Vampire Princess Miyu Fan Fiction ❯ When Friends are True-A Vampire Miyu Saga ❯ The Sakura Princess ( Chapter 11 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter Eleven



Chapter Eleven
The Sakura Princess

A traitor lays among you. Be wary.
The message had chilled Pazusu to the core. If the circumstances had been different, he would not have given it a second thought. Had they been different, he would have been more taken aback that a Japanese Shinma had been foolish enough to enter the ship. Or a Chinese Shinma. They had two whole Clans against them. But why were they here? Clearly not for an attack. If they had, they would have been taken by surprise and the outcome would have been unfavorable on their behalf. But it was because of the current situation that had but Pazusu on edge. Before he had heard Night Gia's screams, before he went deeper into the ship to see what had spooked the boy, he had felt an odd power surge of something Gating off the ship and towards the mainland. He automatically knew it was not a Western Shinma. By the time he had felt it they were all off the ship and ventured into the Japanese Shinma Realm. And the Chinese and Japanese Shinma may be savage, but they were not stupid enough to teleport onto and off of the ship. That was the other odd thing; nothing had entered the ship via a Gate. So if it was not any of the three Shinma Clans, it left just one option left…
"Impossible!" He said suddenly, rubbing his eyes. "Could have it been a Quarl? No, impossible…" Every last Quarl had been dead since the Shinma world. Killed, or chased into some unknown world to shrivel and die. All but one, that is. "Cait Sith? What are you doing…?" Deep down inside, Pazusu knew that it was not just Cait Sith. The strange vibration that had passed through the ship's hull was that of multiple being leaving. And all Quarls. Something was horribly wrong, but Pazusu could not bring himself to think of the possibilities of who this traitor was. The first thought that flashed into his mind was it was Larva, but he discarded it faster than it had come to him, as if the idea was the vilest thing in existence. That was preposterous. They were running a risk of Larva returning to the vampire girl, but the risk was slim. No one could survive those wounds. Not even a vampire. And even if, somehow, he did remember, he would not turn on them. He doubted that the other Western Shinma would do so either. They were here to retrieve their friend, and to test their strength against their enemies.
There was a slight moan from the couch, and all previous thoughts vanished like smoke. Carlua was still asleep- a common side effect of the Mashujutsu- but now she was dreaming, and it sounded like a nightmare. With a sad, concerned smile, Pazusu reached down to brush some of her golden hair from her face. When his fingers touched her, he immediately was able to see exactly what she was dreaming and his heart sank. "Carlua, I can see your long-buried nightmare…" She was so young when it happened, just a baby still, yet it stood out in her mind as clearly as it did in his…

The doomed past comes back to haunt you…


The Shinma War for power…


A roaring fire…


A collapsing castle…






The smells of death and carnage lay everywhere. The clash of swords filled the air and the ground was red with blood. Black with blood, but Pazusu ignored all of it. There was only one thing he could afford to think about now. Only one thing that matters. He ran through the raging battle, dodging the flashing blades and crossbow bolts, stepping on things that crunched under his feet and splashed boot on his boots, soaking through to his stockings. A rancid smell also hung in the air amongst the smell of blood and gunpowder. It smelt like old meat, rotting flesh…under any other circumstances it would have been a smell that would have made his head swim, but his mission was elsewhere. There was no time to think about anything else. I must hurry…in order to keep the promise I made!
After what seemed like an eternity, he was at the front gates of a huge castle. Or what remained of it. Flames spewed from the highest windows of the highest towers and stones rained down from above. Somewhere on the other side of the castle, a tower collapsed. Had he taken any longer, he would have been too late. Even standing here, watching the Count's castle collapse before his very eyes was costing valuable time. And was the nursery not close to the end of the castle? Cold fear washed through him as he pulled open the massive door and sprinted in. He ran through the halls, turning corners sharply and racing up staircases at break-neck speed.
Finally he reached the great double-doors that lead to the nursery. It looked to still be in one piece, and there was no visible smoke coming from under the doorway. He grabbed the handle; it was cold. He did not even sigh in relief; he only threw open the doors with a bang. "Carlua!"
Despite the roar of the fire echoing through the halls and the floors above, Pazusu could clearly hear the cry of a baby, no more than a few months old. And, holding her, was a young boy, no older than five or six on human terms, wearing a black robe. His red eyes flashed fiercely under his pale blue hair, but his entire expression changed when he saw who came bursting into the room unannounced. The poor boy…like the baby he was holding, he was alone now too. His parents dead, one of the first to fall under the sword when the whole thing began, and Pazusu had not heard from Bryan or Elizabeth for weeks, and he immediately feared the worse. But there was no time to think about that. The worse part was over; Larva and Carlua were safe. Now he had to get them out of the castle. "Larva…" Pazusu breathed as he lowered the white scarf that had wrapped around his mouth and nose to protect them from the smell of the Quarl blood. "You two are safe! Good job, boy…you protected your cousin!"
"My master…" Larva said, obviously glad to see him. In the boy's eyes, Pazusu was a second father, best friend to his own and his uncle.
Pazusu went over to the children and took Carlua from Larva's arms. The baby was still crying. Pazusu felt a terrible pang come over his heart when he heard her wails for her mother and father, but there was nothing he could do. Instead he forced a smile to let Larva know that were was nothing to be afraid of. "Let's go!"
Larva seemed to be too relieved to see a friendly face than to be afraid. "Yes, sir!" He answered his eyes bright. Pazusu seized the boy's hands and fled from the nursery as smoke began to seep through the ceiling and the rafters began to smolder. If there was anyone else left in the castle, then he had no time to look for them. A promise was a promise, and he prayed that everyone else would get out in time. From somewhere behind them, a ceiling caved in and he could feel the heat on their backs. Pazusu ran faster, dragging Larva along with him.
"We have to hurry…" he urged the child. "Or we'll burn alive!" Of all the places to attack…he knew that this was where the Quarls came first while they were searching for the Count, but to burn it even after he fled…
The forest surrounding the castle was darker than night, darker than the blood that covered the ground. Even though they were out of the castle, they had to get as far away as possible. The sounds of the battle raged behind them, but they were alone. Or…where they? Something rippled the air. Something was behind them, chasing them, and closing in fast, with a very hostile attitude. A Pursuer? A Quarl that was incredibly fast, its speed for chasing and killing could go almost unmatched. Pazusu knew that it was impossible to outrun it, so they had to get away by other means. He had both the children, and this demon was not going to stop them. "Larva!"
"Yes?" Larva panted, obviously running low on breath.
"You can keep up with me, right?" Pazusu asked, taking a sharp turn in the dark forest.
"Yes, I'll try to!"
It was little use; the Pursuer went right after them. What? Pazusu thought, almost at a panic. It was not any Quarl. What was chasing them was the exact thing that Pazusu was trying to get away from. That is? In the stress of the moment he opened a Transportation Gate and pushed Larva through before jumping through himself, clutching the baby to his chest, to a place far away from here. He acted not a moment too soon; he felt the wind rush past his face as it passed them, ready to deliver a killing blow before it realized it was too late.
The Quarl was not discouraged. In fact, in smiled; a vile, evil smile. "Humph." It snorted, its voice dry, sounding like a viper slithering through dead leaves. "Running scared."

In the distance, inside of a halo of fiery orange against a dead-black sky, the once proud castle crumbled, falling off the side of the cliff to be reduced to a pile of smoldering rubble. All Pazusu and Larva could do was watch, not saying a word, but Pazusu had other things on his mind. "Quarl…" It was them that did this to their home. "Is it still after us? No, it can't be. They're not in this war!" No matter how many times he told himself that, he knew it was not true. It was them that pulled them into this war in the first place.
"Lord Pazusu?"
Pazusu looked down at Larva. The boy was holding his cousin who, even after all the commotion, was fast asleep. The poor child. "Carlua…" He whispered tenderly as he bent to touch the child's face, remembering how this all came to be.

"Please, take care of my daughter…"
"Count Rall!" Pazusu exclaimed, holding his friend in his arms. There was a deep wound in his chest and Pazusu knew that no matter how hard he prayed, the Count would not live. Even if he was not so weak, his healing powers would do nothing more than delay death for a few moments longer.
"My friend…" Rall panted, gasping for air so he could speak, to seal on final promise. "I beg you, please…"
Pazusu reassured him: "Don't worry, I will!"
Rall looked content with Pazusu's promise, but there was something else he needed to tell him. "Pazusu…about the Quarl…"
"The Quarl?"
"Yes…the Quarl…watch out for them!" Pazusu was taken aback by Rall's words. All though he never really trusted the Quarl, the Western Shinma and the Quarl always held a loose alliance. Why would he need to watch out for them. Before he could ask what it meant, Rall's body went limp in his arms.
"Rall!" Pazusu cried. "Count Rall!" It was already too late. Rall's body disappeared, dissolving into mist, leaving Pazusu alone. "Goodbye, Rall…" he said sadly. The sadness was quickly replaced by anger as he stood up. The Quarl…So, they did betray us!

The Quarl…Caial, you bitch…
"Master Pazusu…" Larva asked, looking up at Pazusu. He had almost forgotten that the boy was there as he recalled the Count's final words. "Where are my family and Uncle Rall?"
Pazusu smiled. He could not tell the boy the harsh truth, so he quickly came up with the best solution to the problem that he could think of. "Aren't we family too, Larva?" He asked.
"Yes, but what about…"
"Then we are all we need then!" Pazusu said, putting an immediate end to the conversation and the problem. He hoped that Brian and Elizabeth were alive, but the boy needed an adult role model. The two were nice kids, but they could sometimes be…well, he was not going to cut off contact between them, but it was better that he took both Larva and Carlua under his wing. "Is that okay?"
"Yes!" larva said, holding Carlua close. "You're my master!"
"Now then, some with me and Carlua…"

It seemed so long ago that that had happened…Pazusu had taken Carlua and Larva in as foster children since there was no one else for them. Now he sat at the edge of the couch, gently brushing Carlua's soft blonde hair from her face. She was more than a foster daughter to him. To Pazusu, Carlua was…his own daughter. And he was the only fatherly figure that she had ever known, all though she knew that he was not her real father even though she remembered nothing of Rall. "Carlua…my daughter… we should have never come here…"

Yui stopped swinging her feet. A look of worry came over her young, innocent face. "Something's…happened to Miyu."
"Happened to who, Yui?" Her Shimobe Nagi asked from below the tree branch she was sitting on. "What are you talking about?"
"I sense it…" Yui continued as if she had not heard Nagi speak. Water was form in her eyes. She hated it when she cried in front of Nagi so she closed her eyes tightly but they tears slipped through the closed lids as easily as water through fingers. "Something tragic has happened to Miyu!"
But no matter how hard she wished it, she could not hide the tears from Nagi. He had stood up, which put him at equal height with his vampire mistress even though she was sitting on the tree branch. "H-hey!" He said sternly. "What's with the tears? Why are you crying?"
"I-I don't know!" Yui choked, stammering on her own held-back sobs. He limbs begin to tingle then felt as if they were being stuck at by thousands of white-hot needles. "But I can't stop!" The pain became more intense, burning her entire body. "It hurts! Everything hurts!" Nagi, concerned for Yui's well being, reached out to grasp one of her slender hands in his own to comfort her, but it did not stop the pain or the screams. "Miyu! MIIII-YUUUU!" Miyu was…injured, barely alive. That, Yui was sure of. She was in danger. She was dying. Dying at the hands of someone she had cared about very much.
Yui continued to cry and snuffle for a few more moments with Nagi holding her hand in one of his and patting her shoulder with the other. Finally, with a great heaving sigh, the crying stopped and she looked into the horizon with a new set determination on her face. "I must go!"
Nagi looked puzzled by the sudden mood swing and by her sudden statement. He did not like it when she decided to go somewhere without his approval. "Where to?" He asked.
"Miyu's blood is calling…" Yui said, sounding distant, as if she had not heard Nagi's question. "It courses through my veins…and it cried to me for help. I'm in pain…my arms, legs, everything hurts…Miyu is crying…"
"Yui, what are you talking about?" Nagi asked, beginning to feel frustrated. He hated being left in the dark, especially when Yui talked like this. It scared him a little too. She was nothing like her usual cheerful, optimistic self.
"Under a blooming cherry blossom orchard…my widowed mother was given happiness by Miyu. I received Miyu's blood while still in my mother's womb. The spring of my fourteenth year was the time of my Awakening…" Yui could still here Miyu's voice calling to her that one faithful day…
"Your blood pressure feels low…right, Yui?" Miyu leaned closer to Yui, cupping the girl's face in her hands. "Good girl…you're a vampire now! You are my sister, my daughter, and my incarnation!"
"Yui?" Nagi said, concerned. He was beginning to worry now.
"Nagi…Miyu is calling me. She's calling me, I must help her!"

Yui ran through the forests of Japan. She did not know where she was running to; all she knew they she had to follow Miyu's voice where ever it would lead her. It was the only thing that mattered now, even more than Nagi's protests behind her: "Hey! Where are you going?"
"That voice?" Yui said to herself, ignoring Nagi's noisy shouts. "I must follow it! It is Miyu's! To the Shinma Realm!"
"Damn it!" Nagi cursed. "This is not my day!"
Yui...
Tears sprang to Yui's eyes as she heard Miyu's calls and she felt a sharp pain grip her heart. "I've never felt this excruciating pain before!" With a whimper, she collapsed to the ground.
Nagi gasped as he saw Yui fall. As her Shimobe, he had sworn to protect her from anything and everything, even if included tripping and falling. But this…was so unlike his little vampire that it was scaring him. She never took off like this without telling him first and, usually, fighting with him on the subject until he let her go. "What is it?" He asked, dropped to his knees next to her. "Yui…? Are you hurt?"
"I must…hurry…" Yui panted. "I'm okay. How far is it? It will take a while…Miyu…?" Large crystalline tears rolled down her cheeks.
Nagi had seen the tears and he hated seeing Yui crying more than anything. It pained him to see her sad, but the one way to bring her back to herself was a rather harsh one. "Yui! Don't cry!" he shouted at her. Yui looked up at him immediately, her tear-filled eyes large. "I'm with you, so be strong! Besides, I hate weak people!" Yui swallowed hard, but nodded. He was right. The only way she was going to reach Miyu was by keeping a clear mind and not falling to the ground weeping. "Let's go then." Nagi said, standing up.

Lemunia hated the Japanese Realm. It was so dark, so eerily silent and empty. And there were too many trees. He ran through the forest, dodging the trees that loomed all around him, and alone. "That bitch Water Lipper ditched me!" He snorted to himself as he made his way deeper into the Japanese Shinma Realm.
Lemunia…catch me if you can! Water Lipper's mocking laughter trailed after him as she disappeared ahead of him.
"I really hate the way she acts, always treatin' me like a kid! This really stinks…Lemures is gone and Carlua always ignores me. My life stinks…what?" His steps faltered only for a moment as a moving force rushed past him…three, it felt like, moving even faster than he was. Not Shinma, though. But if not Shinma, then what? Then they were gone.

"What do we do about the boy?" Gio rasped harshly as they passed Lemunia.
"He is of no use to us." Gia replied back, his voice hissing. "He will just get in our way."

The cold air slapped Yoto and Kitsune in the face as they ran through the forests of the Japanese Spirit Realm. So far they had no luck in finding Yui, if she was here at all. Ranka had told them that she would be without a doubt since she had a strong blood bond with Miyu, but they had been looking for over an hour. And the Japanese Shinma provided no help since the ones left were all in hiding. The only Shinma they did come across was a small group of Kappas, weak water demons that were almost lower than any First Layer Shinma. They were not much help; instead they only ended up repeating their own questions over and over until the two Chinese Shinma threw their hands into the air and left, leaving the Kappas to brood over their own inquires.
"Yoto, this is impossible!" Kitsune said as the search deepened. "The Japanese Shinma Realm is huge! There is no way we're going to find one person in these forests!" She was cut off in order to dodge a tree branch from slapping her in the face. "Besides, how do we know she's here?"
"She'll be here." Yoto answered. "You know how we can sense even when a Japanese Shinma opens a Gate in their own Realm, and a Western Shinma even more so. It won't be hard to track down someone who is from a different race all together. Keep a sharp nose out as well, Kitsune. We have to find them."
"Yes, true…" Kitsune said, sounding a little distant. Yoto's reasoning was logical- damn the man, they always were- but she still was unsure how the were going to do this. The Japanese Shinma Realm was, by far, smaller than the Western Shinma Realm or their own, but it was so much more complex than either of them. She had read too much history to recognize the structure. The reasoning for war, for instance. In all the worlds of all the different dimensions she had read about, there was never a single cause to the war. The human World War Two, for example. If she went up to any human in the realm and asked them what was the causation behind the war, they would immediately answer that Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party were to blame. But the more you read and learned about it, the more you came to realize that the actual cause was not one event, but dozens of them, even events that, at first, had no concern with the main picture. The Japanese Shinma Realm was composed in such a way. It was not one solid realm, but was actually pieced together of the subworlds and the worlds of the minds of all its inhabitants. So, in other words, it was a realm composed of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of individual realms that could not be touched by anyone but its maker to make the physical world. And Yui could possibly end up in any one of those worlds or, even worse, in a gutter between the worlds. If that happened, it could take forever to find her. This was one of the few times that an immortal and time were racing against each other.
Suddenly the world shuddered, feeling like the shock wave of a massive explosion. "Yoto…did you…"
"Yes." Yoto said immediately. "That had to be the Shi. It came from this way." Abruptly he halted and turned sharply to the right with the fox-demon only a hair behind him.
"When you said we would be able to feel it, I had no idea you meant to that magnitude! Every Shinma within five miles will be able to feel that!"
"Exactly; we don't have much time."
Kitsune did not know how much more they ran for, but by the time they made any more progress it was nearing noon. The day was growing older, and time was short. Then, on the breeze, she picked up the faint scent of something or someone not more than half a mile directly before them. It was no Shinma, either.
They burst through a thick wall of foliage at full speed, almost knocking over two people on the other side. One of them was a small girl, no older or taller than Miyu with soft brown hair and wearing a pink yukata with a red sash, and the other a young man with long brown hair, pulled back at the base of his neck. At the sight of the two Shinma, one of which was absolutely huge, the young girl cried out in surprise and ducked behind the man and a katana immediately flashing into his hands, poised and ready to battle. "Hold, Shi! Sheath your sword, we mean no harm!" Yoto said, grasping the blade in his hand. The sharp blade did not cut into his skin, even for how firmly he was holding it.
"Who are you?" The man demanded. "I demand you identify yourselves or so help me!"
"Please sir, I am Kitsune, and this is Yoto. We are of the Chinese Shinma Clan and we have been sent specifically by the Elders of the Japanese Shinma to find a girl of the Shi Clan who can help us." Kitsune quickly explained.
"Chinese Shinma? Then we're not in the Japanese Shinma Realm?" The young girl asked, poking her head out from behind her companion. Although her eyes were now dry, Kitsune could still smell the tears.
"No, you are in the Japanese Realm. We are merely visitors. Since you are Shi, perhaps you can tell us where to find Yui, the Princess of your Clan?"
"I…I'm Yui." The girl said shyly. "What do you want with me?"
"Yes…" The young man said, still trying to pull his blade free from Yoto's fist. "What is it you want? We usually don't help your kind."
Kitsune heaved a sigh. "Oh, Yui…thank Gods we found you. We come to represent Mori and the other Elders of this Realm. Miyu is in the Fifth Layer of this Realm, badly injured and near death and we need you to help save her!"
"Miyu!" Yui's face lit up. Yoto released the sword and the man shoved it back into his scabbard. "You're here to take me to Miyu? Is she all right? I knew something bad happened to her! Didn't I tell you, Nagi?" Nagi snorted.
"Fine." He said gruffly. "So you come to tell us that we're in the right place. My thanks to you, but we can make our way to your Princess from here. Apparently Yui knows where she's going, so we don't need any help."
"It's not that simple, Shi." Yoto called after them as they turned away. "There are enemies here, the ones that did this to Miyu in the first place. They are Western Shinma, bent on killing the Sentinel and concurring this world. They were able to defeat Miyu when they turned her Shimobe against her, but she still lives, although she is weak. And they somehow found out that Yui is the key to bringing her back. They will do anything to keep her from doing so. I suggest that you allow us to guide you."
Nagi glared at them despite the usual intimidation that Yoto gave to people. "Like I said, we don't need your help. The Shi may be quieter than you, Shinma, but we are not weak. Come along, Yui. Let's get this over with so we can be done."
"But…but…" Yui did her best to protest and Nagi pushed her away.
The two Chinese Shinma watched them move off into the forest. "Well…he was a rude one, wasn't he?" She inquired to Yoto. "What should we do? Go tell Mori that they're here?"
"No." Yoto said. "I dare not leave them alone. The Western Shinma probably know that they are here. We'll follow them and make sure that no ill falls on them." Kitsune nodded. If the Western Shinma were as desperate for victory as they sounded, then they would kill both of them at a first glance. And something…did not feel right. She could smell it on the wind. The only thing they could do was watch…and wait.

Nagi kept a firm hand on Yui's shoulder as they moved through the Japanese Shinma Realm forest. He did not know who those Shinma were…Chinese Shinma? Who the hell were they? He had never heard of them before. But, who ever they were, he just wanted to get this done. And this Miyu was apparently important to Yui, so he wanted to make sure they got this done right and, hopefully, not encounter any more Shinma.
He did not see any Shinma when he risked a glance over his shoulder. He did not even notice the large white wolf and small red vixen-fox following them as they walked.