Chapter 1: The Desires of Retribution
Chapter Text
Guren stood on the remnants of the street, staring down with cold, calculated eyes. He stood there was the former Lieutenant Colonel of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. The former leader of the Moon Demon Company. Staring at the place where his life had changed forever.
Wrath. Sorrow. Despair. Hurt. Fear. Rage.
Every emotion that he could possibly feel was coursing through him as he looked at the blood that was stained the ground. It was dried. Showing that it had been there a while. It covered the area. The flashes of that night appeared before his eyes. So… haunting. Yet he had found himself going completely numb. Despite all the varying emotions that were coursing through him, it all came down to one thing.
He wanted… vengeance.
Life, death, rebirth.
A cycle that Guren never thought he would find himself in. He was reborn. Reborn as something… different. He could feel it tingling within every single nerve in his body. The desire for revenge. A bloodlust that he had never felt with such intensity.
He was given a second chance to get vengeance against the ones who led him here.
“What is it that you desire, Guren?”
Guren could feel rain droplets now. Starting to come down as the thunder rolled overhead and lightning flashed and illuminated the area. It gave him an even better view of his own blood. He could remember the pain. The betrayal that he had felt. The desire to… live. He didn’t beg. He didn’t plead for his life. Guren never thought that his life would turn out like this.
Guren could feel the bloodlust go through him more as the rain started to come down harder. Slowly washing away the blood that stained the concrete.
“I want him… dead.” Guren murmured. He stood there, even as he got drenched from the rain. Standing there until the second that the evidence of his demise was washed away from the ground. “I want to rip his heart out of his chest.” The Omega continued. Guren turned on his heel, glaring straight ahead as he turned to walk away. “Just like he tried to do to me.”
He wanted vengeance.
And he was going to do everything in his power to get it.
Four Years Later
Shibuya, Japanese Imperial Demon Army Headquarters
Kureto Hiragi sat in his normal seat, not really paying attention to the meeting that he should have been doing. Kureto’s gaze was locked to the empty chair on the other side of the room. The U-shaped table that had his father at the head of it while the rest of them took up the long parts of the table. The Alpha kept his gaze firmly locked onto the empty seat. Kureto wasn’t the only one that stared at that chair. Shinya did too at times. Kureto was able to hide the fact he was doing it by using the reports, acting as if he was reading them as the meeting went on.
For five years, that chair had been empty. It had been five years since the person that the chair belonged to had sat there. It was Guren’s seat. The same place that he had sat at ever since the world had ended. For three years, he sat in that chair in these meetings – typically falling asleep out of boredom or just to piss off the others – and Kureto would find himself mindlessly watching him sleep. Kureto never thought he would actually miss seeing Guren just nap. He supposed that he never took into consideration of the mundane things in life.
Kureto still had no answers to what happened to Guren back then. It was like one day, Guren just disappeared without a trace. They had looked everywhere for him. It was like one second he was there, and the next, he was gone. Kureto still didn’t understand. He had tried to think of every single possibility that would cause this. Guren wouldn’t just run away and desert the Army. Especially when all of his beloved friends were here. Shinya especially. Guren would never leave his friends behind. Not unless he had a very damn good reason to do so, and Kureto couldn’t think of a single one.
For the last five years, he had never stopped searching. Never stopped trying to figure out exactly what happened to him. Many believed he was a deserter. Many believed he was dead. Realistically, Guren wouldn’t be able to survive alone outside of the walls of Shibuya for an extended period of time. Between the Four Horseman of John and the vampires, Guren was as good as dead if he left the safety of their settlement. Guren was strong and very capable, but that only went so far. Eventually exhaustion would get to him and Guren could have easily fallen.
Even if Guren did run, the question was… why?
Why would he just up and leave? Why would he run and disappear in the middle of the night without telling a soul of where he was going? Kureto didn’t believe that for a second. No matter what anyone said. Guren’s friends didn’t. Shinya didn’t. Those who knew Guren on a personal level knew that he would never just abandon them. Something happened to him, and Kureto didn’t think he’d rest properly until he knew what happened. Guren’s own values that he held to heart never would have allowed it. Not without a damn good reason behind it. His values in love, honor, friendship. Guren treasured his friends. What would cause him to leave even them behind?
Kureto hadn’t realized that he had spaced out he entire meeting until it had came to an end and everyone was moving to leave. All he knew was there was suspicious vampire activity coming from the Kanto Region. Kureto could feel that a war was brewing. Soon enough, they would be going up against the vampires. The humans were actively working to free the enslaved humans as well as destroy any vampire in sight, and the vampires were trying to enslave them. Use them for food. Like Hell that Kureto would allow that to happen. If that meant going to war, so be it.
The Alpha had walked out of the meeting room with the papers in hand. Intending on reading them later whenever he got back to his office. It wasn’t often that Kureto completely spaced out like that within a meeting. He supposed that Guren had just been more and more on his mind recently. His absence among them was noticeable. At least, for him. He knew it was for Shinya for obvious reasons. Kureto hadn’t told a soul that he was still searching for Guren. Tenri actually had been blocking all resources into trying to look for him. Even Guren’s own friends. People that served him. Kureto didn’t understand why Tenri was doing that.
Kureto had gotten down the hall before he had heard the quickly approaching footsteps. The Alpha had stopped, looking over his shoulder to see Shinya coming up behind him. Shinya fell in step with him, giving him a nod as he said, “You were pretty distracted in there, brother Kureto.”
Kureto hummed, looking straight ahead, “So were you.”
They both knew why.
The anniversary of Guren’s disappearance was coming up. Kureto was forced to put it into the back of his mind. It had been five years since he had last seen him. Guren had just been heavy on his mind recently. He supposed that tended to happen a lot. Whenever someone disappeared without a trace, leaving everything behind, it raised a lot of questions. There was nowhere for Guren to even go in the outside world. Everything was… gone. Kureto knew the probability of Guren being dead was exceptionally high, but he still wanted to know what happened to him. Why would he suddenly decide to leave? Why did he leave without saying goodbye to his friends? What caused him to leave. He was just gone, and not a single trace of him had ever been found.
Shinya smiled a bit as he looked again, “I guess so.” The silver-haired Alpha sighed, shaking his head, “I’m guessing that you’ll go over everything once you get back to your office.”
“Yeah.” Kureto stated, “No need to force anyone else to go back over anything that I can just read myself.”
“The Kanto Region vampires’ activity is concerning.” Shinya replied as the two of them rounded the corner, “Do you think the probability of a war might actually happen?”
“Without a doubt.” Kureto said back. “With their movements and that they are actively coming after the Imperial Demon Army, it’s not even an unlikely scenario. They are watching us just as much as we are watching them.”
Shinya hummed in response, slipping his hands into his pocket as he took a deep breath. Shinya had taken over the Moon Demon Company in Guren’s absence. He even ran Guren’s squad now. It had been redubbed the Shinya Squad, but not one member of that squad called it differently. Even Shinya still referred to their group as the Guren Squad. He would only catch himself on official paperwork or whenever they were talking within meetings. Kureto honestly didn’t think there was anyone better to fill in Guren’s place within the organization than Shinya. Shinya was already well acquainted with Guren’s friends since they were also Shinya’s, and the Moon Demon Company was more welcoming of the adopted son. It probably gave Shinya brownie points that everyone knew of the relationship between Guren and Shinya. It was not a secret of how close the two of them were.
“We’re going to need to start sending out more of the Vampire Extermination Unit.” Shinya stated, “The vampires are going to start going after more human settlements again. Those who aren’t under our protection.”
“And we will be there to wipe them out.” Kureto shot back.
Kureto wouldn’t say that he had necessarily gotten close to Shinya, but he also knew that he had done it explicitly for selfish desires. Shinya was Guren’s best friend. Even though they were adopted siblings, he didn’t really care much for that aspect. Shinya had been brought into the family solely to sire children with his sister Mahiru and that was it. Within the last five years, Kureto had started to see another side to Shinya that he had never seen before. Shinya had opened up to him in a way. His adoptive brother had perfected a mask for years. It seemed to come down only whenever Guren was brought up.
Kureto had decided to move on, saying, “How is that one kid doing?” Kureto questioned, “Yuuichirou.”
“Well enough.” Shinya replied. The kid had just randomly showed up one day. Completely traumatized and covered in blood and who was with a group of other small children. He had appeared to be the oldest from what Kureto had learned. None of them could talk about what happened. There was no explanation to how they found the Imperial Demon Army either. From what Kureto had been told, the ringleader of the kids had given one name specifically. Shinya. No other explanation other than that. “Yuu is still seeking vengeance to the point that it’s consuming him.”
“I heard he finally has been allowed to train for the Moon Demon Company. Prospected for Shinoa’s potential squad.” Kureto went on.
“That’s right.” Shinya confirmed. “Though, he’s keeping himself at arm’s length. Even with the other Hyakuya children, he still is having trouble truly letting another person in. That kid has a serious hatred towards vampires and a vendetta.”
“It’s been four years since those kids showed up here.” Kureto stated, “And you still haven’t been able to get him to talk?”
“Nope.” Shinya sighed, “Shigure and Sayuri say that he screams out one thing in his sleep every night, and it’s one thing alone.” Kureto turned his head slightly to look at the silver-haired Alpha, “Mika.”
Kureto hummed. “It is nothing short of a miracle that those group of kids managed to get out of the underground vampire city. That should have been an impossible task.” Kureto still had a genuine curiosity of how that boy and those other kids showed up. How they knew where to go. How they knew who they were. Let alone that Yuuichirou knew Shinya’s name. It always gave Kureto this feeling. It felt like it could be a coincidence at this point. No one had ever been able to break in or out of that place. It was one place that even the Imperial Demon Army couldn’t go to. Many vampire Nobles lived there. A lot of humans were also enslaved there. Human children. Just like those that had practically shown up on their doorstep. “Just get them ready. If you believe that kid will be good for the Moon Demon Company, I’m not going to complain about another Black Demon Series prospect.”
Kureto’s attention for the children had been caught by their name alone. Hyakuya. Hyakuya Orphanage specifically. Once ran by the Brotherhood of A Thousand Nights and the Hyakuya Sect and they were known for experimenting on their human children. Shinya had a general fondness for Yuuichirou specifically. Maybe it was because that Shinya constantly said that Yuuichirou reminded him of Guren. Kureto had met the kids a few times, but they were generally closed off. Most of them attended Second Shibuya schools. Yuuichirou was the only one pulled for the Moon Demon Company. The kids didn’t seem trusting of them. Only trusting of Shinya and his friends.
“We’re going to need as many people as we can get.” Shinya stated, “If there is a probability of a war coming, what other choice do we have?”
“Not many.” Kureto admitted. Kureto found himself looking ahead again. They had gotten outside. Falling in silence as they went out onto the streets.
After a moment, Shinya sighed, “It’s hard to believe that it’s already been five years.” The silver-haired Alpha lowered a sad glance to the ground, “He should be here.”
“But he’s not.” Kureto stated. He knew it was cruel in the way that he had said it. Shinya had given him a quick side glance. “All we can do is keep going forward.” There was no going back to the past. As much as Kureto wanted too. He wanted to understand. He knew Shinya wanted that just as much as he did.
“Are you still having those nightmares?” Shinya questioned quietly.
Kureto had found himself stopping and turning a glance on the silver-haired Alpha, “We both have demons. You know what that is like.” Nightmares. He had them every night. There was one in particular that he kept having. He’d wake right up in a cold sweat. It always felt so real to him. Guren’s haunted, betrayed gaze was always locked to him and then it would abruptly end. Always at the same place. Always with the same words.
As they walked down the street, Kureto had stopped as he found himself stopping by his father’s home. The Alpha stopped, looking up to the familiar window. It only took a second to see the small child through the window. It only took a moment before the second came up to the window. Twins. A boy and a girl if he recalled correctly. He didn’t even know their names. He had never seen their faces aside from quick glances through the window. All he knew was that his father had two more children four years prior. He had found out about them two years ago and it was completely on accident. All he knew was that they never left the house most of the time. They were strictly guarded with very limited human contact. A new experiment most likely. Just like Mahiru and Shinoa had been. It didn’t even surprise him in the slightest.
Kureto didn’t keep his attention on them long before he was moving on.
He just wanted this day to be over with.
Four years of being in this place. The place was oddly beautiful. He spent most of his time here if not all of it aside from occasionally leaving just because he got bored enough. Waiting in the shadows. Lurking and hiding. It wasn’t like he didn’t travel out of the underground city. He did it often. He would always have to come back. Four years of boiling in his own rage and his desires for vengeance. The need to seek out revenge.
Now, it might actually be his chance for that.
Guren leaned back against the chair, peering down at Queen Krul Tepes as she leaned back in her chair. He was here strictly out of boredom. He hadn’t decided to take off on one of impromptu trips outside of the city. More eyes were on them now. Guren couldn’t have anyone seeing him yet. He didn’t want them to see them. Meetings among the Progenitors and the guards would be called soon enough. Get everything together and figure out what the hell that they were going to do.
Guren’s nose twitched as the smell of blood filled his nose and he looked down to see that Krul was filling up the vials. The Omega looked away, staring straight ahead. Five years since his world turned to even more Hell than he had already gone through. Four years since he got here. Guren closed his eyes for a second.
“You’re dying, human. I can give you a second chance at life. Grant you power beyond something far more superior than what you are now. All you have to do is say yes to me.”
Guren blinked it away, opening his eyes again as he heard, “Something on your mind, Guren?” Guren turned his head, looking back down to where Krul had finished that vial and was now looking up at him. She had a smile on her face and a knowing glance in her eyes. “You haven’t stopped staring at that spot for hours.”
Guren hummed, curling his nails into the chair, “You’re thinking of going to war with the humans.”
Krul made a noise, slipping that vial into the container next to her before carrying onto the next one. “You’re worried for those humans you call family.”
“They can handle themselves.” Guren replied, looking back to the wall again. He was. There was no denying it. If the vampires and the humans went to war, he knew exactly where his friends would be. The front lines. Could he even call them his friends anymore? He had been keeping tabs on them for the last four years. What they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. He couldn’t bring himself to face them. Not after this long. Not after… everything.
“I’ll have a very important job for you when the time comes, Guren.” Krul stated. Guren found his attention being pulled back to her. “You’ve been quite useful to me over these last four years.”
“What exactly are you needing from me, Queen Krul?” Guren questioned.
“You know better than anyone how the Japanese Imperial Demon Army works.” Krul replied. Guren curled his nails a bit tighter as he gritted his teeth. “I’m sure you’d love to sink your fangs into them.” She had turned in her chair, looking up at him with a smile gracing her face. She reached out, slipping her fingertips over his cheek, “After everything that they did to you. Your time for your revenge against them is finally coming.”
Guren felt it flare in him again as he choked. He pulled back, slipping off of the chair as he turned away. “Do whatever you wish, Queen Krul.” Guren stated. He felt the bloodlust spiking in him for a moment as he turned to face her a serene smile came to his face. “I’m going to destroy anything that stands in my way.” Guren had turned to walk off, starting to down the steps.
Krul smiled, laughing softly as she returned back to what she was doing, “Going to head to Nagoya again?” It made Guren stop in his tracks as he turned to face her. Her red eyes were locked to him as she looked at him with interest. “You’ve been going there quite a bit, haven’t you?”
“And even if I have?” Guren questioned, “That’s my business why I go to Nagoya.”
Krul hummed, shrugging, “Just curious.”
The Omega rolled his eyes as he turned to walk away once more. “I’m not here to gossip.” Guren stated as he started out of the Attendance Hall. “Just give me all the information later.”
Guren slipped out the door, closing it behind him as he looked around. He slipped his hands into his pockets and continued on. Guards were walking around like normal, thought there was a bit more of them prowling. It was blood drive day. Typically, he liked to avoid being here if he could. Guren had walked the path, heading into the inner parts of Sanguinem as he stopped at one of the pathways that looked over the city. He turned, leaning against it as he looked down. He could see the human children. Many of them were fatigued from giving their blood. Despite their situation, they were so full of… innocence.
Guren’s gaze scanned over the guards. The guards were major assholes in his opinion. They treated the children like garbage. He was already ready to intervene at any moment. Guren’s attention was grabbed as he felt something bump into his leg and he heard a slight yelp of pain. The Omega turned his gaze down and allowed his face to soften as he saw the small human child. Couldn’t be older than four or five. A little girl. She looked up at him, gasping, “Lord Guren!” She wasn’t alone. She had a few other human children with her that looked nervous in that moment.
Guren kneeled down, reaching out his hand, “Are you alright?” She nodded and reached out to take his hand as he helped her up. He reached down, grabbing the small packet that was handed out to all the children on this day and held it out to her. “Watch where you’re going, okay? Don’t want to end up hurt.”
“Okay, Lord Guren.” The girl said quickly as she did take the packet from him.
Guren turned his gaze on all the children, looking over them for a second before he was standing back up, “All of you need to get home before curfew.”
They all gave their confirmations, moving to take off as he watched them go. He made sure that they were heading down the right street before he pushed off of the rail and took off walking again. His thoughts were being clouded again with each step that he took. So, war was on the horizon. Before he knew it, Krul would make the announcement that they really were going to war. The movements of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army and their actions had the vampires on high alert. It wasn’t something that could be ignored. Considering that the Imperial Demon Army was their enemy, it was only rightfully so that they were keeping an eye on them.
Guren gritted his teeth for a moment as the flashes kept coming back to mind. The Omega was trying to force the thoughts away. Guren had decided to head back to his mansion. He didn’t care about being out on the street right now. He’d go to Nagoya soon. Though, there was the probability of a Progenitors meeting before he’d have the chance. Just from the way that Krul was acting, it was giving him the idea of it.
It didn’t actually take him long to arrive as he opened up the door and slipped inside. His home was quiet. It had taken a long time to get so used to the quiet. Sometimes, he thought about them. What his former life was like. He missed it. Not all of it. But some. So much of his life had been a lie. Betrayal. Heartbreak. Pain. Agony. Suffering.
It was like he was withering away, and he didn’t even know who he was anymore.
Guren went up to his room, pulling off the over cloak that he would wear on occasion. He dropped it down, turning and sitting down on the bed that he truly had no real use for other than wanting it. He reached over to his nightstand and grabbed a knife that was sitting there. Guren had found himself mindlessly staring at it. It was a beautifully carved knife. It had a name engraved into it. He ran his finger over it. Emotions. He fucking despised them. He had been being swallowed up in them for so long.
The image came to mind again and he curled his fingers around it. Ignoring the way that it cut into his skin and his blood started to pool from the wounds. Why couldn’t he just fucking… feel? Despite all of the emotions that coursed through him, he was so… numb.
Numb.
Cold.
Broken.
Take a pick of a word and he probably felt it. Guren had watched his own blood for a moment. Watching the way it pooled as he lifted his hand up. He eyed it with almost interest as he hummed. His own blood. He had just stared at it. Continuing to do so until the second that his wound had healed over, and it just left the blood on the surface of his skin.
Salvation.
Something that he had been looking for. He didn’t think that he would ever get it. He was living in nothing but pure agony. Misery and falling into the depths of an abyss that he couldn’t claw his way out of. There was nothing else that he had thought about in the last four years. Wanting nothing more than to get his revenge.
Retribution.
It was almost time for that. Four years of laying in wait. Waiting in the dark and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. His time was coming, and he was going to do everything that he could to get it.
The Omega turned his gaze to the wall, staring at the photo on the wall. It was a candid photo. The person in it had no idea it was even being taken. It was brought to him a while back. They were just out there. Living their lives. Acting as if nothing happened. He wasn’t going to let this disappear. He was so sick and tired of the same old bullshit. Guren was tired of being a pawn in someone’s game. Tired of not doing a damn thing to stop anything.
He flipped the knife in his hand, letting the blade fall into his palm before flipping it again to the grip. He kept repeating the action as each and every single haunting image came back to mind. It taunted him. Tormented him. It was all his fault. He did this.
It was all because of him.
The bloodlust was hitting him. He wanted to tear them apart. Watch as their blood split. See the way that they would beg and cry. Plead for their lives. Watch as he didn’t care. They didn’t care for him, so why should he give the same curtesy.
Love didn’t exist.
Honor meant nothing.
Friendship was a faux.
Companionship had no place.
It was all a dreamland. Just a little fantasy that he had foolishly believed in. Guren was going to bring a new era down on this world. Take the very fabric of everything that they had ever tried to build and rip it out from underneath them. He wanted them to hurt. He wanted them to feel the pain that he did. He wanted them to… suffer.
An eye for an eye.
Senseless wounds and scars that would never heal. Living in a constant purgatory that he could never find his way out of. It was like he was in a labyrinth of it all. Being haunted and tormented by the ghosts of his past. He wanted it to end. He just wanted it all to… stop. He would never get that until the second that he could bring down his wrath on the ones who did this to him.
Powerless. Helpless. Hopeless. They were all things that he had felt. Felt for months. Every single thing that he had to endure for years brought him here. The flames of Hell were igniting. He would be there to dance through it all. Reclaim something that he had lost. A piece that felt like he could never get back. There was a vacant void in him. He felt so devoid of… anything.
He wanted to feel again. Feel anything but what he was in now. He wanted those responsible to suffer. To get the retribution that he needed. It was a desire that he could not quench. A thirst that he could not control. Guren was ready for it.
War was coming, and he would be there.
He had his own vendetta to take care of. He didn’t care about the power struggle between the vampires and the humans. They could do whatever the Hell that they wanted. As long as if he got what he wanted in the end, none of that mattered to him. He would bring it all crashing and burning and rejoice in the freedom that he could grant himself. He wasn’t free. He’d never be free of the chains that bound him until the second that he did something about it.
It was time.
It was right around the corner as he felt that fury spike in him again. The bloodlust that coiled inside of him as he flipped the knife back to the grip and threw it. The knife embedded into the wall in the photo. Guren pushed himself up, a smile coming to his face as he walked over to it. Guren reached up, tracing his fingertips over the person in the photo. His smile got a bit fonder despite the anger that he felt.
He had lost it all four years ago.
And now, he was going to get everything back.
“I’m coming for you.” Guren whispered, “And Hell is coming with me.”
Chapter 2: Haunted Past
Summary:
Kureto and Guren continue on with their lives with the threat of an impending war as the ghosts of their pasts continue to haunt them.
Chapter Text
Kureto woke with a start. His heart was pounding against his chest as he pushed himself up. A cold sweat was on his body. That dream again. Kureto was met with nothing but his dark room. He was having that nightmare more frequently now. Damn near every single night. It was like he closed his eyes, and he saw him. Sometimes, it would be his smile. Sometimes, it would be the way that he had seen him last. Other times, it was… different. Kureto panted as he looked towards the window. The moonlight was coming through the blinds as he reached over to his nightstand for his pocket watch. He clicked it open, checking the time to see it was still the middle of the night.
Kureto found his gaze dropping to the lid. He kept a photo tucked away inside. A photo that he had taken himself. Violet eyes sparkled it in and a genuine smile was on Guren’s face. It was the last photo he had ever taken of him. It was one of his favorites if he was being honest. And he had a lot. Kureto had stumbled on an old polaroid camera, and he never knew that back then, it would have been the one thing that had given him something. All he had at the moment were memories. Faint reminders of the past in small photographs. Photographs that he shouldn’t even have. They were damning technically speaking. A part of him was glad that he did it now. In a way, it felt like he was carrying a piece of him with him at all times.
Kureto shut the watch, placing it back on his nightstand as he reached for the drawer. The Alpha opened it up, digging in it for a moment until he found the small box that he was looking for. Only one person knew of the existence of this. Well, not that he could tell anyone anymore. He was gone now. Kureto opened it up, looking at all the polaroid pictures that were inside. He picked up the pile, going through them one by one. All of these were moments that no one else was supposed to know about. Having photographic evidence was dangerous, but did it really matter anymore?
Honestly, Kureto might never get an answer to what really happened five years ago.
He flipped through the images. It felt strange to find comfort in photographs. The Hiragi were not taught to have emotional attachments. They weren’t supposed to care about anyone but themselves. Guren had been different. Kureto always hated the thought and the teaching. People mattered. What kind of leader would he be if he didn’t actually have a care for the people underneath him? Guren was an entirely different story. He always would be.
He had stopped on one. He placed down the rest of them, just looking at the one he was holding. Technically, it was on the more risqué side. He got to see a side of Guren that he didn’t show to others. A slight smile came to his face for a moment. He still remembered that night. It was a… good night.
Five Years Ago
“What is your obsession with that thing?” Kureto hummed in response to Guren’s question as he slipped a bit more of the unused photographic paper where it needed to go and clicked it shut. Guren had turned over onto his stomach, wearing only Kureto’s shirt with his arms folded underneath his head as the Omega looked over to him.
Kureto just smirked, turning it towards Guren and clicking the button. It flashed and Guren had hid his face. It wasn’t quick enough as the phot started to come out of the bottom. Guren popped his head back up, rolling his eyes for a moment before settling his head back down where it had been before.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one of these.” Kureto stated as he turned the photo over before he tossed it over into the light to let the light help it develop. “Besides,” He turned back to Guren with a smirk on his face as he moved to sit up. He moved, placing his knees on either side of Guren’s hips as the Omega followed him. Guren had ended up on his back, the shirt falling open around him and exposing his body to him as Kureto brought up the camera and hit the button again.
Guren had given him a slight smile as he shook his head, “I am not doing that.”
Kureto chuckled, grabbing the newest photo to add to his growing collection as he also threw that off by the other one. “You’re my perfect picture.” The Omega rolled his eyes, giving him an almost deadpan look.
Guren bit down on his lip, catching it between his teeth before releasing it. He had reached up, taking the camera from Kureto’s hands and setting it off to the side before wrapping his arms around the Alpha’s shoulders. “Or you can fuck me instead.”
Kureto smirked, letting himself lower down and drape over the Omega. “How about just one?” He mused, “And then I’ll give you whatever you want.”
Guren leaned up a bit, ghosting his lips over Kureto’s, “Not happening.”
Kureto knew that tone in his voice. Guren was just playing a game at this point. Kureto had learned everything that he could about reading Guren’s mannerisms. Listening to the sound of his voice. The way that his scent would spike at specific times. Guren was good at hiding what he was really thinking. Kureto got to see those walls come down. Right behind closed doors. Whenever it was just the two of them.
Guren would have smashed the camera to bits if he really hated it. Or he didn’t because he knew that Kureto had found some enjoyment in it. Honestly, Kureto didn’t know why. It wasn’t like he would let anyone see a thing about it. He kept everything safe. Tucked away for his eyes only. Guren knew that.
Kureto had connected their lips. It was just a brief, gentle kiss. Guren had pushed at his chest which had caused Kureto to sit back. The Omega held up the camera with a smirk on his face, “I will kill you if anyone ever sees any of these.”
“Not a soul.” Kureto murmured back as he took the camera back from Guren. The Alpha leaned back in, sealing his lips over Guren’s again.
What could he say?
Guren was his perfect picture.
Kureto had taken the photo that was currently in his hand not long after. There were a few that he had that were on the more… explicit side but this one was always the one that he could find himself looking at. In the photo, Guren was wearing Kureto’s button up shirt. Half of it was lowered on his body. Revealing most of his chest and his shoulder and arm where the shirt was caught at his elbow. It did cover him up. Going to his thigh and Guren’s other hand had made sure of it from where his hand had disappeared between his legs to push the fabric down. Kureto had been surprised that he had gotten Guren to take some of these.
Was this really all that he had left?
Just… memories?
Photographs that he had taken.
Kureto placed the polaroid image back down and grabbed for one of the ones where Guren’s smile was in full view. Just a random phot that he had taken. It was similar to the one in his watch. Guren was in his causal clothing, and it had been a day that they were just joking around. Having a day to themselves outside of sex and quick moments that they could never tell another soul about. This is how he wanted to see him. A smile on his face. Happy.
Not what was in his dreams.
Kureto wanted to see that smile again. Logically, he knew that would never happen. It just didn’t feel like Guren was truly gone. It almost felt as if he would know if he was. He didn’t know what he hated more. Not knowing what happened to him or fearing the idea that he would learn the truth and Guren had been dead for the last five years. Kureto wanted to seek out the truth. Maybe it would get these nightmares to finally stop. They had been on constant loop in his head for nearly four years. Before then, it was different. He still had nightmares of the probability of Guren’s death.
It felt so crushing. They were not supposed to have emotional attachments, and Kureto had let himself get attached. He had let Guren in and allowed his own emotions to take over. Now, it was like a void was left behind. His mind told him one thing, but his gut told him another. It felt like he had grown even colder over the last five years. Like the one good thing that he truly had in his life had been ripped away and the light had been turned off. Leaving him in nothing but a cold, dank darkness.
He dropped the photo down and closed the box. Watching as it resealed itself with the spell craft that he had engraved onto the box. Only two people could open this box. Though, anyone who was good at disenchanting would stand a chance of getting in. Kureto slipped it back into its rightful place and closed his nightstand before pushing himself up. The Alpha felt a lot calmer than he did whenever he had first woken up.
How long was he going to have the same reoccurring nightmare. He had exhausted every single resource that he had in trying to find any answers that he was looking for. Kureto might never get his answers. Understand what had happened. He exhaled sharply as he looked out the window and turned. He went over to his closet, grabbing out better clothes to wear. He switched out of his night clothing and pulled on the new set before he was heading out.
Kureto was practically on auto pilot as he gathered up what he needed from Raimeiki to his shoes before he was heading out. The Alpha locked his door behind him as he started down the steps and onto the path. He slipped his hands into his pockets, letting his mind venture of in his thoughts. How did Guren disappear without a trace. He had just seen him that night and by morning, he was gone. No note addressed to anyone. Nothing was out of place. Nothing was missing. Absolutely nothing to give an indication that Guren had even packed a bag and just left on his own accord.
Guren was smart. He was resourceful. He was a fighter. The Omega could theoretically make it on his own for a time, but even Kureto knew that being out in this world alone was not a good thing. Just one wrong move. Just one split second. That was all that it would take.
And then it was… over.
Kureto had tried not to think about it. The probability of Guren’s demise. How he died. Would he have fallen to a Four Horseman of John? A vampire? Kureto knew that the others searched the surrounding areas around Shibuya for any signs that Guren might have left. Nothing had ever been found. No one just fucking vanished without showing some sign of what happened to them. Someone had to have seen something. Guren would have left something to indicate to his friends that he was okay. It was bothering him more and more that he thought about it. There was nothing going on at the time that would make Kureto believe that Guren would just take off.
Kureto had walked through the quiet streets. He saw the patrolmen that were in the streets. He knew their routes perfectly. They didn’t pay him any mind other than to salute at him before heading off on their way. Kureto ignored them for the most part as he made his way to the place that he wanted to go. He had dug into his pocket, pulling out his keys and going for the one that he wanted. He put the key into the lock, unlocking it and pushing the door open. It had creaked from the amount of time that it had been since it had been opened.
Guren’s home.
The aroma of the home was long gone. It was left with a musk that showed that it had been a while since someone went in. The home was watched by Guren’s friends. Making sure that no one went inside. That no one could do a thing to it. Strangely, it was as if they were trying to make sure that everything was still there if Guren ever home. Kureto closed the door behind him before he was walking in and looking around the dark place.
Guren’s home was neat and orderly. Nothing had been changed. There was a layer of dust on everything, showing how long it had been since anyone had been inside. Kureto walked into the closest room that had been the living room. Everything was exactly how it was found the day that everyone realized that Guren had disappeared.
Really, he shouldn’t be here. This place was not going to give him any more answers than it had five years ago. He had been through everything. Looked for any signs. Anything to tell him if Guren had planned on leaving or if there was an indication of where he had gone. Kureto had walked through the living room and went off towards the hall. All the doors were closed. Which Guren typically would do. One would be Guren’s office and library where he would do things at home. Though, he always did everything in his office at the Moon Demon Company barracks. Kureto had even gone through everything there. It was the same thing. Just normal.
Kureto had went to the final door, opening it up and stepping in. The master bedroom. Guren’s bedroom. Kureto remembered it perfectly. He knew what was supposed to be where. The Alpha had been in this room to know. Kureto had walked further into the room. From the state of Guren’s house, he would have wondered back then if Guren had ever made it home. That was if he hadn’t known for sure that he had since they had arrived together that night. Kureto had been the last person to see Guren before he had disappeared.
Nothing seemed off that night. It was just a normal night. That’s what confused him so much. Kureto felt like he would have realized something was wrong if Guren had the intention of leaving. While he had no proof, he knew foul play was involved. Even then, why wasn’t there a sign of something. It was like Guren had been wiped off the face of the planet.
Kureto had turned, sitting down onto the made bed. The Alpha just looked around the room for a moment. He took in a deep breath before slowly releasing it.
“What happened to you, Guren?”
Guren was back to sitting on his bed. He had sat there for hours. Just mindlessly flipping that knife in his hand. Catching the grip, flipping it to the blade, and repeat. Technically, he could sleep if he wanted too. He didn’t require sleep anymore. The only time it was a necessity was whenever he was rendered unconscious. He had been awake for four years. Guren hated closing his eyes. Those images were always there. Always ready to taunt him. Guren never thought he would hate something that he once was.
The Omega lifted his gaze from the knife whenever his bedroom door opened. He scowled as he leaned his head back against the wall, hissing out, “I’m going to kill those guards.”
Ferid Bathory slipped into the room, grinning at him as he placed his hands on his hips and walked into the room. “Here you are.” Ferid purred, “I’ve been looking for you.”
“What are you doing in my house, Ferid?” Guren grumbled, flipping the knife in his hand again and catching the blade in his palm. “Haven’t you ever heard of privacy?”
“Oh, what is the fun in that?” The Seventh Progenitor mused. “Besides, we’re friends, aren’t we?” Guren rolled his eyes, flipping the knife again. He did notice that Ferid’s gaze moved to it. The Omega stayed quiet. “You’re heat is coming up, is it not?”
“Why does that matter?” Guren grumbled, stopping what he was doing as he tightened his hand on the grip of the knife.
“You know what happens.” Ferid stated as he crossed the room. Guren had kept track of him. “Just want to be cautious is all. Last time, you nearly tore me to shreds.”
“You got too close.” Guren shot back, “And that’s not my fault.” The Omega sighed, dropping down the knife on the bed as he shook his head, “What the Hell are you even doing here? And here I thought you only annoyed me on Tuesdays.”
“You wound me, Guren.” Ferid feigned a gasp as he clapped at his chest and made a face. “I just came to check in on you. That is what friends do.”
Guren scoffed, “What you like to do is stick your nose into places where it doesn’t belong.” The Omega pushed himself up and walked over to his closet. It just gave him something to do as he opened it up and looked over the clothing inside. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”
Ferid clicked his tongue and Guren could hear him moving behind him. While he didn’t turn to look at him, he knew where he had gone. The Omega reached up, moving the clothes until he had picked out one and threw it behind him. He knew Ferid had caught it from the fact that it didn’t make a sound of hitting anything.
“You’ll be going with us, won’t you?” Ferid questioned. “I’m sure you have all the gossip when it comes to our beautiful Queen Krul’s plans.”
Guren stopped, turning to look at the Seventh Progenitor. So, that was what he was here for. Information. “I could care less about the idea of a war.” Guren growled, “All of you can fight it all. I have my own business to take care of.”
“You will be just as much a part of it,” Ferid purred, tilting his head, “Considering that you are Queen Krul’s right hand.” The Seventh Progenitor’s gaze sharpened on him, “She’ll send you to have eyes and ears on everyone at all times.”
“So what.” Guren growled. He crossed the room, jerking his new set of clothes out of Ferid’s hands and tossing it onto the bed.
“I’m sure you will see them again.” Guren froze at Ferid’s statement as he found himself staring straight ahead.
“The Moon Demon Company is the most elite squad in the Vampire Extermination Unit.” Guren murmured, “That’s only realistic that they would be involved.”
“Oh how long that it’s been.” Ferid sang-songed. “What a reunion it would be. Don’t you think, Guren?”
“Shut up.” Guren hissed. “Don’t talk about them.”
“Always so protective.” Guren didn’t move as he heard Ferid approaching him. The Omega gritted his teeth as Ferid’s hands landed on his shoulders. “Or are you just trying to protective yourself from the pain of your suffering.” Guren didn’t move. Just clenching his jaw a bit more. “I honestly can’t wait to see the moment you start tearing the humans to shreds. After everything that happened to you, I just know that you are waiting for the moment.” Ferid’s hands moved, going down his arms as Guren balled his fists. “You got a second chance. A chance to bring your wrath down onto all of them. It will be glorious.”
Guren looked down at the clothing that he had dropped down. Gone was his Imperial Demon Army uniform and was replaced with this. No. Five years ago, he was stripped of his place in the Imperial Demon Army. He had no place there anymore.
Guren never would again.
Five Years Ago
Kureto had already left for the night, and Guren wasn’t quite tired enough yet to head to bed. The Omega walked into his bathroom, opening up the shower and turning it onto his preferred temperature. As the water was warming up, he had taken the moment to clean up his stripped off uniform off of his bedroom floor from where his clothing had landed. Guren scooped them up, throwing them off into his basket and getting the clothing that he would be putting on for bed.
The Omega walked back into his steamed-up bathroom, placing down the clothing onto the counter and grabbing a towel to make sure it was in arm’s reach for whenever he stepped out. He slipped in, closing the shower door behind him as he stepped into the water. The spray felt really good on his body for the tension of the day. Guren took a second to just enjoy it. He tilted his head back into the water to let the spray start to soak his hair. The Omega closed his eyes, letting the water slip down his body and clean away everything from the day.
Once his hair was wet, Guren opened his eyes and reached up for his shampoo. He gathered up enough in his hand and lathered it up in his hair. With the shampoo in, he leaned his head back into the water and cleaned it out. Without much of a thought, he had started humming to himself to a random tune as he went alone. He had found himself swaying under the water as he reached out for the conditioner to add it to his hair. Guren let the conditioner remain in his hair as he reached for his body wash and his clean washcloth. He soaped up the cloth before rubbing at his skin. Guren had spent a little extra time on his thighs to wash away the aftermath of his night with Kureto but made sure to get all of his body clean. As he returned back to his shoulders, he stopped for a second as a strange feeling hit his gut. The Omega found himself looking towards the shower door and just listened.
Guren had almost laughed it off, shrugging it away as he went back to what he was doing. Since his body was washed, he cleaned out the cloth and hung it up before rinsing the suds off of his body and returned back to finishing his hair.
Guren shut off the water once he was sure that all the soap was off of his body and out of his hair before sliding door back open. He had rung out his hair of the excess water while he was still standing there. The Omega grabbed the towel and started with his hair first before moving onto his body. He had pretty much gotten himself entirely toweled off before stepping out and going for his clothes. Guren slipped into the clothing and deposited his towel onto the drying rack.
That feeling hit him again as Guren stood there. He just felt on edge. Guren had to force that feeling away as he finished up in the bathroom. The Omega turned out the light and walked out. Guren wasn’t sure what was it that was starting to get to him now as he looked around his room. Nothing seemed off. He couldn’t hear anything. The Omega looked over to his windows. All of his blinds were closed and most of his curtains were closed by one. Guren walked over, checking the locks of his windows to make sure they were locked. With the last window, he closed the curtains completely and took a step back.
“Relax, Guren.” Guren murmured, “It’s all in your head.”
The Omega should probably head to bed and get some sleep, but there was still that itch of not quite being there yet. Guren headed out of his bedroom and down the hall. All the lights in his house were out. Considering the time and the fact that they had pretty much gone straight back to his bedroom tonight, they didn’t stop to turn anything on.
He had turned off, heading towards his kitchen. Guren had flipped on a small overhead light as he decided to pull out some tea to make. This would probably help to get him to get him tired enough to go to sleep. The Omega got the water together and got it started to heat it up. As he was waiting for the water, he had pulled out the tea leaves but stopped as that feeling hit him again.
Guren had found himself turning around, looking at his empty home. It was just him here. No one else. “Why are you being so jumpy?” Guren questioned to himself as he once again shrugged it off and returned back to what he was doing. He had gotten the cup of tea made up and everything put away that he was no longer using. He went to flip out the light, taking a step back as he took a sip from the still hot tea.
Guren completely froze the second that the sound of pouring hit his ears. Like liquid going into a glass. Guren let out a sharp exhale, slowly placing the tea down as he started to head in that direction. For a moment, he wondered if it was one of his friends. It was not uncommon for them to let themselves into his house. Normally, they would be making enough noise that he knew for sure before he ever saw them, or they’d announce themselves whenever stepping inside. He had lost count on how many times that they had to the point that he had given a key to all of them. This didn’t feel the same.
The Omega’s guard went up as he walked out of the kitchen and stepped into the hall. The noise was gone. Where the Hell did it come from? Guren was on edge immediately.
The Omega kept his footsteps quiet as he crept through the hall. He just listened. Listening for any sounds again. Was it all just in his head? What the Hell was he being so jumpy for? There was just a feeling in the pit of his gut. Guren moved down the hall a bit before he was stopping at the door that led to the living space. The door was open whenever he stepped in. He didn’t see anything at first whenever he stepped into the room.
Guren stopped completely in his tracks as a lamp suddenly flipped on and his head snapped in that direction. He inhaled sharply, feeling his stomach fall as he finally saw who was sitting there.
Only one word came to mind.
Fuck.
Guren ripped himself out of his thoughts as he pulled away from Ferid. The Seventh Progenitor was eyeing him as Guren turned away. “We don’t know for sure what Queen Krul’s decision is going to be.” Guren decided to go with.
“Oh, yes, you do.” Ferid mused.
Guren rolled his eyes, turning and sitting down on the bed as he shook his head. He really was just stuck in this purgatory. All he wanted at the moment was to bring everything crashing down. War was coming. He knew that. Even if Krul hadn’t specifically said it yet. It was just the waiting game until she finally said it.
“What are you really here for?” Guren questioned.
Ferid hummed, shrugging a bit, “Just checking in.”
“Well, I’m fine.” Guren snapped as he shot Ferid a look.
He had watched Ferid. The Seventh Progenitor reached down, grabbing ahold of the knife that he had once been holding. It was like Ferid was admiring it for a moment before turning a grin towards Guren. “I can’t wait to see what you do.”
Five years. It felt like it had been an eternity. An eternity of questions and wondering. None of them had been the same. They had looked for days. Countless days that Shinya had quickly lost count of. Despite all the signs pointing to the fact that Guren was most likely dead, Shinya still had this lingering feeling of hope inside of him. It didn’t feel right to just write him off like that. He hated not knowing. It felt like he had failed him. Shinya had failed to do the one thing that kept him alive.
Realistically, he knew the odds of Guren being alive were slim to none. There was no chance after all this time. But he still wanted to believe. He wanted to believe that Guren made it out of this place, and he was out there alive somewhere.
And they just needed to find him.
That he had been living a life away from all of this.
A life of freedom and unrestricted from the hold of the Hiragi family.
That felt like a dream.
Shinya lifted his glass to his lips as he leaned against his balcony, just looking out to the skyline. The alcohol burned at his throat. It felt like they had all missed something. That there was more, and he just didn’t know what it was. How did someone just disappear?
Guren never would have left without saying something to him. Shinya felt like he wouldn’t be able to rest until he had confirmation of something. Anything to tell him what really happened.
The probability of a war was looming over all of them. Things were about to get really messy. That was not a question of a what if. It was going to happen. Shinya knew that. War was coming. And Shinya had this feeling in the pit of his stomach. He turned his gaze back to the skyline once more as he finished off his glass and sat it down.
The answer was out there somewhere.
Chapter 3: Impending
Summary:
War looms over their heads as Kureto continues having nightmares. Meanwhile, Guren prepares himself for what is to come.
Chapter Text
Kureto couldn’t feel his body, but somehow, he could feel everything around him. His vision was foggy, but at the same time, he could see everything. More importantly, it was the eyes looking at him. The striking violet that he could always get lost in were staring at him with pure unfiltered… fear. Those eyes should never look at him like that. Kureto could hear his screams. His pleas. The way his hands kept moving to shove him away, but Kureto found that his arms were moving on their own to pin the other back down by his wrists.
Stop.
Stop.
Stop.
Don’t look at him like that.
He has never looked at him like that before. No matter what they had been through or what happened between them, the other had never given him that look. That was look of fear. A look of plea. Kureto kept looking into those eyes.
It was… Guren.
His scent. His eyes. His face. His voice.
Kureto couldn’t even tell what he was saying to him. His voice sounded so distorted in his ears. Like it was trying to reach him, but it couldn’t. What was he saying to him? Kureto’s gaze moved, and he could see them. Bruises. Lacerations. Cuts. They littered Guren’s skin. When did he get those? Why wasn’t he healing?
Kureto couldn’t stop what he was doing. All he could hear were those screams. Panicked and frightened. What was he saying to him? Kureto could see his hand moving, grabbing at Guren’s face and forcing it back down to the floor. Why was he doing this? It didn’t seem to matter how much he attempted to get his own body to stop, it just kept going.
Then, those eyes connected with his again, and he heard a very clear, “Kureto!”
Kureto jolted awake, blinking quickly as he felt the cold sweat on his body. The Alpha let out a sharp breath as he blinked away the images and slowly sat up. It felt like they were coming on more frequently. Sometimes, they were the same. Sometimes, they were different. Somehow, they were all this haze that he couldn’t get out of his head.
And they were all of… him.
Kureto took a moment to regulate his breathing and heartrate as he turned and placed his feet on the floor. Nightmares used to never affect him like this. Get him to the point that he couldn’t breathe properly. He ran a hand through his already sleep mused hair. It took him a few minutes, but Kureto had gotten himself completely calmed down. Would there ever be a time that he stopped having these nightmares? Something that happened in his dreams and there was nothing that Kureto could truly do to stop it. He didn’t have the slightest idea of why he had them. Just that he did.
Kureto reached over to his nightstand and grabbed for his pocket watch. He clicked the button so the lid would flip open, and he checked the time. At least, it was already time to start getting ready so he could head in for the day. They had a lot of things to worry about and specifically, they were keeping an eye on the vampires from the Kansai region. They were very likely to head straight into a full out war against the vampires, and they needed to be as ready as they possibly could be.
Kureto got out of bed and immediately headed into his bathroom so he could start up his day. He just had to put everything else out of his mind and keep going. He didn’t have the time at the moment to just stop and think. Kureto had to put more things into action.
Kureto didn’t know why he was having these dreams. Something felt so surreal about them. So vivid and yet so hazy. They were on a continuous loop every single night. Playing something every time, and he was left waking up in a cold sweat and this weight on his chest. It happened without fail and Kureto had no explanation for it. It could be Raimeiki’s doing. As much as his demon did seem to like him and could even be protective of him, Raimeiki was still a demon, and demons still had a goal at the end of the day. Guren just seemed to be the target of those right now. He had been having them for four years. For five years, he had been having nightmares of Guren’s disappearance.
Everything was left as questions. Up in the air and leaving him trying to find the answers to things that he might never get that for. Kureto had been searching for five years to try and figure out exactly what had happened. Kureto was trying to tell himself that the nightmares that he was having was trying to tell him that it was his fault somehow. Kureto could never get it out of his head. He could not explain any of this. No matter how much he tried, it just kept repeating over and over again.
Kureto grabbed his uniform for the day. Going through his typical morning routine as the night bled away. Kureto needed to focus now. They were about to go to war. His mind needed to be on that. It couldn’t be on anything else. Right now, it was that moment of waiting to know if the vampires were going to be doing the same thing. Kureto didn’t have a single doubt in his mind that they were about to go to war. It was just the matter of whenever it happened.
It didn’t take him long to get ready. Kureto walked out of the bathroom and grabbed Raimeiki from where he kept his sword at night and hooked it into the loops of his jacket and connected the buckle. With his sword in place, Kureto grabbed his pocket watch and slipped it back into his pocket.
Kureto needed to get his head on straight.
He was the Lieutenant General.
And right now, that’s exactly who he needed to be.
War.
Krul had been talking about the probability of it for a while. Now, it was just waiting for her to make the statement or not. He didn’t have a doubt in his mind that Krul was going to officially call for it. The Japanese Imperial Demon Army was getting stronger every single day. They were taking out more and more of the vampire dens and moving further into more territory. Once upon a time, he probably would have thought that to be a good thing. Now, he was just numb to the idea of it.
Revenge.
Vengeance.
Retribution.
Guren could finally complete the vow that he had made himself. He had been staying out of things. Staying within the shadows and not letting a single human know of his existence. Guren could not let himself think of the others. He had to completely cut out that part of his life. He could never have it back. Everything had changed four years ago.
Four years ago, Guren Ichinose died.
Four years ago, he was reborn.
It had been five years since his life had been forever altered. It had been five years since he had once seen the people he called family. If they saw him now, they would probably look at him as if he was some monster. He had turned into one. Guren had turned exactly into the thing that the Japanese Imperial Demon Army sought to destroy. But that was the same Army that led him down this path. Guren could not allow himself to still feel any of his human emotions. Guren would continue to have them until eventually he would not be able to feel them anymore. The story was the same for all of them. All vampires retained their human emotions at first before they would eventually dwindle and it would be left as something that once was. Guren wondered if that day would ever come for him. The day that he would not have to think of the tragic and traumatizing road that he came down to come here. He could have let himself die that night. That he didn’t take Krul’s offer and just let himself bleed out and never had to live with that pain again. It wouldn’t have been the first time he had thought about it. The idea of embracing death. Then, he was met with another choice. A choice that he never would have made otherwise.
Guren had his chance.
He was going to bring the entirety of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army crashing down and watch them burn.
Sure, there were a few exceptions that he wanted to make. Absolutely. But he couldn’t let anything get in his way. He could not allow anything to step into his path and stop him from getting to where he needed to go. Nothing was going to stop him now.
Five years.
Five years of wanting revenge.
Five years of imagining every single way possible to kill those who had made him suffer.
It wouldn’t matter what he had to do to get there. He was going to get what he wanted in the end. No matter what he had to do to get there. A fire was igniting inside of him. The embers of a starting flame quickly started to burn to life, and it was going to destroy everything in its path before it would stop.
Guren had to ignore this thought that was always lurking into the back of his mind. The longing. The yearning. The desires. All of them had to be erased. That was never going to be a possibility now, and Guren could not allow himself to feel anything else about it. Guren had locked away that idea a long time ago. He had already lost everything. Guren would not allow that to happen again or put a risk onto anything.
His heat would be coming very quickly. It had been a surprise to him to learn that vampires still went through that. Despite their bodies being frozen in time – and especially after they had drank human blood to fully set in the Vampire Virus – their bodies still continued on with their secondary genders. He was told that it was possibly connected to the supernatural roots of secondary genders and why the Vampire Virus did not affect it. A part of him wished that it didn’t. The first time that he had gone into heat since becoming a vampire had freaked him out. He hadn’t been expecting it to happen. It had been explained to him, but it didn’t make him feel any better. There was a part of him that just wished that side of him would cease to exist.
Right now, he had to place the thoughts of vengeance and war out of his mind and focus on the fact that he was about to go through a heat. Guren could already feel some of the symptoms starting up. Just normal general ones. Guren could ignore them for the most part, but it was definitely making him snappier than usual. The Omega was going to end up holing himself up in his home for those days. Guren didn’t want to have to deal with anyone during that time. It was also one of the most vulnerable times for him now. It was a time when he was consumed in memories, and he didn’t even want to think about those.
Guren was setting everything up, making sure that every single guard that was supposed to be watching his home would make sure that no one entered the home. Even if they were of Progenitor status. It was the one time that even the guards wouldn’t dare mess with him or let any of the Progenitors through. Guren had gotten a bit notorious for his reactions to what would happen if people came near him during that time. Only three people could get near him during that time without risking being dismembered by him.
Within a few days, Guren was going to end up right within that state that he wouldn’t want to be in but still held no choice. Common medications for the symptoms no longer worked on him. The Vampire Virus just did not allow for it, and the vampires had never created anything to help with it since they just didn’t care for such a thing. Which was annoying. One of the biggest shocks to him was to learn that vampires still actively partook in companionship with other vampires because of it. Guren had learned more about vampires in the last four years than he ever did during his time as a human. It was just another thing that vampires seemed to enjoy aside from their desire for blood.
Guren was sitting on the couch within his room as he kept his elongated nails into his palm to keep the wound on his palm open as he pour blood into the vial in front of him. The Omega was careful with it as he watched the vial fill up, tilted his hand away to keep the blood from hitting his carpet, and closed that one up. He slipped it into the vial rack and pulled the next empty vial out and repeated the process. It was the final one out of the ones that were there. Once the final one was filled, he pulled his bloodied nails out of his palm and closed up the vial before slipping that into the rack.
Guren moved to clean the blood up off of his palm, wrist, fingers, and nails as he watched the wound heal with exceptional speed. His gaze moved back towards the vials as the metallic, iron smell of the blood hit his nose. His blood smelled different now. He knew it was because the code of his DNA had changed since then. It was no longer human. It was no longer just the genetic code that came from both of his parents. It was one that now had his sire mixed in with the Vampire Virus that took over the RNA strands within his DNA. It was not the same blood that it was four to five years ago.
Guren curled his fingers as he could remember it. Laying in a pool of his own blood. Choking and drowning within the blood in his throat as his body desperately tried to cling to life. It still came back so vividly. No matter what Guren tried to think or do to make it go away. It just never worked. Guren would always remember that night.
The night that he died.
The night that he was reborn into this.
Guren stood up quickly, trying to force the memory out of his mind as he grabbed the vial rack and moved to place it across the room. He would make sure that it would get where it needed to go. As he placed it down, Guren felt those same thoughts and memories rushing back as he closed his eyes. The feel of his blood on his skin. The pain that his body had been in. How it felt like he had entirely lost the grasp of what little bit that he still had left.
“Get off of me!”
“Don’t do this.”
“Stop.”
Guren opened his eyes as he placed a hand onto his stomach and curled his fingers. He was going to get his revenge. It didn’t matter if he ended up dying. He was going to get it. Guren felt that numbness taking over again. The bloodlust to go after the ones responsible.
Guren felt the anger flood into him as he blinked a few times to make everything go away. It was all coming back to the forefront of his mind the more that he thought of this impending the war. The more that he had the idea of being able to bring down his wrath onto everyone he could get his hands onto. No one stopped it. All the pain and suffering that he had gone through, and not a single person tried to stop it. Which meant, they would face it too.
Ever since the day he was born and generations before him, the Ichinose clan had faced nothing but humiliation, degradation, and misery. Just because of his name, they thought that they could do whatever they wanted to him. Guren had spent years facing endless ridicule and abuse and he was done. The final straw had happened, and Guren could no longer contain it. It had finally happened to him. He had broken. He had snapped. Guren was going to make them feel exactly the same that they had made him feel.
Guren’s attention was drawn whenever he heard his bedroom door open up and he dropped his hand as the Thirteenth Progenitor, Crowley Eusford had stepped into the room. The Omega turned slightly, leaning against his dresser as Crowley closed the door behind him. “So, you finally arrived from Nagoya.” Guren murmured. “It’s about damn time.”
“I came as soon as I could.” Crowley replied as he walked over to him, “The humans look like they are about to turn into a serious problem.”
“Probably.” Guren stated as he turned completely, leaning back against the surface of the wood as he looked away. “Humans will do anything to get what they want. Those ones… They are power hungry and want to control everything.”
“I heard of the probability that we’re about to go to war with them.” Crowley said back.
“Yeah.” Guren said as he heard Crowley approaching him. The Omega lifted his gaze the second that Crowley stopped in front of him. “We’ll just have to see what happens.”
“It sure is about to get interesting.” Crowley mused, “Nothing has really been interesting in a while.”
Crowley belonged to Ferid’s faction. Guren knew the secret behind him. Even though he was only ranked as a Thirteenth Progenitor, Crowley should be at least a Seventh like Ferid or an Eighth like Guren. According to their laws, Crowley and Ferid both should have been imprisoned and locked away since Ferid had used the blood of another vampire to turn Crowley. It had been information shared with him directly from Crowley and later confirmed by Ferid. As far as he was aware, he was the only one that he knew.
“I suppose it has been boring recently,” Guren murmured as he tilted his head and smiled, “So, you came to see me?”
“I have to admit,” Crowley stated as he leaned in, placing his hands on either side of Guren on the top of the wood, “I’m interested to see what happens if it is decided if we go to war.” Crowley didn’t have to say it. Guren knew what he was referring to. “Are you going to come back to Nagoya soon?” Guren was able to catch his scent. The Alpha pheromones that laced within them.
“Maybe.” Guren replied as he hummed, “It’s been a while since I’ve been to Aichi.” Guren sighed as he looked away and shook his head, “It’s time for me to finally step out of the shadows again.”
“You’re not actually ready for this, are you?” Crowley questioned and that brought the Omega’s attention back to him.
Guren’s gaze connected with crimson eyes as the Omega felt a smile tug on his face. “I’m more than ready.”
“It means you’ll see them again.” Crowley stated.
“I’m not worried about it.” Guren replied quickly before he even let himself have the chance to think. Thinking for him was dangerous. The Omega lowered his gaze once more as they did come to mind. “They’ve managed this long without me.”
“You can’t even bring yourself to see them.” Crowley murmured and Guren stilled as he curled his fingers hard into the wood. “I’ve come to know you very well, Guren. It’s not common for a vampire and particularly a Progenitor to desire to see a human again without wanting to kill them.”
“They are my family.” Guren had no right to call himself their family anymore. Not after all of this. “Were.” Guren added in as he let his voice fall softer. “They are the Moon Demon Company. I would be more surprised if they weren’t involved.”
“You might run into him again.” Crowley added in.
Guren’s grip tightened, and he felt his hand right go through the wood. It made him paralyze in place as his gaze fell down to the splintered wood. It had caused Crowley to back away from him as Guren turned a sharp glance towards Crowley. “Don’t talk about him.” Guren growled, “I don’t want to talk about him.” The Omega moved, side stepping around Crowley as he walked further into his room.
Crowley wolf whistled behind him as Guren turned back towards him as he saw the amused smile on the Alpha’s face. “You’re definitely hitting that time.”
“Shut up.” Guren shot back with no true venom in his voice. “Why the hell are you even bringing him up?”
“No reason,” Crowley replied with a shrug as he started forward, “But it’s not like I wouldn’t enjoy watching it all go down.” Guren kept watching him as Crowley moved to sit down onto his bed. The Thirteenth Progenitor had that same smirk on his face the whole time. “But I know you.”
“You do?” Guren mused as he tilted his head and his smile grew a bit bigger, “You really think that?”
“I know enough.” Crowley stated. Crowley’s gaze moved over to the vial rack as he said, “Preparing for the week.”
“Yeah.” Guren replied as he turned to start cleaning up everything else and to get it put away. “I don’t want anyone coming in and out and it’s better to just be prepared.”
“You sure have come overly protective of him.” Crowley said back to him. “Ever since that night.”
Guren stopped what he was doing as he dropped the cloth that he had used to clean his palm up with into the basket. “Does it matter?”
“You’re the one person here who is willing to tear apart any of the vampires who go near any of the humans.” Crowley replied, “And yet… You hate humanity more than any of us.”
“I have my reasons,” Guren murmured as he diverted his gaze, “The children were innocent.” The Omega shook his head as he added in, “Why are you bringing all of this up? Usually Ferid is the one annoying me with this.”
“I’m asking you if you’re okay.” Crowley stated and Guren turned his head to look at him again. “The time you’ve been waiting for is finally here. I’m sure you’ve got a lot on your mind.”
“What are you?” Guren questioned as he reached up and started to undo the buttons of his jacket, “My therapist?” The Omega got all the buttons apart and pulled it off and threw it off to the side as he looked back to Crowley. The Alpha was watching him in silence. His gaze was a bit softer as Guren started across the room towards him. “I don’t need a therapist; I need to rip them all to shreds.”
Crowley laughed as he tilted his head back to look at him as he said, “I’m sure you will.” He paused for a second as he hummed, “But you also need a therapist.”
“Do you see a therapist among the vampires?” Guren questioned, “Vampires don’t really have the care for something like that.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Crowley replied, “But you were a hot mess whenever you got here.”
Guren scoffed as he rolled his eyes, “Shut up.” Guren hummed again as he straightened his back, “I need to get these to where they need to go.”
The Omega turned from where he was standing, going over to the vial rack and picked it up just as he heard Crowley said, “I’ve never seen someone quite like you.” Guren paused what he was doing as Crowley continued, “Even though you hate humans… You still have a soft spot for them.”
Guren curled his fingers around the vial rack as he murmured, “I’ll be right back.” With that, he quickly moved to walk out of the room. Guren closed the door behind him as he stared down at the vials of blood. It didn’t matter what happened, he was going to take every single measure that he could to get where he wanted.
And he was not going to stop until he got there.
War was imminent. Kureto knew that. The more soldiers they could get on the field, the better. It wasn’t often that he showed his face at the Moon Demon Company barracks. The Moon Demon Company was now underneath the leadership of Shinya. It had been the best choice to make and surely would have been the choice that Guren would have had to make if he needed to pick someone to take his place. It was something that should never have happened. But it was the best way to keep the organization moving the best that it could be. It wasn’t the same after Guren’s disappearance. Even if his name wasn’t spoken, the effect of his disappearance still showed. Even those who didn’t know who he was, or his name seemed to know that it wasn’t right.
The Moon Demon Company was their most elite unit. The Vampire Extermination Unit’s best organization. It was a prestigious unit among them. Only the best of the best were considered for the Moon Demon Company. Even now, the organization was ran the way that Guren would have ran it. It still followed his rules. Shinya had made sure of that. Still, Guren should have been the one running it to this day.
Kureto had kept himself concealed as he stood in the upper parts of the auditorium and looked down at the training that was currently going. There was a reason that he was here. His gaze had immediately landed on the kid in question. Yuuichirou Hyakuya.
Hyakuya.
Like the Hyakuya Sect or better known as The Brotherhood of a Thousand Nights.
Yuuichirou wasn’t the only one who held that name. There were more of them, but none of them were quite like this kid. Every time that Kureto so much as watched him, he couldn’t help but see Guren in him. There was just something about him. They had questioned the kid time and time again and he didn’t give them anything. He couldn’t answer anything about the name Hyakuya or the Hyakuya Sect. He knew nothing. And yet, he somehow found his way here. He wouldn’t give an answer to how he had found his way to the Japanese Imperial Demon Army or how he ended up here. Only saying that he was looking for Shinya. In a dazed, traumatized state and uttering that name. Shinya had been questioned after that, but it was determined that he really didn’t know who these kids were or why his name was the one that was said.
There was just an aura of mystery surrounding how Yuuichirou Hyakuya came to be here. The only knowledge they had was that he and the other children had somehow managed to escape Sanguinem. The underground vampire Capital of Japan. A place that children should never be able to escape from. Kureto had only spoken to him a couple of times, but the kid had completely gone silent and wouldn’t say a word to him. It was determined that it would be best if Shinya worked with him. Shinya had barely managed to make any headway with his work with Yuuichirou. It was as if the kid trusted no one.
Kureto felt as if this kid had more information to offer. More to him that he just wasn’t saying. They just couldn’t get him to talk. But he was more than willing to do whatever it took to train to kill vampires, so Kureto was feeding into that. That’s what he needed done. He needed more soldiers out there. A human with an extreme desire for revenge against vampires? Perfect.
Kureto hadn’t been standing there long before he heard, “Thought I would find you up here.” It was Shinya.
Kureto hummed as he kept his gaze on the teenager. “He’s still not talking?”
“We’ve been trying for four years.” Shinya replied, “He’s not going to budge any time soon but maybe getting him with a Squad and other people outside of the other kids will get him to open up more.”
“He can get himself killed out there.” Kureto stated, “That kind of thirst for revenge can do that.”
“It’s all he has to live for.” Shinya said back, “At least, in his mind.” Shinya sighed as he leaned against the rail next to him. “We should try to see if he can go for a Black Demon Series.”
“You think he can handle it?” Kureto questioned, “I won’t turn down any prospects for that, but the probability that the kid will die is high.”
“I have a feeling about this one.” Shinya replied, “And he’s been demanding it ever since he found out about Cursed Gear.”
Kureto chuckled as he kept watching the boy. He was currently in a fight with another teenager. Shihou Kimizuki. Those two just always seemed to be fighting from what Kureto could tell. “He’ll survive.” Kureto stated.
“Says the guy who just asked if I was sure he could handle it.” Shinya retorted.
“He can.” Kureto replied despite how much it did go against what he just said. The more he watched, the more that he knew. “Get it done quickly. We need to get more Squads together. We’re going to be having another meeting soon. Vampires are starting to move to Kyoto which means something big is happening there.”
“Oh?” Shinya questioned.
“Progenitors from all over Japan have headed there.” Kureto stated, “If the vampire Progenitors are moving… It’s only about time before they move to attack us. We have to be prepared for it.” Kureto pushed off of the rail as he started to walk away as he said, “Get them ready. Immediately. I need as many as possible.”
It didn’t matter about what happened from here on out.
Kureto was going to bring everything crumbling down.
And nothing could stop him.
HibiscusAndrew on Chapter 1 Sat 05 Oct 2024 09:42PM UTC
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YahooManager on Chapter 1 Sun 06 Oct 2024 06:18AM UTC
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PhoenixIchinose on Chapter 1 Sun 06 Oct 2024 05:39PM UTC
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HibiscusAndrew on Chapter 2 Sun 06 Oct 2024 07:15PM UTC
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