. Get Guren out of here, safely.

But at the same time, the newfound power ran through his veins, Shinya could feel his mind darkening. Byakkomaru's whispers got stronger and it felt like the demon would be digging into his heart, turning his blood black and taking everything there was to take. Shinya knew that dark marks ran across his skin but luckily, he had the shirt to cover them, so no one would notice—they'd probably think that he was getting possessed and panic or something.

They wouldn't be that far off, though. Byakkomaru would possess Shinya, drown him in complete darkness and eat his soul at this rate.

"Shinya!" Guren's sudden yell cut his thoughts off and the silver head looked up. "We're at the tunnels, hurry up!"

The major general could feel his small and fake smile grow wider and genuine. For Guren's sake, it would be fine. He didn't mind dying if it meant that Guren and his family would get out alive—Shinya's own family was dead already, he had no one left.

Guren was different from him.

He had a family, all these people around him—Shinya had to make sure Guren would not lose any of them because of him.

Byakkomaru, Shinya thought, smiling as he sped up a little more, running into the dark tunnel and after Guren. You were right about me, you know?

About what? The tiger-demon asked in his mind, seeming a little confused.

About Guren… you were right. I would choose him over myself anytime. Shinya looked up at the raven-haired man who had slowed down to allow the silver head to catch up with him. He smiled at Guren, feeling strangely relaxed. He didn't really hate the man. He could never hate Guren no matter how he'd hurt Shinya.

Hm… Byakkomaru hummed, sending deep vibrations through Shinya's body. I guess I was.

"C'mon", Guren said suddenly, breaking the heavy silence above them all. "We'll reach the stairs soon and then all have to do is run up and we'll be out. You can do that, right Shinya?"

No, the silver head thought but he nodded anyway. He barely had any strength to speak if he was honest. Shinya had to give his all to just concentrate on running or he'd fall behind and Byakkomaru would take over. Despite him being in a pretty good relationship with the demon, they always had just one thought in mind—devour.

Byakkomaru really wasn't any different when it came to that, but Shinya trusted the tiger-demon anyway. He had to, if he wanted to survive through this.

They got to the stairs soon, just like Guren promised and Shinya could see how many let out relieved sighs already. They were nearly out, indeed, but then—

There was a dark flash, wind howling in Shinya's ears and a powerful gush of air hit them, sending them flying against the walls and ground. Shinya himself flew right on Guren and the two fell on the ground together, groaning at the same time.

"Tsk, humans… did you really think you'd get out so easily?" a voice asked, and Shinya raised his head slowly. The blow had come from behind them. He could see at least five vampires closing in, all seeming to be nobles. The woman he had recognized wasn't there, but these guys would be enough trouble already.

"I have to admit, you've done a good job getting this far", the vampire who had talked continued, grinning madly.

"Guren…" Shinya shook his friend's shoulder weakly. "Please tell me you have a backup plan."

"No", came the answer Shinya already expected.

Shit, we're doomed, the silver head thought, trying to get up. Suddenly a wave of pain surged through his body and he fell back down, gritting his teeth together. What now? Byakkomaru—

There's nothing I can do anymore, really. Your body can't physically take it anymore, master. I can give you power, yes, but if your body can't put it to use, it's not that helpful, the demon answered him before Shinya managed to even finish his complaint.

So, you mean that this is it for me? He asked, smiling bitterly.

Yes and no, Byakkomaru simply said, purring lowly. Look behind you, behind the stairs.

Shinya blinked his eyes a couple of times before whipping his head around. It took a moment for his eyes to focus on anything but then he saw it—or rather, he saw her.

It's her—he thought, eyes widening.

The silver-haired vampire he had seen, the one who reminded Hinata a little too much. Now she was hiding behind the stairs up, her cloak tightly around her body but the dark red eyes glimmered brightly even from under the hood.

What is she doing here? Shinya questioned.

Helping you, Byakkomaru purred.

B-but why…?

The major general could feel how amused Byakkomaru was about his denial. You know why, Shinya. You know who she is. Now, take the hand offered to you. After all, Guren needs to survive, doesn't he?

As much as the silver-haired man didn't want to admit it, his demon was right. Guren and his squad needed to survive.

"Guren, I have a plan", Shinya whispered, turning back to the raven-haired man kneeling next to him. "Trust me, okay? Don't question anything."

"What are you talking about, Shinya?" Guren asked back, sending him a questioning look. "Are you going to pull another trump-card out of your sleeve?"

The silver head smiled. "Maybe."

Then, he turned to the stairs where the female vampire was hiding at. He nodded, barely noticeable and mouthed: 'I'll distract, you get us out.'

Shinya had no other choice but to trust his demon and his instincts right now. He couldn't be sure about the vampire's identity, but Shinya had no time to really start to doubt. And besides, he should be able to recognize his own sister, now shouldn't he? Even if it had been years since they last saw. Even if he didn't know how the hell she was alive.

He had to trust himself, now.

Byakkomaru, Shinya called out to his demon. Let's do this, once more.

"Everyone, prepare to run", he called out loudly, his rifle appearing in his hands just as the vampires charged forward, tired of the humans' resistance.

"Just one shot…" the silver-haired man gritted his teeth together, aiming at the first vampire. "There—Byakkomaru, go!" He pressed the trigger without thinking any further and without waiting to see did he even hit, Shinya grabbed Guren's arm and pulled him up with himself.

He could do this. He could run and get out. Shinya had to.

"This way!" Shinya could hear the female vampire call out for him and he didn't hesitate to follow her voice, dragging Guren after himself.

"Shinya! Where are we going?" the raven head questioned loudly.

"I told you not to question me!" Shinya answered, glancing back at the man. "Just—trust me on this one, Guren! I'll get you guys out, I promise." Because I wasn't able to save Airi. I wasn't able to save any of them, I have to save at least you guys.

He was sure that Guren and the rest had a lot of complaints and wonders of what the hell was going on, but luckily, they still followed Shinya. They put their trust on him just like that—it made Shinya wonder if he really deserved it.

"There's a van waiting outside", the female vampire running ahead of them said. "It's filled with everything a human could need and you'll fit inside—take it and get out of here."

"Who the hell are you?" Guren asked.

The female vampire ignored the raven head, instead turning to glance at Shinya. "You know where to go, right? You know what place is safe, Shinya."

The major general met blood red eyes and the two stared at each other for a moment, before Shinya understood what she meant.

"Got it", he nodded, and the vampire smiled.

"Good—oh, we're out. Hurry up before those nobles catch up to us." She then sped up and Shinya quickly followed, wondering how the hell he was able to do that but not minding it. His body could crash down later for all he cared.

They came out into the sunlight just like the female vampire had said, the path they had followed taking them to central Ikebukuro. In their panicked states, however, no one had the chance to enjoy the fresh air and sunlight.

"Get in the van and drive away, quickly!" the vampire told them. "I won't be able to protect you guys at all—heck, I'm not risking myself any more than this."

"What the—who the hell are you, exactly?" Yu asked, only now realizing that they had a new companion.

"Are you staying behind?" Shinya butted in, ushering Guren to go and check the van. To his surprise, the raven head went easily.

The female vampire nodded. "I have to. This is my place… but Shinya, to where you'll be going next, maybe I'll come by some day. For now, however, I have to stay. And you have to go. Not back to the humans but back home."

"Home?" Shinya asked.

The female vampire took her hood of then, finally revealing her whole face to the silver-haired man. Her long silky and straight silver locks fell perfectly on her shoulders, pale skin against red lips and red eyes.

She looked painfully familiar. Too familiar.

It seemed like she had stopped aging around the age sixteen. But when… when was she turned? Who did it—why was she turned?

"There's only one home for us, Shinya", Hinata said, nodding her head towards the van. "Go back there."

"B-but… you—"

Suddenly, an angry yell echoed through the air. "Don't let the humans escape!"

"Shinya, go!" Hinata yelled at him, suddenly reaching over to push him towards the van at the same time Guren yelled: "Shinya, come on!"

There was a yank on his hand—Shinoa was pulling him away from the silver-haired vampire who also pushed him away.

"Wait—why, Hinata—t-tell me w-why—"

"Don't trust the Hiragis, Shinya. Promise me you won't trust them!"

But Shinya couldn't utter another word from his mouth, too shocked and confused after seeing his long-lost twin sister. He could feel himself being yanked backward roughly, both Shinoa and Makoto dragging him away from the vampire who just stared at him with sad, red eyes.

Eyes Shinya didn't recognize but with a smile on her face he knew all too well, she was saying goodbye to him before he even managed to say hello.

Wait… he thought. Wait. Wait no—no, that's Hinata. That's my sister. That's my family—

Shinya, Byakkomaru's voice suddenly whispered in his mind, loudly ringing through his head. Sleep.

And before the silver head could even make a sound, the world around him turned black.

He felt cold and the ground under him was hard, much like the floor of the dungeons he had just escaped. It smelled like iron and dirt, blood, just like at the dungeons.

No—Shinya blinked his eyes open, gasping loudly as he sat up as quick as possible.

N-no… we just got out, he thought in horror as he looked around. His hands were chained again and this time his legs too. The dungeons were even darker than he remembered them to be and it was quiet, deathly so.

"H-how—"

"Shinya", a voice suddenly called, and the silver-haired man whipped his head around. Behind him was standing a blonde woman, her eyes cold and unfamiliar.

"A-Airi-san?" Shinya asked in a broken voice. "W-what are you…? Y-you're alive—"

"No", Airi interrupted him coldly, kneeling down next to him. "I'm dead. We're all dead."

Shinya could feel his blood run cold and he started to tremble even against his own will. Stop, he thought. Stop, you stupid body.

"T-then… this is a dream, r-right?"

Airi said nothing to that only scooped closer to Shinya, her cold breath tickling the man's cheek. He leaned away, shivering and trembling even stronger.

"I won't forgive you", the blonde woman whispered, the grey of her eyes turning black. "I will never forgive you, Shinya."

"W-what—why are you—"

"We won't forgive you either", a new voice came in and Shinya turned to look behind him, only to see the rest of his squad standing there. They all had those dark, cold eyes Shinya did not recognize and he could feel himself paralyzing.

"Shinya, we trusted you", Hikaru spoke up, her eyes empty—dead. "Why didn't you save us? Why didn't you join us?"

"H-Hikaru-san…" Shinya could only whisper out her name in horror. He had never even managed to say goodbye to the beautiful brunette woman—this was too cruel.

Byakkomaru, stop, he thought. Bring me back, Byakkomaru please.

He knew this was his demon's doings. It was calling out to his darkest desires, trying to destroy his sense of self and the last of Shinya's heart. Byakkomaru please—

The dream dissolved and suddenly Shinya was sitting in literal emptiness, surrounded by nothing but white. He blinked his eyes a couple of moments, still somewhat sensing his squad's presence, Airi's breath on his lips, the scent of strawberries she always carried mixed with blood.

"We could've saved them", Byakkomaru's voice suddenly echoed through the emptiness and Shinya turned his head a little to meet eyes with another pair of cold, sapphire blue. The white tiger was lying on the ground not too far away from Shinya, watching him like always. "Your squad… we could've saved them all."

"You're lying", Shinya answered to that, turning away.

The tiger laughed, the sound being hearty and nearly purring. Shinya could hear how it got up and started to walk towards him—but instead of soft fur, it was pale and cold hands that came in touch with his skin.

"Shinya, Shinya, my dearest", Byakkomaru purred into his ear, curling her hands tightly around shoulders, hugging him from behind. "Had you just given yourself to me, we could've had it all."

"Stop", Shinya whispered to that.

His demon didn't; instead, she just leaned further onto him, resting her head on his. Blue hair fell on Shinya's shoulder and her sweet, blueberry-like scent flickered in the air, surrounding him. It wasn't usual for Byakkomaru to take her human form and honestly, Shinya preferred it like that—when Byakkomaru was just a tiger, she was much less dangerous, much more obedient.

Like this, she could affect Shinya a lot more.

And she knew that too.

The silver head could feel her lips dragging along his cheek, cold like always. "Your love for Guren will eventually destroy you, Shinya. I know I can already feed off your desire to be with him, but there's something you desire even more than that right now—and that is to have your squad back. You miss them, don't you?"

"Always stating the obvious, aren't you?" Shinya sighed and Byakkomaru laughed.

"We could revenge them, you know", she then said, resting her head in the crook of Shinya's neck. The silver head let her, feeling too exhausted to stop Byakkomaru from playing with him—his heart ached too much, and he was just so tired.

But Shinya knew he shouldn't give in and he wasn't going to do that.

"Revenge is not important", he said, turning his head away. Byakkomaru's answer was to rub her head against him like the feline she truly was.

"So you say… but you want it, don't you? You want to revenge all of them—not only your squad but your family, your friends, your mentor and all your allies… you want to give them justice, don't you?"

Shinya didn't try to deny that because Byakkomaru was right. He either wanted to die or find a release from this pain. He wanted to die or revenge—or die while trying to revenge. But then there was Guren… Shinya didn't trust the raven head enough, he would surely get in more trouble if he wouldn't be there watching his back.

So, he shouldn't leave. Not yet, at least.

"Tsk… him again", Byakkomaru sounded displeased, her sharp teeth grazing Shinya's skin. "Forget Ichinose, Shinya. I'm right here—I can bring Airi here too. Hikaru, Hachirou, and Hibiki… I can bring them all here, for you."

As she said that, the four appeared in front of them—but of course Shinya knew that these shadows in front of him weren't his squad members. They were all dead, after all, and no force in this world could bring back the dead.

"Shinya", Airi called out to him and unlike before, she was smiling happily. "I've been waiting for you."

"You'll stay with us, right?" Hachirou asked then, grinning like usually.

"It would be nice to just sit down and talk, for once", Hibiki added with a small smile, nodding at Shinya. His form wavered in the air and the silver head grimaced.

"Shinya-san", Hikaru then said, smiling so warmly that Shinya almost fell for it. "Let's go home together, alright?"

"See?" Byakkomaru whispered into his ear, her hold on the silver head tightening. "They're waiting for you. They want you to stay here, with them. I'll bring them all back for you, Shinya. All of them."

Shinya looked up to see more shadowy figures forming behind his squad, he could see his mother and father standing close to each other, smiling peacefully and motioning him to come closer—he could see young children grinning behind the two adults, looking ready to play and he could see a lot of soldiers, his comrades, standing side by side.

"Shinya", Airi said again, taking a step closer, reaching out her hand. "Stay here with us. You're safe here."

"I can't", Shinya mumbled and Airi's hand fell down. "I'm sorry, Airi-san. I can't stay with you."

He didn't wait for the woman to answer, not believing that he could take it. Instead, he turned to Byakkomaru, surprising the blue-haired woman.

"Enough of this", he said, voice cold and stern. "I don't want to see any of them."

Byakkomaru smiled and pulled away. "Lies, Shinya. Lies but I'll take it. Your determination, your greed… they're still so strong. Your desire to protect and love Guren is strong, your desire to protect his family is strong and—" The blue-haired demon turned to send Shinya an amused look, her voice turning sickeningly sweet.

"Your desire to die is strong. I like it."

And with that, she dissolved in air, taking everyone else with her.

"Of course, you'd say that", Shinya mumbled, a smile forming on his lips as well. "That is my strongest desire, after all."

End of Chapter 8