Deep in the forest, you could hear footsteps… you could hear that someone was running…
‘Oh yeah, these are my footsteps…’
In the midst of the night, Rima was running away from something. Looking back, she saw green phosphorescent rooks chasing after her, and a big, black cloak which was releasing them.
‘I have to keep running…’
‘It’s useless to run.’
Looking in front of her again, she saw a boy with black hair and a pair of black eyes blocking her way. Seeing her, the boy smirked.
‘You’re mine now!’ he said as he charged at her, before she even managed to react.
“Nooooo!!” she yelled, but as she opened her eyes, the boy wasn’t in front of her anymore, even though she was still in the forest.
“Rima!”
The easily recognizable voice of another boy made it clear to her that she was only having a bad dream. The boy that had blond, spiky hair came running towards her, and looked worried at her with his green-yellow-grey colored eyes.
He was holding in one arm some woods and a couple of sticks, and in the other ones two rabbits that seemed to be caught not too long ago.
“Are you alright?”
Akito was breathing heavily, sign that he rushed towards her.
“I’m fine, but… what the hell are you doing with those things?”
“Oh, these?” he lifted the logs and the rabbits. “I’m making dinner!” he said with a proud grin. “Want yours to be raw or cooked?”
“…-.-‘ ”
“As I figured, not to your liking, huh…?”
Rima stared at him a bit…
“Oh no, so you’re planning to serve me for dinner!” he said, chuckling and putting down the things he was carrying.
“…Idiot…”
Akito was still laughing, but after a moment he stopped, tuning his head towards his side.
“So he’s here already…” said Akito, almost like lost in space.
“…Huh?”
Rima was confused for a moment, but when she felt the scent of the person who came, there was no doubt about it anymore.
After that, she saw him… At a short distance, Shiki was standing in front of her. His expression that time was almost as if he lacked emotion… It was as if it wasn’t a person there, but a stone… because of that, Rima felt guilty, because she knew the reason why he was mad…
Then, she looked towards Akito who was still standing right beside her.
“I let them know where you are… you should go back, Yuuki is probably worried sick about you…”
Her silence could have been taken as an answer. She got up, but was caught by a slight pain in her body. As she was about to fall, she was caught by Shiki, whose expression still hadn’t changed.
“You should take it easy for a while, kay?...” said Akito as he started to walk away. “Say ‘hi’ to Yuuki for me!”. After saying that, he disappeared into the forest.
Rima turned her head towards the person who, even though he seemed to be upset, he was gently carrying her as he started running.
“Shiki…”
He didn’t say anything back, and neither was looking her in the face.
“Shiki, I know you’re upset, but… there wasn’t any other way…”
He still kept silent… But when Rima decided to stop saying anything anymore, a reply came.
“Why didn’t you let me protect you?”
“… you were already badly hurt…”
At that moment, Shiki stopped.
“I didn’t care. You should have had some more faith. You just gave up too easily…”
“I… I’m sorry…”
She knew that Shiki had all the rights to be mad…
But then, she felt Shiki’s arms holding her tightly to his chest.
“Please don’t worry me like that ever again…” he said, and she could hear his breathing in her ear, as well as his heartbeat.
Rima smiled as she put her arms around him, hugging him tight.
“Ok…”
They both continued their way towards the house… but soon after that, she realized that they weren’t heading towards the mansion.
“Hey, Shiki… where are we going?”
Shiki didn’t answer right away… he seemed like he was searching for the right words to express something…
“We had to move out… that place was no longer safe…”
Thinking about it, he was right. Leo already knew about that place, so staying there any longer would be dangerous.
They were running for quite a while. When dawn was breaking, they reached a mansion that seemed to be from a different region as the previous one.
“This place is owned by my family, so we can stay here for now.”
“Oh… so this is Shiki’s…”
But then, she realized that she was still being carried by him.
“Hey, mind if you…”
Shiki smiled as he saw her trying to get down, but he held her even tighter.
“What, you have something against me carrying you over? That’s the least you could do…” he said as he lowered his face and kissed her on the forehead.
“It’s just stupid…”
“Well, if it’s just ‘stupid’, you shouldn’t mind me doing it then.”
She looked at him and when she saw his smile, he couldn’t complain anymore.
“Do as you like…”
Shiki smiled hearing her answer.
When they entered the house, everyone was in the living room. Kaname was at a desk with Aidou and Akatsuki, while Yuuki was with Ruka on a couch unable to sit still, giving Ruka some trouble in calming her down.
When Yuuki saw Rima coming in with Shiki, she immediately stood up, pushing Ruka aside.
“Rima!!”
“Oh, great…”
Still being carried by Shiki and with everybody seeing that scene wasn’t exactly her idea of keeping a low profile.
Shiki saw the face she made, but he smiled when he saw her acting like a kid.
“They were all really worried about you.”
“There wasn’t any need to be… and now, would you please…” said Rima while trying to get herself down. He smiled again and let go of her.
“Thanks.” she said, bluntly.
But she hardly set foot on the ground that she already heard Yuuki yelling.
“Rimaaaa!!!”
The next moment, she found herself being hold by her crying sister. Yuuki was holding her so strongly that it was almost hard to breathe.
“Yuuki, calm down… it’s ok…”
“It’s not ok!!” she said, bursting in even more tears. “Do you know how worried I was? Why did you place yourself in such danger? We could’ve found a way to win!”
Yuuki’s words were like a stab, because she said the same things Shiki did. But even so, Rima wasn’t regretting it… as far as she’s concerned, the way things were that time wasn’t showing any hope…
“Yuuki, I’m fine now, so it’s gonna be alright.”
Yuuki noticed the change in Rima’s tone. The way she said it left no place for arguing… she just complied and hugged her tight.
“I’m glad you’re safe…” se said with a relieved voice.
Rima didn’t say anything back to her, but there wasn’t any need for that. She was clearly happy to be back.
Time passed so quickly that they didn’t even realize that it was already afternoon. After all that, Rima was feeling so tired that she fell asleep on Yuuki’s shoulder.
“Seems like she really was exhausted. No wonder, after everything that happened…” said Yuuki, seeing her sleep so peacefully.
“I should take her into a room so she can properly rest there… you guys need to listen to a certain somebody…” he said as he looked towards the window, where a boy was standing.
“…Akito?!” said Yuuki, surprised.
“Shhh, you’ll wake her up!” he said as he looked towards Rima.
“Oh, sorry…” she said, lowering her voice.
“I’m going to take her upstairs. I’ll be back in a minute.”
He lifted Rima in his arms, but immediately after doing that, he saw Akito glaring at him. Somehow, his face reminded him of an annoyed puppy.
“What?” asked Shiki, bluntly.
“It’s not fair…” said Akito, pouting.
“Life’s not always fair…” said Shiki, but couldn’t help letting out a smile.
Akito still had that ‘pouting face’ as Shiki was taking her away, letting him mumbling to himself.
“And to think that I even left them some space… ungrateful guy…”
“…Akito?...”
Yuuki’s voice returned his attention back to the room they were in.
“Yuuki… it’s good to see you again...”
“Same here…” she said smiling. It’s been a while since they last saw each other and actually got a chance to talk.
“I see the pup’s starting to get really cozy around us vampires…” said Aidou with an annoyed tone.
“Hanabusa, you speak too much…” said Akatsuki in his usually calm tone, hoping to also convince him as well.
“Kain, stop taking his side. He’s our natural enemy, how can we trust him just like that?!” added Ruka in a loud tone.
Seeing how everyone was against him, Yuuki just couldn’t stand there quiet.
“Akito would never do anything to harm us!!” she said, almost at the point of yelling.
“It’s ok Yuuki, I’m already used to it…” said Akito in an attempt to calm her.
“Now the dog’s acting all big…” said Aidou frustrated…
“Aidou, Ruka…”. By calling them, Kaname caught everyone’s attention. “I think we shouldn’t forget that he was of great help to us in the part incidents. And also, in order to get over this one, we’ll be needing his help again.”
“…Yes… I’m truly sorry, Kaname-sama…” said Ruka with her eyes facing down
“I’m also grateful to him”. Everyone tuned around to see Shiki coming back. He looked towards Akito, and then continued. “If it weren’t for him, Rima might have not retuned to us safe and sound…”
“Tsk… even him…”
Aidou looked away, obviously still annoyed. But deep inside, he knew that Akito really did protect Rima with all his strenght.
Silence remained for a few moments, until Kaname looked towards Akito and spoke again.
“I believe there are some things you need to tell us. What happened after that Alfa kidnapped Rima?”
Akito couldn’t answer right away. It was like he was searching for the right words to explain it.
“… She was almost transformed into a lycan…”
“What?!” exclaimed Yuuki. “H… How??”
“The same way I was turned into one. But it seems to be more complicated in her case due to the fact that she’s a vampire…”
“I think you’ll need to explain it in more detail.” said Kaname.
Akito told them about the witch’s spell and how he was transformed.
“So… what is the relation between the Alfa and that witch?” said Aidou, almost forgetting that he hates him.
That was a question that was also troubling Akito.
“… I don’t know… I know that she has the rooks inside, because I almost have one as we. I can sense them… and I know that their reaction in Rima’s body is different. Akito stopped for a moment, and turned his head towards Shiki, who was listening carefully. He continued after.
“For some reason, they seem to be reacting very violently inside her…in my case, it’s not that bad, but with her… my guess is that its because both of the rooks managed to get through… but there’s also the possibility that they’re ‘fighting’ with Rima’s vampire powers which are blocking the transformation.”
“Damn, it’s one problem after another…” mumbled Aidou.
“And how did you manage to escape?” asked Kaname for further info.
“It looked like she escaped before I found her. She was with this hunter with silver hair and a tattoo on his neck.”
“Zero?!?” said Yuuki in a loud voice, unable to keep it down because of the shock.
“I don’t know his name, but it seems like his gun managed to wound the Alfa when he came to take Rima back after she escaped. That’s how we were able to escape.”
“Hunter weapons… So that could be a way to defeat them… said Kaname after analyzing the situation.
“Does that mean that we have to work with the hunters again?” asked Aidou, clearly unhappy about it.
“Aidou, please understand that until we can find a solution for this problem, we’ll need the help of everyone we can get. Hunters are also included.” said Kaname in a calm tone.
“…I understand…” said Aidou, even though he was still unsatisfied.
“I’m glad to hear that… and now everyone, you can go back to your rooms and have some rest.” said Kaname.
Everybody agreed and went to their rooms, and in the main room only remained Kaname, Yuuki and Akito.
“Akito…” said Yuuki with a sad face, knowing that he’s about to leave.
Kaname got closer to him and put his hand on Akito’s shoulder.
“You can also stay here for a while if you want. By the looks of it, I’m sure Shiki would agree with it.”
“Kaname Onii-sama…” said Yuuki surprised. She looked happily towards Akito.
He on the other hand wasn’t really sure about what to do. Being the only lycan in a house full of vampires wasn’t exactly something that would make him feel very ‘at home’… and Kaname also realized that.
“I’m not going to make you do it but still, if something were to happen, it would be good if you were also around.”
“And Rima would also cheer up if you stay. Even though she doesn’t show it, she likes having you around.” said Yuuki, letting a giggle escape.
“Really?? Then I’m gonna take up your invitation!” said Akito enthusiastically.
Yuuki smiled in response.
In another room, Rima was sleeping. But she wasn’t having a peaceful sleep at all.
In her dream, she was followed by a pack of big wolves which were chasing after her into the forest. When she reached the edge of the forest, a black haired boy with back eyes that were now having a few dark green tendencies was standing in front of her. The boy smiled as he saw her going into a panic.
‘Isn’t it about time for you to stop running?’
That very moment, Rima woke up and saw that she was heavily sweating and her heart was about to burst out. She was relieved to see that it was only a dream.
After taking a shower and changing her clothes, she went on a walk because she knew that right now, she couldn’t bring herself to sleep anymore.
It was still day-time, so it was most likely that the others were sleeping.
But when she reached a room that seemed to be the library, she saw that the door was open and Yuuki was also inside.
“Hey Yuuki... what are you doing?” she said as she entered the room.
“Rima, you’ve already woken up?… Nothing really, just reading some books to kill time… But Rima, I’m sure you were really tired, why didn’t you sleep a bit longer?
“It’s nothing… I just couldn’t sleep anymore…”
“Bad dreams?”
“Yeah, kind of…”
Yuuki walked towards Rima and gave her a warm hug.
“Everything’s fine now…”
“Yeah…”. At least for now, it was ok… then a scent came to her, making her search with her eyes around the room. “…Why do I smell dog?”
“Heheh ^^’, well, that might be because…”
“Rimaaaaaaaa!!!!!!”
The next second, Akito barged in, leaving Rima speechless.
“…What the hell are you doing here?”
“You disappeared from your room, so I panicked!”
“I mean here, in this house.”
“Oh, this…”. Akito prepared a smug grin. “I’ll be staying here for a while!♥”
“…Great, now I’m stuck with you even here…”
“It’ll be lots of fun, you’ll see ^^ ” he said as he hugged both Rima and Yuuki.
Rima sighed.
“Well, whatever…”
Yuuki instead giggled, because she knew the true meaning behind her words. Rima was already feeling a lot better now…
The next few days that came brought along some great storms. Even though most of the time they had to stay indoors, the heavy rain also had it’s advantages: it helped erase their scent, slowing the Alfa’s down from their tracking.
Even though the ones at the house were still on guard, the atmosphere around wasn’t that tense anymore. Both storms had finally calmed down, and the weather became really good and warm. Rima’s body also regained its strenght and it didn’t hurt anymore.
Afternoon caught her lying on the grass in the back garden, under the shade of a tree. Carried by the breeze, a now familiar scent came to her. Realizing who it was, she sighed.
“Here he comes again…”
“Rimaa, what are you doing here?” said Akito as he came to sit next to her.
“Trying to have some peace of mind. Alone!”
“C’mon, it’s more fun when you’re with someone else ^^”
“… Whatever…” she said as she closed her eyes.
Akito had a happy smile, seeing that Rima got more used with him around. He tuned his face towards the sky and got caught in thoughts. His face became a bit more serious now.
“You know… it might be just me being overly protective, but… these past days made me feel that it’s not gonna be long until he comes back for you…”
Rima opened her eyes to see him spaced out.
“Idiot… you shouldn’t worry about others so much…”
“But Rima…”
Akito suddenly turned around, but then he saw Rima having a small, but encouraging smile.
“I’ll be ok.”
She kept her smile for a few more seconds, and then she turned around.
“Now go away, I want to sleep.”
Akito has a happy smile as he got up.
“Alright, sleep well!” he said as he went away.
“Finally, he left…”
Rima smiled a bit, but that didn’t take long because once she fell asleep, the nightmares that were absent for a while made her have a hard sleep again.
This time, in her dream were a lot of people fighting and being injured by wolves. She wanted to save those people… but when she got closer to them, the person who appeared in front of her and stopped her from going forward was Leo.
‘I’ve returned!’
She woke up, breathing heavily again.
“Only a dream again…”
“That’s not quite true…” said a voice from close behind her. Hearing it made Rima get up instantly and back away.
“You again…” she said when she saw Leo calmly sitting only a few meters away from her.
“How did you… find me here…?”
She already knew that he would one day find her, but this was too soon. By using scent tracking, normally it would have taken at least a few more days to find her.
His sly snicker didn’t fail to show that he was enjoying the situation.
“You won’t be able to hide anywhere from me anymore. Wherever you go, I’ll find you”
Rima glared at him; that didn’t answer her question at all. But Leo wasn’t affected by it at all.
“The spell. As long as you have it inside you, no matter where you go, it will be impossible to hide.”
‘The spell?’
Those rooks!! So that’s how he found her! He’s able to sense her…
That could be troublesome…
But even so… she wouldn’t give up that easily again…
After all, she promised…
Leo started walking closer towards her, until he stopped right in front of her.
“That spell is what links us; you can never hide anything as long as you have it. And of course…” he had a snicker as he said that: “… your mind is included.”
Her mind? She didn’t get to think too much about it, because in the other direction she could hear someone running fast towards their place.
“Rimaaaaaa!!!”
Running at full speed, Akito came in front of Rima, making Leo back away. He was glaring straight at the person who was nonchalantly standing in front of them.
“He’s back…”
Akito’s voice changed a bit. From his past experiences with Leo, he already knew how strong he was. But even so, he knew what he had to do, and with that, it didn’t matter to him if he was strong or weak.
“I kind of figured he would also be here… This place is full of them”
Then the others…
“Is everyone ok?”
Akito didn’t answer to that right away, which made Rima worry. But in the end…
“… Everyone’s doing their best to hold them back… but those guys are also pretty strong…”
Everyone was fighting. Even though she watched Akito with a very worried face, when she turned her eyes towards Leo, who was standing like he didn’t have a care in the world, it immediately changed into a glare.
Leo sighed, sign that he was already tired of the interferences. He raised his hand, like he was giving a signal.
In a split of a second, Gin and Clid jumped right in front of Akito.
“Yo!” said both of them and pierced his abdomen with their claws, without giving him even a chance to move. In just a second, Akito was hit on the ground, standing in a pool of blood.
“Hey, hang on!” she said as she tried going towards him, but stopped when suddenly, her mind was seeing images of Shiki, Yuuki and the others fighting with Alfa’s, and getting wounded pretty badly. Then, all of a sudden, the images stopped…
“What… was that…?”
Rima was in a shock because of that.
“That’s our link.” said Leo. “I already told you, I have control of your mind now.”
Rima now understood what were those dreams she had a few days ago. He entered her mind…
“You realized it, didn’t you?” said Leo when he saw the expression she had.
“You’ve come prepared to take me back, right?”
Her angry tone didn’t make him even flinch. Instead, he was enjoying it…
“Hmm… That’s not really true either…” he said as he went closer to Akito and stopped beside him. Even though he was badly wounded, he was still conscious and was watching his every move.
“Bas…tard…” tried Akito to say, but he was clearly in pain.
“Then why are you doing this?” she said as she looked at Akito. “What do you want?”
Right now, Rima was out of patience. But Leo seemed to be pleased by that.
“I’ve decided that instead of bringing you back forcefully so that you could escape again, I will exhaust you psychically, until you agree to come willingly, once and for all. And for that, the best way is to take from you everything that’s dear to you.” He didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Of course, this is also for my own pleasure.” He said with a sly smile.
“You’re really mad…”
He didn’t seem disturbed by that, but on the contrary, he seemed to be amused.
“Gin, Clid, order retreat to the others. Our task here is done.”
“Yes, Leo-sama” said the guys as they left.
Leo gave Rima a last glance for this encounter, before turning around.
“Until we meet again, my Queen…” he said as he disappeared into the falling night.
Rima lost control over her legs which failed to support her anymore, and she fell on her knees.
“Ri…ma...” said Akito, and when Rima looked towards him, she saw that he was crawling towards her.
“No, don’t move anymore, you’re wounded!…. you idiot…” she said as she stopped and turned her eyes to the ground.
When Akito got next to her, he was surprised to see something shining on her cheek.
“Rima… don’t cry…”
She wiped her tears that starting flowing.
“I’m sorry… I’ll become… stronger…” She raised her head and tried to bring up a smile. “Next time, I’ll be able to protect myself and my friends properly.”
Seeing how determined she was, Akito also had an encouraging smile.
“I’m sure you will…”
...to be continued...
Author: Lacramioara Cobzaru
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