Vampire Princess Miyu Fan Fiction ❯ When Friends are True-A Vampire Miyu Saga ❯ Offerings of Comfort and Words of Terror ( Chapter 20 )

This chapter was completed on September 11, 2001, the day that the United States of America stood still.

Please, before continuing, take a moment to mourn the lives lost in New York and Washington. My prayers are with them. I hope yours are as well.

Chapter Twenty

Offerings of Comfort and Words of Terror

"And I don't want the world to see me

'cause I don't think that they'd understand

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am"

(Goo-Goo Dolls, Iris)

It seemed that everyone knew that until Cait Sith made a move, there was nothing to do but wait, but it was an extremely aggravating wait. Most of the time, Western Shinma and Chinese Shinma ended up pacing around the Fifth Layer, looking so bored that it might have been better if something did happen. Even Miyu was beginning to feel anxious. There was a madman running loose on her territory possessing the capability to do even worse damage, and yet Mori did not want them to do anything about it, not yet anyway.

For the majority of the day, some of the Chinese Shinma provided their own means of entertainment, although it was not too much success. Kia and Tacha tried their hands at word games and Ryuko and Kitsune got into furious battles of "Rock, Paper Scissors", which sometimes got intense since they ended up making up an entire library of different hand symbols. And, by the sound of it, most of the victories went to Ryuko. There was even a time, close to late afternoon, when Yoshi burst out from the underbrush of the forest and broke into a little dance, singing the whole time. The song was in English, but Miyu knew enough from years of school to make out the general lyrics. "Do you suffer from long-term memory loss…"

"That's not funny, Yoshi." Kia called to him from the tree she was in.

"Sure it is!" Yoshi came back, throwing his hands into the air. "And tomorrow we'll all be laughing!"

Miyu could not help but to laugh now. Leave it up to Yoshi to bring some sunlight through the gloom. But the words made her think. Memory loss. She looked back down at Larva, who was still asleep on her lap. That could be the only explanation of why he acted the way he had. The Western Shinma were the cause of it, too. But other than that, what was there for her to go on? It was a type of magic that she knew little of, but she knew enough to understand that tampering with any sort of undereducated magic could be dangerous, even deadly. Sorrow and pain began to build in her head as she looked upon Larva's sleeping form. She had to get up and clear her mind. Besides, her legs were falling asleep. Gently, she laid Larva's head down onto the mossy ground, stood up and began to walk away from the area.

Yoshi was the only one who had seen her leave. For the first time in days, Miyu was alone. This could be his chance. With a quick glance around to make sure no one else was looking, he followed her.

Miyu did not know how long she walked for, but she only stopped walking when she reached the cliff. It must have been one of the furthest corners of the Fifth Layer. The forest was still thick all around and the huge, ancient trees continued to grow all the way down the rocky earth, but it was still a hundred-foot drop straight down that allowed her to look out upon the entire Japanese Shinma Realm. Her Realm. Her world. She had never seen anything so beautiful. For the first time she Awoke, Miyu felt a strange stirring inside of her, within her blood that she was not able to explain, but she had an idea that it was tied to the sight of this world, so alien yet again so familiar, laid out before her. And the silence…for once, Miyu found the complete silence comforting, and welcomed it. She needed to think.

"Hey."

Miyu turned to the voice calling from behind. Yoshi was standing among the trees, looking for once serious and maybe even a little solemn. "I saw you leave. Is there…something wrong?" Miyu smiled, touched by his concern.

"No Yoshi, nothing's wrong. But you, on the other hand…is there anything bothering you?"

Was it a trick of the light, or was Yoshi actually blushing? "N-no, nothing's wrong. Like I said, you left suddenly, and I thought that maybe there was something bothering you."

"No. I just…need to think." She sat down on a fallen tree near the edge of the cliff.

"Oh. Do you want me to leave you alone, then?"

"No, it's all right. I don't mind." Yoshi nodded. After taking a moment to collect himself, he was finally able to force himself to walk over to the fallen tree Miyu was sitting on and take a seat beside her. He shifted his wings uneasily and sat with his legs folded before him, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. It was suddenly very difficult to act casual and those first few moments of silence were uncomfortable and awkward. It was Yoshi who broke the silence first. "What are you thinking about?" He asked.

Miyu took a moment to reflect on what it really was she had been thinking about, only to have herself realize that she did not know. For the past couple of hours her thoughts had been nothing more than a jumble of different musing inside her head that she never really put any real consideration into. "Oh…just…everything that been happening the last few days. Wishing for life to be simple again, I guess. Wondering when the Western Shinma will leave us alone and go back to where ever they came from."

"Mori says that they won't be here for too much longer. As soon as we can get this little problem soothed out they should leave." There was another long pause, but this time for good cause. Yoshi could not read mind, but he had a pretty good guess of what Miyu was thinking about right then. After fighting with himself for a few moments, he finally asked, carefully, "What will you do if Larva goes back with them?" Yoshi cringed almost violently once those words left his lips, and for that moment he hated himself. He squeezed his red eyes shut. What a terrible thing to say! Here this poor girl was, in the middle of a war that she did not belong in, who had no reason to be attacked in the first place and on the brink of loosing her best friend, and he had to say something like that! He excepted her to turn around and slap him, wanted her to slap him…but the blow never came. Tentatively, he pried on eye open to look at her.

To his surprise, Miyu did not even look upset. In fact, it looked as if she was actually pondering the question. Finally she spoke, and Yoshi released the breath he was holding.

"I…don't know."

What happened next happened so fast that Miyu could not even remember it happening at all. One moment, she was sitting on the log of a fallen tree, a few feet away from Yoshi, who was now one of her good friends, to being in Yoshi's arms as the Chinese Shinma held her tightly against him.

Once she realized what was happening, she did not know how to respond. No other man except for Larva had ever held her in this manner before. So gentle… The fur on Yoshi's arms was surprisingly soft and when she was this close to him, the smell of China washed over her. China smelt of a deep, ancient musk and lost misty mountains after a refreshing rainstorm and of incense that the Buddha monks used in their temples. The scent was well set in and told of the Chinese Shinma's strong bond with his homeland.

"I-if you want," he began shakily. "I mean, if he does leave, you can come stay with us. My friends and I…we can take care of you. And back at home, no one will care about where you came from or who you are…not like them, at least."

It took another few heartbeats for Miyu's mind to process what he was saying. When it finally did, sadness washed over her. Oh, Yoshi… She herself had very little experience with love, especially with "crushes," but had been dealing with human emotions long enough to know one when she saw one. And poor Yoshi… Even though Miyu was still hurt from all the recent events, even though she knew of the possibility of him leaving, her heart still remained loyal to Larva. It would probably be that way for a long time. She did not want to hurt Yoshi - for as weird and perverted as he was sometimes, he was still a sweet guy - but she knew that there was also no way to avoid it.

"Yoshi, I…" She began slowly, carefully thinking about what she was going to say to make it as painless as possible. "Thank you, Yoshi. If it does happen, I'll…I'll think about it." She felt Yoshi nod against her shoulder. Carefully she pulled away from him and looked at him. His crimson eyes were sad but nonetheless understanding. "I have to go see Mori about something." She said, looking away. "I'll see you later." Before she stood up she pecked him gently on the cheek before disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

After a few moments Yoshi rose to his feet too, looking out on the spot Miyu had disappeared to. He felt sad by her gentle rejection, maybe even a little hurt, but not crushed. And it was not the rejection itself that hurt the most; it was Miyu's hope for the impossible. Unless by some miracle, it was almost certain that Larva would leave with the other Western Shinma. His heart ached for her. She was strong, there was no doubt about that, but who knew what would happen if he left.

Someone clasped a hand on his shoulder and when he looked behind him he saw all of his friends standing there, Yoto on one side and Kia on the other. "How much did you guys hear?" He asked.

"Nearly the whole thing." Tacha answered. "I'm sorry, Yoshi."

Yoshi shrugged, trying to mask his true feelings. "Eh. Whaddya gonna do?" He said. "I mean, it's her decision and I have no place to try to mess with it."

To his right, his sister nodded, then also moved to put her hand on his shoulder. "Good call, Yosh. You know how strong the bond between her vampire and her Shimobe are. But still…can't blame you for trying. I mean, that takes a lot of guts, ya know."

Once again, Yoshi nodded, trying to hide his sadness. "Hey, I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. What do you say we go try to find something to eat?" He turned around and walked back through the small crowd of Chinese Shinma, torn between mild heartbreak and a now raging two-day old hunger.

* * *

From the shadows where he watched, Larva grimaced for two reasons; one from the sharp pain that still burned in his side and the second from seeing the scene that lay before him. While part of him wondered why Miyu turned down the opportunity to be with someone who obviously cared for her, the other half became almost insanely jealous when he saw the Chinese Shinma holding her. The sight made the void in his mind quiver and pulse painfully, trying to remember something that did not exist. The pain in his mind only made the scar in his side hurt even more.

The only reason why he had gotten up was so he could work out the cramps in his legs and back. But now he was beginning to wish that he had stayed put. When he had seen that Chinese Shinma holding Miyu, a part of him yearned deeply to do the same thing.

* * *

"Sandra Bullic."

"Bruce Camble."

"Kevin Smith."

"'Camble' starts with a 'C', Kia."

"Damn. Welp, I'm out."

"What do you mean, you're out? We only started five minutes ago!"

"But we've been playing this fucking game for the last three hours! There are only so many times you can name off every single damn actor whose name ver appeared on some sort of movie reel! Christ, I'm bored!" Kia grumped as she covered up her face with her arms.

"Well, we could always try naming all the little people who make the movies possible." Kitsune suggested from one of the tree's lower branches.

"Kitsune, if you can tell me the name of one key grip or best boy from any movie, I would be very impressed." Tacha said as she picked apart a leaf with her claws.

There was a brief period of silence. "Does anyone have any other ideas?" The fox-girl inquired.

"We could name countries or states." Tacha suggested.

Kia shook her head. "Nah. After playing that game for only ten minutes I have come to the rational conclusion that half of the countries and states of the human world all begin and end with the letter 'a'. What else do we got?"

"Rock-Paper-Scissors?" Kitsune asked hopefully.

"Not if it's any of that archive-crap that you and Ryuko do." Tacha retorted. "Traditional only."

"Damn. But Archive-RPS is so much fun!"

"And it takes about five minutes per round to decipher each meaning to determine who's the winner. It's a waste of time."

"And sitting here when we could be looking for that bloody dagger isn't?" Kitsune asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's an hour before sundown. I ain't goin' in there in the dark! I mean, it's not as bad as the Nightwalker's Forest, but who know what sort of things are wondering around out there." Kia paused for a moment, looking puzzled. "Speaking of which, where did Ryuko go? We got to talk to the ring-leader of the Western Shinma about what it was they did to Larva and find out if there is any way to reverse it."

"I thought that you already knew that it was Bleeding Amnesia." Tacha said.

"We did, we just don't know how to reverse it. If it can be reversed, that is. Also, it might be good to scare some sense into them to make sure that they never try to pull anything like this again."

"And who says that we have to tell you anything?" Came a voice from below, under the same tree that the three Chinese Shinma were in. At the same time they all looked down to see who it was talking. Then they all frowned at the same time when they saw it was Carlua. "You certainly don't have the right to after treating us the way you did!"

The Chinese Shinma's eyes flickered to one another's, each with the "doesn't-she-know-when-to-quit" look in them. "After treating you like how? Like the spoiled brat that you are?" Carlua's face grew red. Ignoring her visible anger, the Chinese Shinma swung themselves down from the trees and landed in front of Carlua. Kitsune was no taller than she was, but Kia and Tacha towered head and shoulders over the blonde girl.

"Something tells me that you don't have much of a choice." Tacha said, glaring down at Carlua. "You were brought here on Mori's orders to answer any questions that she may ask."

"What the wolf asked." Carlua's answer was bitter and cold. "Not what you asked."

"Listen, girl." Kia's eyes and voice became dark and ominous. "You'll damn answer what we ask of you, and you'll take us to your little team of assholes' leader. If not, I'm considering that maybe a good spanking will set you straight."

"Will you all stop treating me like a child!" Carlua yelled out in frustration.

Tacha and Kia gave her their hardest stares. "We'll stop treating you like a child as soon as you stop acting like one." Kia said in a tone sharp and harsh as broken glass. Carlua's face went bright red then flushed again as her mouth worked but no words came out. "You still have a lot to learn before you can grow your hair, girl. One of those lessons to be learned is respect for your peers and elders, no matter what Clan they may be from." The two Chinese Shinma women did not break their hard stares. Finally her eyes filled with tears and she turned away from them and stalked into the forest.

"Do you think that you guys were a little hard on her?" Kitsune asked from her tree branch.

"Kitsune, under these conditions it's like being mouthed off to by a freshman when you're the senior. If they are not properly put into their place with a little bit of harshness thrown in, then they'll never learn before it can get them into real trouble. Can you imagine what would happen if she took that type of attitude with Mori?"

Kitsune grimaced as if an unpleasant thought entered her mind. "Good point. Actually, I think that it might be funny."

The other two girls frowned up at her and Kitsune shrugged in question. "Anyway," Kia said, turning back to Tacha. "I'd better look for Ryuko. We're running out of time. We'll look for the dagger in the morning. That thing's nothing but condensed evil energy. It shouldn't take too long to track down."

* * *

"Oi."

Pazusu turned to the sudden sound, his train of thought broken. In front of him stood two of the Chinese Shinma, the bird-girl and the smaller wolf-boy. Both of them had their arms crossed in front of their chests with stone-cold looks of no nonsense on their faces. "I think we need to talk."

"About what?" Pazusu said coldly. "I've already told you everything that we know."

"Not about that." Ryuko bit out. "About a little something that we think you might have done to Miyu's man-servant a little while back. In our world, it's called Akmarin'rakni, roughly translated to 'Bleeding Amnesia.'"

"The…" Carlua began.

"Don't try to say it." Kia advised. "Your tongue won't twist that way. But you know of it by another name. The Mashujutsu. The Dark Exorcism."

Even though Pazusu kept his face a mask of cool composure, the inside of his head was spinning from the shock of their realization. "How…"

"We're not stupid, ya know." Kia said as she and the Wolfin squatted on their heels so they could look at the Western Shinma face-to-face. "I mean, you're looking at both a witch and a Puppet Master in training. Between the two of us, we pretty much knew all of the symptoms."

"Are you so sure about that?" Carlua asked snidely. It was obvious that she was hiding today's earlier humiliation with rudeness. "How do you know what it really is? And how are you so certain that we were the ones that did it?" Pazusu placed a hand on her shoulder for two reasons that Kia could think; one was to make sure that she did not say anything to make either of the Chinese Shinma angry (again), and to make sure that she did not say too much. It was almost too late for either.

Ryuko cleared his throat. "Like I said, we're not stupid. The Mashujutsu, Akmarin'rakni, the Dark Exorcism, Bleeding Amnesia, take your pick. Basically, it is the expulsion of blood from one's body to be replaced by the blood of a blood relative, which is performed through the chanting of a spell composed of the blackest magic. It can also be used for memory manipulation. However, it is a very dangerous procedure. Only the most professional of the users of magic use it, and even then most of the results are failures. To be preformed in the first place, the individual who is to receive the exorcism must be killed. But if it fails, it not only kills the second member of the party, but it also results in the destruction of both souls. It also leaves the person who is reciting the spell mentally crippled. Betcha didn't know that." By the looks on the Western Shinma's faces, they did not.

"Very good." Pazusu spoke slowly, his face pale. "Now, how did you know…?"

"Well, at first it was just kind of a hunch. You just confirmed it." Kia said with a shrug. "You, sir, seem to be fairly good with word-magic. A sorcerer, as you would be called in our world. Much better than your companions. The girl is good, but she is far too young to know a spell of that magnitude. And you…" She swing her glare over to Carlua, who flinched under it. "I'm still not sure how you fit into this. Blood relative, no doubt, but how? Sister…?"

Carlua swallowed. "Cousin."

"Did you know the risks involved?"

"Yes."

"And you still went through with it?"

The blonde both flushed and went red in the cheeks at the same time. The combination made her look like some very odd cherub. It was if she was angry with Kia's question, but took pride in the answer. "Because I am in love with him!"

Both Chinese Shinma sat with blank, unreadable looks on their faces for about a minute. Then Kia blinked. "That's disgusting."

Carlua blinked in return, looking confused. "Why?"

"We're not into that whole incest thing, thanks." Ryuko had a slight greenish hue to his face and his ears were wilting.

"Anyway." Kia turned the topic on conversation back to what it was before, only now it was a little difficult to look at Carlua. "I suggest on an exchange of information. Apparently you don't know of the consequences, because if you did, you probably wouldn't have gone through with it. We'll also give you the skimmy on why it's illegal where we come from. In return, you tell us how to break it. We don't like seeing out little vampire so sad, and so we'd like that to change."

"I don't have to tell you a thing." Pazusu started to rise swiftly, Carlua's only a hair's breath behind.

"Okay then, we'll start." Ryuko said quickly. "And I have a feeling that after you hear it you'll change your mind. First, I'll start with way it's illegal in our world." This stopped Pazusu and Carlua. Looking like they would remain to listen, Ryuko began. "The Mashujutsu can be used for more than purging foreign blood from someone's body. It can sever the family ties of a person, even though the blood of a family member is used. It makes someone forget their origins and any emotional attachments to friends and family. The only difference between the two spells is a few words here and there. You should consider yourself lucky that you chose the right one. Anyway, suppose a very powerful, very twisted sorcerer got a hold of the spell. Well, you don't have to suppose, because this did happen in our world a very long time ago.

"The man's name was Reiznl, and he was one of my grandfather's, who was the First King back then, best Puppet Masters. But like I said, Reiznl was very twisted. One day he decided that he wanted to overthrow my grandfather from the Wolfin throne. He began to build a small army of some of the finest warriors in the Wolfin Clan, and Bleeding Amnesia was his way of recruiting them. He would abduct members of the warrior's family at night to perform the Mashujutsu, and because he was so powerful, it tired him little and almost every one was a success. Killed the relatives afterwards and had himself a nice little puppet to dance on his strings. However, the rebellion never got underway. A spy got on the inside and found out what was going on. My grandfather sent the entire royal guard to Reiznl's hideout and Reiznl was executed on the spot. The warriors…" He shook his head sadly. "Poor devils. After that, all records, documents, and manuscripts about Akmarin'rakni were destroyed. And anyone found practicing it…" Ryuko and Kia drew their thumbs across their throats at the same time, claws whispering against flesh. "We call it 'Reiznl's Law.' Now do you see why it's so dangerous?"

Pazusu and Carlua were sitting very still, their eyes wide and listening intently. "And…the warriors?"

"Ah." Kia rose one long, taloned finger. "That brings us to our next topic. What are the consequences of the Mashujutsu? I'll explain it technically, and then put it into more simple terms. You see, when you set op that barrier in the mind, since memories cannot be simply destroyed, the mind does to it like it does to all processing data; it flips it over. But when it corrects it, a vacuum is created, a void, that burrows its way deep into the mind. And, like a vacuum, it begins to draw matter into its depths. Actually, it's more like a black hole, because nothing can escape it. Memories. Logical thoughts. These things feed it, making it bigger and stronger, making the individual irritable, confused, and inflicting a lot of pain, especially when they try to remember that they cannot. So, in simple terms, this thing digests the brain from the inside out, making it collapse in on itself very rapidly. Soon the ability to carry out normal thought process is gone, and it leaves the individual in either one of two conditions, but more often both. They either go completely insane or they commit suicide." By now, Pazusu and Carlua were white and visibly shaking, as if they had actually seen what Kia was describing. "So…you wanna tell us how to break the spell?"

"I…I don't know." Pazusu said. "I suppose the only way to break the barrier is to…have him remember what it was he forgot, but…"

"It hurts him." Ryuko completed the sentence. "Which means that he can't do it alone. He needs someone to help, someone who is linked to his memories directly.

"Miyu?"

Ryuko pointed a finger to Kia. "Bingo."

Kia looked back to the Western Shinma. "One more question, and we'll leave you alone. Why did you do this?"

"We already told you. Because…"

"I know, I know." Kia said, holding up her hands before her. "Because you thought that he was being held against his will. But, you have to at least admit that you were maybe… a little wrong about your accusation. Your hearts were in the right place, but your brain's gotta wake up." She snapped her long fingers twice for emphasis.

There was no response from the Western Shinma. They just stood up and walked away into the shadows of the forest without a word from the Chinese Shinma. They, too, said nothing for several long moments. The silence of the Fifth Layer forest enclosed around them. "Should we go after them?" Ryuko's voice, although soft, was uncomfortably loud in the air.

"No." Kia answered shortly. "I think that we've given them enough information to chew on for a while. There is, however, a few things that I still wanted to bring into light."

"Like what?"

"Like how Miyu could only take someone's blood if they allow her to, human or Shinma. Something tells me that Larva did not fight incredibly hard to keep Miyu from drinking his blood. If he refused, then it probably would have killed him. Even if she gave him blood, he probably would have been nothing more than an empty shell."

"Hmm…" A corner of Ryuko's mouth turned down. "I know what you mean. I didn't want to say this either, but I think the same thing goes for trying to get his memories back. Even if Miyu were the key to breaking the spell, he has to allow her to do it."

"Good thing you didn't, or else they would have tried everything in their power to keep Miyu away from him."

The Wolfin blinked. "Even after everything we told them?"

"'fraid so." Kia nodded. "You know how string Shinma pride is. It will take a lot before they'll ever admit that they were wrong."

Ryuko shook his head sadly, slowly. "When will people learn?"

"Soon, we can hope. That void will grow incredibly fast. I'm just worried about Miyu, and we're running out of time."

* * *

The night has been no more exciting than earlier that day, Miyu thought glumly as she watched her friends from the tree branches above. Makes me wish that something really would happen.

All of the Chinese Shinma (there were eight of them now, the original five and three new ones who arrived during Miyu's downtime) were all gathered in a small clearing in the Fifth Layer. Just a while ago the group had been short Ryuko and Kia, but now they were back, looking very preoccupied. Miyu did not feel like talking like anyone at the moment so she kept her presence well-hidden. It was working since Kia immediately retreated to the branches of a tall tree while Ryuko went over to Yoshi, telling him something that Miyu could not hear. A moment later Yoshi's face screwed up in disgust while he exclaimed "My GOD, that's greasy! That's…blugh!" and he stalked off into the forest, occasionally making a sound to further express his feelings.

Miyu could not help but smile as she turned away, heading to the spot where Larva slept. If something could gross Yoshi out like that, it must have been pretty foul.

Larva was still asleep when she returned. He looked so peaceful when he slept, so beautiful…Miyu's heart began to ache and she tore her haze away, her eyes threatening to tear. With a heavy feeling of sadness hanging over her heart, she lay down just a few feet away, curled up under her fur cloak, and slept.

* * *

When Larva awoke again, it was night, and he was not alone. Wincing, he pushed himself up to his elbows and saw Miyu sleeping a short distance away. He glanced around; they were the only ones in the area. There was no sign of that one Chinese Shinma anywhere. He looked back at Miyu. She looked so peaceful laying there, so much like a child. His heart reached for her, although he could not figure out why…

LOOK AT HER SLEEPING THERE. TAKE A GOOD, LONG LOOK. Came a voice from the darkness. Larva felt his blood ran cold as he saw Mori appear silently from the shadows, but he did look at Miyu's sleeping form. She was curled up into a tight ball; her dark loose hair fell across her shoulders and back like a small cloak. She slept silently, and a first glance would make one wonder if she was even alive at all. She looked so fragile, like a small child. WHAT DO YOU SEE?

"With her eyes closed, you would never guess she was a vampire…"

Mori snarled loudly and suddenly, cutting him off. Her lips were pulled back in a sneer, and her eyes shone with anger, and they even held a trace of hurt in their depths, like a parent who had just learned that her child was being bullied at school. AS I THOUGHT. FOR A WHILE, I THOUGHT THAT YOU SAW HER AS SOMETHING DIFFERENT, AS SOMETHING OTHER THAN WHAT SHE IS. FROM THIS MOMENT ON, I WILL TAKE IT UPON MYSELF TO FIND HER A PROPER SHIMOBE TO PROTECT HER. I ALSO WANT YOU AND YOUR KIND OUT OF OUR REALM BY SUNDOWN TOMORROW. She turned and began to stalk off into the night's shadows. For some odd reason, Larva felt a small hint of anguish from Mori's harsh words, like he did not want anyone else to be Miyu's Shimobe. But why should he feel like that? He would be free from her control, to finally leave this place. Then why was a part of him protesting against it so loudly? And one more thing. Mori said, glancing over her shoulder. IF I HEAR SO MUCH AS A WHISPER ABOUT YOU OR YOUR PEOPLE EVER HURTING MIYU AGAIN, EVER, I WILL RIP YOUR THROAT OUT WITHOUT A SECONFD THOUGHT. She disappeared into the night.

Larva looked back at Miyu again. She did not seem interested in taking him back, nor did she even make any attempts to. She must hate him as well as the other Westerns with her entire being, yet she insisted on staying close to him, first to make sure he lived through the night, then to keep Mukashi from ripping him apart, and now to make sure nothing killed him during the night. Though she was cold on the outside, he felt her truly good intentions on the inside. What was the answer Mori wanted? What was he supposed to see her as, other than a Japanese Shinma, a vampire, and his former mistress? Elders always talked in riddles.

In her sleep, Miyu shivered and curled up tighter. Larva looked away and reached for his cloak that lay about a foot away from him, then turned back to Miyu and draped it over her with a tenderness that he surprised himself with. Miyu stirred in her sleep, and her eyes opened the slightest bit. In her half-slumber, she still seemed to realize that it was his cloak wrapped around her. The faintest ghost of a smile crossed her face, and pulling the cloak tighter around herself, she fell back asleep.

There's nothing too incredible intimidating about her, he thought to herself. She is just a girl who is lost and lonely… Who ever Mori chose for her Shimobe, he hoped that he would be able to help with those emotions. Again, he felt a small pang of pain and jealousy. His own thoughts did not even catch his attention as sleep claimed him as well.