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Naya Akarui

"What? You got something to say to me? Go ahead, piss me off, I dare you."

0 · 524 views · located in Cross Academy

a character in “Vampire Knight: The Revelation”, originally authored by Naga's Shadow, as played by Asilian

Description




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Bright Captain
⌈I don’t really think much on my name. Why should I? It’s not like it defines who I am!⌋




⌈Themes⌋

Taking Back Sunday || This Is All Now
TobyMac || Unstoppable
30 Seconds to Mars || Stranger in A Strange Land
Black Veil Brides || Set the World on Fire




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⌈Nobody knows who I really am. Don’t disillusion yourself to the contrary.⌋




⌈Nickname⌋
Naya's name is short enough that she really doesn't have many nicknames, unless you count the fact that her Uncle Hikaru calls her Nana. She really, really hates this nickname. However, due to the fact that she was named not only for her late Aunt, the both of them were named after her great-great-grandfather, Naoya Minamoto. As such, he mother will sometimes call her Nao. She doesn't really mind this.

⌈Age⌋
102

⌈Gender⌋
Female

⌈Race⌋
Pure Blood Vampire

⌈Role⌋
Daughter of Sora & Nicole Akarui | Sister to Reiko & Haru Akarui | Niece of Trevor Edyta | Cousin to Hikari & Shizuo Minamoto

⌈Face Claim⌋
Kaname Chidori | Full Metal Panic




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⌈Looks. Who needs them? I certainly don’t.⌋




⌈Hair Color⌋
Cornflower Blue

⌈Eye Color⌋
Brown | Amber

⌈Skin Tone⌋
Pale

⌈Height⌋
5'4"

⌈Weight⌋
112 lbs.

⌈Physical Description⌋
Physically, Naya looks very much like her mother, with a long, lean body corded with muscles and pale skin. Her limbs are longer than average, giving her a very feline appearance at times. Her hair and eye color, however, came without a doubt from her father. Her eyes match his almost perfectly, though her gaze tends to be a bit sharper and more vibrant. She tends to have a wild gleam to hers that her father lacks, and her mouth enjoys twisting itself into evil grins quite often.




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⌈This is what makes me, me, I suppose.⌋




⌈Potential Interest⌋
Torahiko: Don't get her wrong, she understands that love can be important, and she appreciates what her parents have, but let's face it, her uncle had the right of it: not everyone gets to be so lucky. Naya just doesn't seem to care very much about finding love. If it finds her, well, that's a different story altogether. But she isn't going to go looking for it. Despite her outlook, she has developed a rather large crush on a certain male that runs around with her little brother. Not that she's said anything. Because she hasn't. And she's not going to.

⌈Skills
⌋
    ★ Cooking || She's not entirely sure where she got it, but Naya loves to cook. She's quite good at it, too. She not only can usually pull off intricate recipes, she can also experiment, and has very rarely had something turn out poorly.
    ★ Fighting || This is something she excels at. Hand-to-hand combat, mixed martial arts, you name it, Naya can probably pull it off. There's just something about a fight that gets her adrenaline running.
    ★ Swordplay || You don't grow up with parents proficient in blades without learning a few tricks yourself. She's perfected it so that she often fights with the blade in one hand and the sheath in the other, using the holder as a weapon just as potent as the blade.

⌈Abilities⌋
    ✠ Electrokinesis || The manipulation of electricity, this is something she inherited from her father. She rather enjoys using it, especially for playing pranks, and will often go around shocking people. This drives her sister insane, as well as Trevor.
    ✠ Blood Manipulation || Originally the ability of her great-great-grandfather, Naya can manipulate and control a person through their blood. Their blood must be exposed to the open air in order for this to work, and it is a horrific technique. Naya hates using it to her very core, and has only ever used it while her mother was training her to control it. She considers it a curse more than anything.
    ✠ Eye of the Destruction || This particular ability has only been found in one other vampire in the entire vampiric history, and that was her great-grandfather, Nathaniel Edyta. This also has yet to awaken within Naya. Nathaniel had limited control over the ability, whereas Naya, should she ever awaken it, would be able to use the ability at will. If she gazes at something, she can literally bend space and time around the object to restore it to a former state. A sword, for instance, would return to unrefined metal and ore. Plants would revert to seeds, and so on. On a human being, she could literally erase wounds, scars, and the like, returning the body to it's former state, so long as she did not take it to far. In the case of Farah, she could force the girl to revert back to her human form if she shifted. A truly frightening ability if used in the wrong hands, one might wonder just how the girl would use it if she knew she had it.




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⌈Mom says that I’m a wild child. I have to agree with her.⌋




⌈Other⌋
  • Much to her chargin, Naya recently created a familiar of her own, perhaps a year ago. She was expecting a cat, of course, her entire immediate family has feline familiars. What she was not expecting was a tiger. A small male white tiger was born of her, by the name of Mako. For the first week, Naya kept him locked in her room, utterly embarrassed. Haru, however, had other feelings on the subject, and let the cat out of the bag, as it were. Now, Mako is almost never from Naya's side, the little rascal causing almost as much trouble as his master. Naya loves him dearly, of course, but she's still a bit appalled at his form. Still, there is little she can do about that, it is what it is.

    ⌈Habits⌋
      ☁ Yelling || Naya tends to get hyper-active and over-excited, causing her to yell. A lot. She can't really help it, it's just something that she does. She also tends to yell at her uncle quite often, as he annoys her to no end. She can often be heard yelling at Trevor at any given point in time.
      ☁ Biting her Nails || A nervous habit, Naya will often bite her nails when she's stressed. She's sheared her right thumb nail almost completely off.
      ☁ Staring || Naya can be a bit...awkward, at times. She has the very odd habit of staring wide-eyed at someone -especially Trevor- when they pointedly ignore her. She can keep this up for hours on end, sometimes without blinking. It can be very unnerving.




    ⌈Likes⌋
      ჊ Family || Naya loves her family dearly, and greatly enjoys being around them. She would do anything for any of them, seeing as she and her sister and her Uncle are older than her three cousins. She tends to be slightly over-protective of them, but it's only because she loves them.
      ჊ Spicy Foods || Naya loves anything with a kick, and likes hot peppers, especially. She's been known to just eat jalapeno's by themselves before. Her favorite thing to eat, though, is chocolate ice cream topped with pickles. She has no idea why this is, though.
      ჊ Arguing || Naya loves fighting in all forms, mainly by arguing. If she's not arguing with Trevor or Reiko, she's generally nagging her cousins, trying to provoke them.

    ⌈Dislikes⌋
      ✘ Silence || Naya cannot stand silence, and if the room is quiet, she can generally be heard drumming her fingers or humming, or even muttering to herself.
      ✘ Her Ability || She hates her ability to manipulate blood with a sheer and utter passion, even more so than her mother. She finds it vile and filthy, and refuses to use it.
      ✘ Cold || Naya does not like being cold, and as such, tends to truly hate winter, and snow, and ice. She cannot stand bold, and will often loudly complain about it if she is cold.




    ⌈Strengths⌋
      ♩ Loyalty || If she likes you, you have Naya's loyalty to the point she would die for you. This is not given easily, and has been extended to no one outside of her family. Yet.
      ♩ Stamina || Naya has incredible stamina, even for a Pureblood. She's been known to fight continuously for hours on end, twelve straight being her limit. She doesn't tire easily, even when exerting herself to her limits.

    ⌈Weaknesses⌋
      ☯ Reckless || Naya really doesn't think too much about the dangers of a situation, and will often disregard them, causing her to end up in some pretty sticky situations that her uncle has had to help her out of. But Trevor won't always be around.
      ☯ Strength || While Naya has great stamina, she is not the most strongest around. She is easily overpowered, and as such, generally cannot challenge an opponent one on one. She needs back-up.




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⌈Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet.⌋




⌈Personality⌋
Independent | Head-strong | Reckless | Wild

Naya gives a whole new meaning to the term "wild-child". Reckless to a fault, Naya enjoys nothing more than running head-first into a battle and tearing through her enemies. She loves fighting to the point where she lives for the battlefield, and if she isn't fighting, she's usually training of arguing with her sister and uncle. She has some sense of loyalty, if only to her family, but is stubborn and bull-headed in her ideals. She rarely considers anyone else's opinion relevant, and no matter how much sense they may or may not make, she refuses to acknowledge any but her own.

Naya rarely sees the danger in front of her own face, and even when she does, she tends to not acknowledge much other than, yes, there is danger. This is not because she lacks some type of self-preservation, but more so because she doesn't see the point in letting it keep you from living your life. Yes, things will go wrong, yes, you might get hurt, but it beats living in a bubble, right? She hates being tied down to something, or being told she's not allowed to do something. She'll strive to prove others wrong, especially her father.

She is also an insatiable prankster. One of her favorite things to do is to sneak up on people and shock them, and finds no end of amusement in setting traps for people, from water buckets on top of doors to rabbit snares and pitfalls. Her favorite target is Trevor, but anyone, really, will do. She'll often drag Hikari into helping her.




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⌈My Uncle Hiki helped Mom deliver me and my sister. Kinda weird, but hey, so is my family.⌋




⌈History⌋
Naya is the first of twin daughters to Sora and Nicole Akarui. She knows the story well that her Uncle Hikaru saved her mother from her grandfather Sebastian, who wanted his grandchildren simply because they were twins. Hikaru killed the man, and then helped her mother deliver them seeing as she'd gone into labor. Naya never really was too interested in the past, because she doesn't remember it, so, what's the point? She grew up rather close to her other uncle, Trevor, to the point where he's like her brother instead of her uncle. For the most part, her childhood was a happy one. Her father downright spoils her, but she doesn't mind, for the most part, at least. He has his moments where he's driven her up the wall, but she knows he only does it because he loves her, so she tries to simply put up with it.




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⌈All I've done for want of wit to memory now I can't recall. So fill to me the parting glass, good night and joy be with you all.⌋



So begins...

Naya Akarui's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ryoku Minamoto Character Portrait: Hikari Minamoto Character Portrait: Haru Akarui Character Portrait: Naya Akarui Character Portrait: Farah Tasogare Character Portrait: Eien Minamoto
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Steely violet eyes gazed out into the crowd, watching as the students interacted with each other, giggling and smiling as they walked by. Eien's face remained void of much of any emotion, just the barest flicker of irritation shining through as he glanced down to his side. Farah had latched onto his arm, her body trembling a bit as she tried to keep her composure. He couldn't blame her, not really. She was a shy creature to begin with, so being in such a large, occupied space, would do that to her. He sighed softly through his nose, shifting so that he was standing a bit more composed and not enough to disturb his sister.

Farah, on the other hand, tried her best to keep her composure. It was late Autumn, and this festival they were currently attending had caught her completely off guard. She wasn't entirely sure what to do seeing as she wasn't so good at interacting with people, often. Sure, she interacted with a few people here and there, but that was because she had to interact with them. Doing so voluntarily was a different story all together. It required her to talk to more people, and not just about homework either. With that in mind, her arm tightened a bit onto Eien's. He had always provided a sort of stability for her, and of course her sister, Hikari, who was currently missing.

Hikari had found her way to one of the booths, her eyes shining with mirth as she glanced at the objects laid out on the table. Most of them were pendants, some shaped in odd animals, others shaped into different shapes. There were three that caught her eye, and she was trying to decide which one she wanted. They were an owl, a dragon, and a tiger. The owl was carved out of an onyx gemstone, the dragon a sapphire gemstone, and the tiger a jade. They were well made, and for a moment, Hikari couldn't tell if they were real or not. She decided they were not, seeing as they were being sold at the school, but then again, they still could be. She paid for one of them and continued on her way.

Ryoku, however, was grinning from ear to ear, his arms laced behind his head as he stared out in front of him. There were so many fruits just waiting for him to take a bite out of, but he'd have his fun first. Which is why, currently, he was traveling with the two other people in his life he'd consider friends. Well, one of them was his actual family member, so he was stuck with him regardless. Not that he minded, Haru was a blast to pick on. It was interesting to see how many shades of red Haru could turn, and they all always seemed to compliment his skin tone. Well, for now, he'd just pick on the available party to him, starting with the first person he came across next.


Reiko was not exactly sure where Naya had gone off to, but she didn’t let it bother her much. Her twin was always doing something, and it was usually causing trouble. One day, Kiko was certain, it would get Naya into trouble herself. Until then
 well, most of the trouble seemed to find her instead. As now, when one of the rubber balls from a carnival game rebounded at the wrong angle from the wall it had been thrown against and sailed towards her head. Her arm snapped up automatically, and she caught it, but the problem was, she missed the fact that there was someone headed towards her with a box of darts for one of the balloon-popping games.

The collision was loud, and the darts when flying, several of them coming loose from the box and starting to rain downwards on the two now-prone people. Reiko was on her feet at once—the person carrying the box had been human, they could really hurt him. Her hands moved quickly as she caught darts in the spaces between her fingers, moving lightly over the ground to make sure she got them all, and when her hand closed over the last one, she breathed a sigh of relief, smiling down at the human with the box, who was looking at her with a slightly-dazed expression, his face red. Probably from embarrassment, poor thing. She tilted her head to the side and put the darts back in the box, helping him up with a hand about his forearm and setting the box back in his arms, then dusting off his shoulders.

“There we go,” she said gently, nodding with a brighter smile. “Everything’s fine now. Just be a bit careful, okay? Everyone’s relying on you to help make this a fun festival, and we should all try our best, right?” The human boy nodded, and Kiko’s gentle smile inched a little wider. “Good.” Stepping back, she gestured for him to go ahead past her, which he did, and she continued on her way, not really aiming to be anywhere in particular.

Nearby, but not so close as to have witnessed the incident, Tatsuhiko was wondering how it was that he was even here. Public spectacles were much more Tora’s area of expertise than his, and in all honesty, he could do without the crowds. Sighing softly, he passed a vendor of artisan jewelry and perused the wares. He was not typically one for ornamentation, but then, the pieces were very well-crafted, and unless he was mistaken, the gems were genuine. He paused, brushing his fingers lightly over the smooth surface of a sapphire dragon.

“It suits you,” said the wareseller, a middle-aged human woman, pushing her square-framed glasses up her nose. She looked at him with something akin to knowing, and for just a moment, he entertained the notion that she might understand just how poignant that statement really was. Perhaps he was reading too much into things, but he tilted his head faintly to the side.

“Perhaps,” he replied noncommittally, and she smiled.

Torahiko surveyed the festival, blinking languidly at the bright nighttime lights and the milling people. So many opportunities, so little time. It was always that, wasn’t it? A lack of time. He’d been running out of it since the day he was born. Unlike the ones beside him, who had all the time in the world, if they played their cards right. Well, he was never one to let it bother him overmuch—it was all about what he did with it, and right now, he intended to have a lot of fun. “Well, well, henchmen,” he said playfully, referencing the jocular nicknames of the men to his right and left, “what variety of mayhem shall we cause tonight?”


"Boss...I think Naya Nii-san is beating us to it." Haru pointed, and sure enough, a few rows down, one could hear -and see- a rather large commotion. Kon, the large dark lion on top of which Haru Akarui rode, as he always did, chuckled. "Haru, Naya always beats us to it. Oh look, and here comes Trevor, right on cue."

True to the familiar's word, the vampire strode right past the trio, and towards where one could see flashes of cornflower-blue hair amidst yelling and destruction. It was a bit unclear as to what exactly was going on, but as Trevor got closer, he could hear what Naya was saying. Or yelling, rather.

"What did you say, you brat?!"

"I said, a girl can't fight. That would be you, little lady."

A vein stood out in Naya's forehead. This kid was human, and probably about seventeen, from the looks of him. Little lady? Little lady? Oh...he was going to get it. He was so going to get it. "Little lady, huh? Do you have any idea who I am?"

"A girl?" He smirked down at her, dark hair falling into his eyes. He was nearly a foot taller than she was, to be sure. But that didn't mean anything, not really. Naya hissed out a breath through her teeth. She drew back a fist...

Only to have it caught by someone. Naya blinked, looking over her shoulder to see her uncle, Trevor. He was chewing on a toothpick as she glared at him. "He's not worth it, Naya." Trevor's eyes slid over to the male, who looked almost haughty. Trevor sighed through his nose. This guy was beginning to piss him off, and for someone as patient as Trevor, that was saying something. "Picking fights with people is not very smart. You never know what kind of friends they have."

He did not, however, give any of them a chance to answer as he pulled his niece away, who was glaring at him. "I would have been just fine, Trevor, he was only a human." Trevor sighed, his hand under Naya's elbow to ensure she didn't slip away from him. "Exactly, he was human, you would have killed him."

"Besides, isn't Mama Kiki always telling you not to fight, Nana-chan?" A small voice spoke up, the small white tiger landing neatly on top of Naya's head. "Shut up, Mako." Naya scowled up at her familiar, and when the three of them got back to where Tora, Ryo, and Haru were, Naya turned and punched Trevor in the jaw, sending him sprawling. "That's for helping me when I didn't need it!" She crossed her arms and then glared at Haru, who couldn't seem to stop laughing.


Ryoku laughed at his cousin's observation of Naya, the ever flamboyant Akarui child. Though he couldn't say he wasn't equal parts amused, Naya always had a certain flair about her that could draw just about any moth to her. Not that he had much to worry about, Trevor was there. Their uncle was the unfortunate soul to be tied to Naya, watching her as she rampaged through the school. His lips tilted into a faint smirk as he stared at his cousin.

"Naya, Naya, really must you torture Trevor so? He's only looking out for you," he crooned out, his smirk widening. He shook his head a bit before walking up to Haru, leaning on Kon and placing his elbow ontop of Haru's shoulder, his other hand laid at his waist. "Besides Haru-chan here is saying you are taking all the fun. That, sweetheart, is a no-no. You gotta leave some for us you know," he spoke, his smirk widening a bit.

Farah, on the other hand, had somehow managed to lose herself and separate from Eien. She shivered slightly, rubbing her arms together to provide a sense of comfort to herself. It did little to calm her nerves, however; a familiar scent came to her, and the barest flicker of a smile crossed her features. She knew who that was, and if she could find him, she'd be okay. But that was if she could find him. Though she caught and held his scent, it was quickly disappearing amongst the plethora of other scents. Eventually, she caught sight of his familiar deep, purple hair.

"Hiko-san," she called out meekly, her voice a note just above a whisper. She cringed at the softness of her own voice, and part of her silently wished she could make it stronger. She'd have to deal with it for now though, and made her way so that she was standing just a bit behind Tatsuhiko. "How are you, Hiko-san?" she questioned lightly, her nervousness ebbing away slowly. He, Eien, and Hikari, always had that affect on her, and she was grateful to have at least one of the three.

Hikari frowned, her face pulled back into one of discomfort as she stared at the fluffy penguin in front of her. She had tried everything she could think of to win the creature, and so far it was proving to be quite the evasive creature. She gritted her teeth, handing the stall vendor another coupon as she tried her hand at the toss again. She missed once, twice, the fifth time she ended up throwing the rest of the rings in a rather hazardous manner, managing to knock one of the rings off and watched as it bounced towards a person. Said person managed to catch it without much effort and steel violet eyes met vibrant mahogany.

"Eien," she addressed her brother as she watched the dark haired male toss the ring towards the bottles, watching as it spun against the glass and fell in place. She pursed her lips together, irritation evidently leaking from her eyes as the stall vendor handed the penguin to Eien. "That's not fair, E-chan," she stated, folding her arms over her chest in the process. Eien merely regarded her with the same stoic face as he glanced at the penguin, then towards his sister. Raising an eyebrow, he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, if that is the case, Imouto-chan, then I will take my prize elsewhere," he spoke, his voice never missing a step to the monotonous beat.


“Beating us to it does not mean beating us at it,” Tora pointed out with a grin. “Besides, the bodyguard didn’t actually let her fight anybody, so
 no points, kitten.” He shrugged with an air of mock sympathy, his smile stretching to flash teeth that still had a hint of fang, even when he was perfectly at ease. Perhaps it was better to say that he was never completely at ease. Tora was always ready for a fight, even when he seemed most relaxed. It was in his nature, like kindness was in the natures of some other people.

Of course, the little white tiger cub jumped onto her head at that point, and his expression changed slightly, though what exactly was different about it would be hard to say. “Hey, little Mayhem! Looks like we have all the tricksters in a row today. I say we take advantage.” As good as his word, Tora winked a bright green eye at Naya and headed into the crowd. The best kind of chaos required a surprising amount of planning beforehand. Kind of like dominoes. You could tip over a few if you wanted, but it was much more effective if they were all lined up the right way, first.

The soft voice halted Tatsu’s movement, and a small smile flickered over his face. He turned to face the snow-haired girl, inclining his torso in a slight bow. It was certainly polite, but not overly formal, exactly. He was polite to Farah because he did not know how to be kind, and she deserved at least that much. “Good evening, Farah,” he said gently, watching as her expression shifted from one of obvious discomfort into something a little steadier. The girl was an open book in many ways, but he’d never use it against her if he could avoid it.

He wondered for a moment why she was here, as if he recalled correctly, she liked crowds no more than he did, but perhaps she had come with her family—many of whom he could presently smell, but none of whom he could see. “I hope you are well?” It was inflected as a question, an indirect way of asking if there was anything he could be doing to help her. He could smell cooking food, and tilted his head slightly to the side. “Have you yet eaten?” It was as much an idea as anything, after all.

Kiko, having caught the scent of two of her favorite relatives, was only just rounding a corner as Eien moved to take his leave, and inadvertently ran smack into him, rebounding off the much more sturdy form of her cousin and landing hard on her rear. It didn’t hurt, but it was certainly embarrassing. Reiko sighed, her face coloring to a pinkish shade. She really was unlucky. “Oh dear,” she said, picking herself back up off the ground and dusting off her clothes. “I’m sorry, Eien. I was coming to see both of you—I did not expect to succeed so
 soon.” She cracked a small, very sheepish smile.


Naya made an odd little grunting sound as she stalked off after Tora. He at least knew how to have fun. Preferably the kind where she was not called "little lady". She hated that almost as much as her mother hated being called "princess". There was a wry little smile on her face though, watching her brother and her cousin. They were made for each other, really. If only Haru would open his eyes and see it. Or confess, rather, Naya was well aware of her little brother's affections. She shook her head slightly.

"So I don't get any points for clocking Trevs, either? No fair..."

Haru, on the other hand, had somehow managed to not overly blush, and keep his composure, when Ryoku came over. He was not, however, able to stop his heart from slamming into his ribcage. He really needed to get his head out of the clouds. He leaned backwards slightly, watching as Naya and Tora stalked off through the crowd. He looked back at his cousin. "Ro-chan, they're leaving without us."

Trevor sighed, watching as Naya left, shaking his head slowly. Well, he was now certain of two things: one, if Naya was with Tora, he at least didn't have to worry overmuch about her being in danger. And two: there would be absolutely no stopping her. With that in mind, he turned, waving at his nephew, perfectly content to leave them. He needed a shower.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Naya Akarui Character Portrait: Torahiko Fujiwara
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Tora’s keen ears would have caught the sound of her approach even if his nose hadn’t done the trick. The grin he wore faded back into a smirk, but other than that, he simply kept walking, shortening his stride slightly so that she wouldn’t have to run to catch up. He was head and shoulders over most of the crowd, actually, which made things convenient on some level, as he could easily scan it for the most likely opportunities for mischief. When it became apparent that his henchmen were not following, he turned to glance down at Naya. “In answer to the question, kitten, no. No points for punching the bodyguard, though it was fun to watch. But. If perchance we can instigate some truly magnificent mischief this evening, I’d be willing to negotiate the total. There’s a prize for fifty points in one hour, you know. Neither of my henchman has ever managed it.”

Taking his hand from the opposite sleeve, he gestured expansively, to indicate the wide array of festival decorations and activities laid out before them. “So? What will it be? Show me some chaos, kitten. Little Mayhem and I will assist, but the master plan must be yours.” So saying, he reached over and plucked Mako from atop Naya’s head, settling the white tiger cub over his shoulder. “Isn’t that right, Little Mayhem?” Tora used his index finger to scratch under the familiar’s chin, quirking an eyebrow at Naya as though awaiting instructions. It might be fun to be the henchman for a change



Naya arched a brow at Tora, a slow grin spreading over her face. Silently, she began looking around her, her eyes taking in all the different possibilities. Mako giggled madly as Torahiko placed him on his shoulder. "So, Kishi-san and I are henchman? Shouldn't I be a henchkitten?"

Naya had to fight not to roll her eyes. "Oh fine, Mako, sure, you can be a henchkitten." Suddenly, a few different things clicked, and she ran off, coming back with a rather large piece of well-cooked meat, and a length of string. "I've got a job for you, Mako." The tiger cub looked perplexed. "Uh...pass?"


Tora saw where this was going, and burst out laughing, a deep bass sound as much rumble as chuckle. “Sorry, henchkitty, there’s no passing when the boss tells you to do something.” He scooped the cub off his shoulder and held him in one arm, reaching for the string end of Naya’s contraption. With one hand, and the occasional use of his teeth, he rigged the string into a series of knots that would settle as a harness over the familiar, because he didn’t want to choke the little guy with a simple knot around his neck or anything. Sliding the contraption on with a deft motion, he smirked over at Naya, the gesture flashing a hint of fang on one side of his mouth.

“You want the stand with all the animals, right?” He asked, though he already knew the answer, and he stooped to set the tiger cub down, the meat trailing a foot or so behind him. “No worries, Little Mayhem, you’ve got this.” The slightly sadistic nature of the smile he wore and the flash to his brilliant green eyes were really not particularly reassuring, perhaps, but well
 they weren’t honestly meant to be. As soon as Mako was off, albeit somewhat reluctantly, Tora glanced around, and scenting no humans, shrugged.

“Well, one more tiger can only make things better, I suppose.” So saying, he shifted, taking on the form of a truly massive predatory cat, his pelt a somewhat-unnatural golden in hue, the black stripes deep as night. His eyes, however, were the same green they always were. All told, Tora was the size of a small vehicle. It was rather obvious to those in the know that he’d been built this way to hunt and kill werewolves, because he was larger than most of them. If a cat could smile, that was the expression on his face, though it looked dangerously like a snarl, not really mitigated at all by the obvious amusement in his eyes.

“Hop on, kitten. The evening’s mistress of mischief should be transported in style, no? Five points for the idea; now let’s see if you can’t amplify the results.”


Mako growled lightly, ending more like grunt, and he ran off, heading towards the booths his master had pointed out. Apparently, someone was running an adopt-a-pet booth...full of dogs. Mako hated dogs. He was a tiger, not some filthy canine. "Master so owes me for this." He grumbled, taking off as soon as he heard the dogs beginning to bark.

Naya looked at Tora, something akin to admiration in her eyes. He truly was beautiful like this. She laughed slightly, wasting no time climbing onto his back. "Five points already, huh? How come Ryo and Haru have never won? They must lack a woman's inspiration."

Mako ran, winding his way in and out of booths and crowds, a trail of no less than twenty dogs clamoring clumsily after him. While at first he really hadn't wanted to do this, there was no denying he was having fun. He only laughed when his master's voice floated through his head, and he did as he was told. There, in the middle of the festival, was a large stage, where a rather poor rendition of Shakespeare's As You Like It was being presented. The tiger cub leapt lightly onto the stage, and then went straight for the lead actor, acting very much like a frightened kitten, latching onto the top of his head, claws and all.

The dogs, right on cue, all clambered up on stage, yowling and barking, most of them swarming the actors, and with a neat swipe, Mako severed the cord holding the piece of meat and leapt onto the curtain, climbing safely out of the canine's reach as he surveyed the mayhem below him. Many people were yelling, some were laughing, but the most was utter confusion.


Of course, when the massive tiger with a woman on his back leaped lightly onto he stage as though he belonged there, the reactions got even more pronounced, especially in the fear and awe departments. It was nothing less than Tora had expected—he knew, without arrogance, that he was rather magnificent in this form. And his other one. Okay, so there was definitely some arrogance involved, but it wasn’t unwarranted. “The first five are easy,” he replied, stalking the edge of the stage and snarling at the nearest cluster of onlookers, who cowered back from him. A strange rumbling sound issued from his chest, similar enough to his earlier laughter that it wasn’t that hard to guess what it must be. “It’s the last forty-five that get a little more difficult. This is barely five-point chaos right here.”

He could think of several things they could do to make it all even more ridiculous, but he was not the master of ceremonies, such as they were, on this particular eve. It was a capacity he’d ceded to Naya, and he wouldn’t do anything much unless it was her idea. Though he did pass by Mako’s perch so that the cub could also hitch a ride on him, now that his little part in this plan was for the moment complete.


Naya laughed, the sound like bells, Mako landing light in front of her on Tora's shoulders. "Then let's see what else we can drum up." Her eyes gleamed.

For the next fifty minutes, the three of them managed the destroy no less than half of the booths, start a number of fistfights, and even set a stall on fire. Naya also spent an amusing twenty minutes shocking people at the kissing booth; that one had actually been Mako's idea.

As it were now, the two of them were, at the moment, watching as the flames engulfed the stand. It had been empty, and they wouldn't let it spread, of course. Of course, she didn't stop people from freaking out over it, many of them running around looking for water. Naya's chuckled, crossing her arms as she glanced over at Tora. "Well, how'd I do, Kishi-Tora?"


At the question, Tora shifted back into his humanoid form, straightening to his full height and raking a callused hand back though his red-brown hair. Cracking his neck first to one side and then the other, he contemplated it with seeming ambivalence for a while, as though mostly unimpressed. Actually, the effort had been rather fun, and by now, the entire festival was in some form of chaos or another. That much was easy to see. And in the eye of the hurricane stood a man, a woman, and a little tiger, wearing matching grins and surveying their handiwork with a sense of satisfaction. “Mm
” he hummed the note in the back of his throat, idly cracking his knuckles. “Not bad, for a no-fatalities situation.” He wouldn’t have cared that much if they killed someone; being raised without a moral compass to be a contract killer would do that to a person. All the same, it wasn’t as though he went out of his way to murder anyone who didn’t challenge him first, so he wasn’t going to dock points for this.

He ran a quick mental calculation. “Comes out to
 forty-nine and a half. Lucky for you, I round up, not down, because I’m a generous bastard like that. So, fifty. Congratulations, kitten. You’re officially capable of more mayhem in an hour than either of my henchmen." He crossed his arms over his broad chest and quirked an eyebrow down at her. “That’s a lot of destruction per square inch of person you have there.” He was, of course, intentionally leaving out any mention of the reward for this accomplishment. That, she would have to inquire after herself. It was more fun that way.


"Well, that isn't really surprising, when you look at my mother, now is it? Besides, I've had more experience than Haru and Ryo. Someone could argue you don't pick your henchmen very well." She quirked a brow at him, a small smile on her face. "We should make a habit of this, I haven't had this much fun in a long time."

"Nana-chan, you got fifty points. You're supposed to get a prize, remember?" The tiger-cub spoke up from his position on Torahiko's shoulder. Naya's smile ticked a little wider. "That's right, you did say I'd win something. Dare I ask what it is?"


Tora snorted, his amusement clear on his face. “I do the best I can with what I’m given. There’s always room for a third, if you’re volunteering
” the sentence trailed off into a grin as the cub on his shoulder brought up the matter of his little promise, and he laid a hand on the little one’s head. “Did I? Heh. I suppose I did.” Torahiko was one of those people who enjoyed a challenge like he enjoyed little else, and the rules of this game had long been set. Part of it was that nobody knew what the supposed prizes were, not even Ryo and Haru. Though he suspected that after this story made its rounds, they’d be able to guess what the tenor of the challenge really was. He wondered if they’d try a little harder or not. He was, after all, a man who followed the rules—rather, the ones he made up.

He set Mako back on the ground, straightening up and turning the required ninety degrees to be facing Naya. She was a great deal shorter than him, as most people were, but this only served to amuse him further. “Well
 let it never be said that I don’t keep my promises, hm?” he inquired, his tone light and playful. His actions were sure and deceptively swift: he slid the callused pads of his fingers back along her jawline to cup the back of her neck and bent the intervening distance, moving her only slightly forward and causing their lips to meet. Her surprise was such that rendering the kiss unchaste was not at all difficult, and Tora was not the kind of person who let an opportunity of such a nature pass him by without taking advantage of it. For all that, it wasn’t a rushed or hasty gesture—he was rather an old hand at the art of seduction, and that was what it was meant to do. Sensual, languid, and drugging—and he tugged at her lower lip with the lightest application of his teeth when he pulled away, grinning.

Tora licked his lips in a decidedly wicked fashion, winking down at Naya. “I rather expected you’d be delicious, kitten. I’m not disappointed.” He also half-expected to be decked any second now, and honestly wasn’t interest in dodging it, either. It wasn’t like she could hurt him in such a fashion, after all. He might not have minded it if she could.


For the first few seconds, Naya was utterly shocked to the point that she really could do little other than stand there. And even when she did get over the shock, she was not inclined to pull away from him, and she was even slightly dissapointed when he pulled away. Even so, she was not entirely blind to the situation, and after his comment, she blinked, and then she balled her right hand into a fist, scarlet coloring her face to an odd contrast to the blue of her hair.

She drew it back, and then punched him squarely in the nose. "You're an asshole. Some prize." She crossed her arms and scowled. Mako, on the other hand, had collapsed onto this side in a fit of laughter. "That's not fair, Kishi-san, you know Nana-chan--" Whatever the cub had been about to say was cut off by Naya planting a foot on his head. "Shut up, Mako!"


He understood why the bodyguard had pulled her away from the human, though if his laughter was anything to go by, he found it all amusing rather than painful. “That’s some left hook, kitten,” he managed past the residual chuckling. “You sure you weren’t going for the hundred?” He raised a brow slightly at the antics, quite well aware without needing to be told what Little Mayhem was going to say. It was obvious that the girl had a crush on him, and this was something he found rather hilarious, honestly. For all her expertise in chaos, she was also clearly inexperienced in certain ways, and he wouldn’t be terribly surprised if that was the first time a man had kissed her in such a fashion.

He leaned back down so that they were almost nose-to-nose. “You know,” he said in a low, husky rasp, “If you’re not careful, people might start to think that violence is a bit of a kink of yours.” He was really enjoying this too much, but that had never stopped him before. Was it even possible to have too much fun? He wasn’t sure and he didn’t care. “I personally find the notion very attractive, but if you’re not interested
” He straightened and shrugged, his tones fading back into nonchalance. “Then I guess I’ll see you around, kitten.” Folding his hands back into his sleeves, Tora turned and departed, merging into the chaos like he knew exactly where everything was about to be.

It never did to overstay a welcome, after all.

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Character Portrait: Naya Akarui Character Portrait: Torahiko Fujiwara
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Two months after the festival found winter beginning to settle over the campus of Cross Academy, but it had not yet snowed, and the last of the autumn leaves were tenacious. Today was an especially fine one, a brief respite from the cold snap that had started three nights ago, and Torahiko was taking full advantage of the warmth of the sunlight, sprawled out on the ground in a clearing in the forest that surrounded the grounds. His arms were spread-eagled out to either side of him, his eyes shut, and his chest rising and falling steadily. He was, in fact, asleep, but the way Tora and his brother slept was not the same way that other people did.

Perhaps it was an effect of the time they’d spent in incubation tanks, or perhaps it was the cruel rigors of their training. It might even be the abnormally-high degree of psychic energy in each of them, that gave Tora his psychometry and Tatsu his precognition. Whatever it was, it ensured that even when they slept and sometimes dreamed, they were aware, in some way, of how things proceeded around them in the outside world, able to wake at a moment’s notice and react if necessary. It had saved their lives more than once.

Presently, it wasn’t going to save Tora’s life, but it was going to provide him some entertainment. He sensed her coming, though he supposed she must have miscalculated where he was, because she tripped right over him, headed for the ground at a truly spectacular rate. At least, she was until one of his loose arms moved up to catch her, in what could have been a very lucky movement made by someone entirely caught in dream. Indeed, he didn’t exactly wake up when his tanned arm banded around her waist and stopped her fall by directing it atop his person, causing her to land more or less nose-to-chest with him, which in the latter case was a bare expanse of honey-colored skin, the result of wearing a haori-style shirt rather loosely. Nor was he fully conscious when his grip tightened and his other arm circled around her lower back. Rolling slightly, he moved onto his side and hugged her closer, nuzzling his nose into her hair and inhaling, murmuring something with sleepy satisfaction, too low and rumbly to make out the words properly.

A slight smile took up residence on his face, though without some rather acrobatic escape maneuvers, she probably wouldn’t be able to see it. Her hair, he observed without really having the thought, smelled almost as good as her mouth tasted.


Naya Akarui was hopelessly lost. She sighed, wondering if she should turn around again, but then she was brought back to reality as she tripped. She had been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she hadn't even noticed the scent, or his presence at all. She let out a slight yelp as she tripped, fully expecting to come face-first to the ground, but instead, she found herself on top of something almost soft as his arm caught her around the waist. She shut her eyes as she landed, increasingly aware that her face was quite literally buried into someone's chest, and it only took one sniff to realize it was Torahiko.

She froze when she felt his other arm encircle her and they rolled over, the motion entangling their legs quite thoroughly. Naya felt her face turning red, she was fairly certain one could feel the heat she was giving off. Tora muttered something, and she realized as he all but buried his nose into her hair that he was asleep. That really only made her blush further, and she was fairly certain that she was the same color as her aunt's hair. Oh, oh, this was so embarassing. This type of thing only happened to her twin, not to her. Well, she supposed there was a first time for everything.

She lay there, chewing on her bottom lip. She'd stopped moving, as when she did, she was rather aware of Tora's body, and that...well. Facing his bare chest alone was much more than she was used to, and while she was trying to decide if she should wake him up or not, she found herself becoming mesmerized by the planes of said chest, the broad muscles apparent beneath skin. She started slightly, realizing her train of thought and she sighed. Her voice was slightly muffled, being so close to him, but she spoke all the same. Her voice sounded oddly small to her. "Tora...? Please wake up..."


This really was just too much fun. To further exacerbate matters, Tora shifted slightly, exhaling a warm breath directly against the column of her throat, curling his much larger frame around her smaller one as though seeking to both give and receive warmth against the chill of the day. It was taking her an awfully-long time to react to what was going on, and though his ego hardly needed the boost, he felt it all the same. Tora knew he was very nice to look at, and he’d rendered more than one person a stammering mess before—it was something he quite enjoyed. But something about doing it to her, someone with so much fire and brimstone in her, was immensely more satisfying.

When she spoke, he considered drawing the whole thing out a little more, perhaps pretending to be a heavier sleeper than he was, but in the end, the prospect of seeing her embarrassed face was far too much to pass up, so he brought himself the rest of the way to wakefulness, cracking open emerald eyes which had a hint of sleepiness left in them still and pulling back just enough to look her in the face. He blinked once, slowly, and allowed the small smile on his lips to spread into something positively sinful. She really was cute when she blushed like that. He took in the full details of the situation—tangled legs, the state of his shirt, that delightful shade of red—and chuckled darkly. One of his hands snaked out from under her, and he used it to prop up his head, disinclined to either let her go or move from his present placement. The other remained banded about her waist, his thumb drawing idle circles at her hip, where his large hand rested.

“Mm
 good morning, kitten,” he rumbled in a low-thrumming tone. “You know, if you wanted to sleep with me, all you ever had to do was ask.”


This man. Most of the time Naya was torn between being drawn to him and wanting to beat the living daylights out of him. Now was one of those times. As embarrassed as she was, there was no denying the slight prickle of contentment she was getting from this, though at the moment, the embarrassment far outweighed it, especially when he spoke.

She supposed she should have expected nothing less than that from him. Sometimes she wondered just why she was so attracted to him, the man was a letch. So, trying to regain at least some of her dignity, she managed to scowl into his chest, not giving him the satisfaction of glare at him. However, she was still blushing, so it perhaps lost most of its desired effect.

"I had nor have no such desire, it was you who latched on to me when I tripped over you. Now will you let me go?"


Tora trailed the hand at her hip up her arm and into her hair, toying absently with the cornflower-blue strands, soft against the calluses of his fingers. He wasn’t particularly interested in her denials, especially when it was patently obvious that she had entertained the thoughts she was so fervently denying, now if not before. He blinked lazily down at her, raising an eyebrow as if the suggestion was somehow perplexing. “And why would I want to do that?” he asked languidly, as though bored by the very thought of just letting her get up and go about her day. He did so hate being bored.

There were any number of ways he could have entertained himself in this situation, but Tora hated being predictable, so he went with the one he was quite certain she was definitely not expecting. Rolling them back over, he situated them so that she was laying half on top of him, pillowed on his chest and abdomen, the corded muscle of his arm still keeping her there. “Tell me something about yourself, kitten.” The question was admittedly a bit unusual for him—he was not in the habit of getting to know people he was only interested in bedding, but he was ever a creature of his own whimsy, and had decided that he wanted to hear her talk about herself. So that’s what he would do.


Naya let out a muffled yelp as he rolled again, his arm taking her with him. Being on top of him with gravity doing its job really only made things worse, and she had the very peculiar desire to simply lay there and sleep. That alone was strange to her, but even stranger was his question. At least this way she was able to raise her head enough to look at him, although it may have been better had she not. Her face was cooling slightly, but she was still a rather bright shade of pink.

The universe really just hated her, that was all.

"I don't know what I could tell you that you probably haven't already heard. The school likes to talk about us." That was true, not only was she an Akarui -a rather prominent vampire family- but she was also a twin, believed to be a myth. That had been why her grandfather had wanted her and her sister before they were even born, why they had, between the two of them, more kidnapping contracts out than probably anyone else on the planet. It was a rather interesting thought when one thought about it.

"Though I guess if there would be something you didn't know if would be that my favorite color is green. Obviously, I like cats, and I like fighting." Like him, like his eyes. She sighed slightly. Well, there was no harm in him knowing that, she supposed. "I like to sing, too. Mom says I got that from our ancestor, Naoya. Apparently he was fond of music."


Tora listened surprisingly intently to her words, though his free hand—the one not around her waist, did wander a bit, mostly through her hair and over the contours of her form, caressing with a surprisingly-tender touch, a bit meditative, honestly. He also kept from going anywhere that would really be considered inappropriate, and ended up just stroking her back in circles and sweeps of strong fingers, pausing occasionally on a spot of tension and pressing deftly until he felt the muscle loosen and ease. He hummed a note in his throat when she finished, meeting her eyes, and half-smiling, an unreadable expression crossing his face.

“I don’t care what they say, kitten. I wanted to know what you would say.” And now he did—how interesting. He was admittedly a little intrigued by what she’d chosen to say. It was true that parts of it were things he’d known already, but not all of it was. Winding a strand of her hair upon his fingers, he brought it to his mouth and brushed his lips over it, a curiously-intimate gesture for all that he was touching no skin. Perhaps it was because he did not once break eye contact with her. When he spoke again, his voice was low, rich, and still with that faintest hint of lazy sensuality.

“Sing for me, Naya.”


Naya's eyebrows rose. No one ever asked her to sing but Haru, and occasionally Reiko. She was painfully aware of every touch and movement of his hands, though he at least seemed to keep the contact somewhat decent. Her face finally managed to regain its natural color, though he managed to make her blush again when he began playing with her hair. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt, singing for him, but...he rarely used her name, either.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. A slight smile graced her face, and she let her eyes slip closed, exhaling through her nose gently. She let herself get lost in the melody in her head for a few seconds before beginning to sing. To be honest, as she was singing, she completely forgot that Torahiko was even there. She got utterly lost in the music, and she opened her eyes when she was finished, her face brightened by a genuine smile, pink dusting her face even so.


His gaze never left her, not even when she closed her eyes. She was talented, certainly, but he was less interested in that than he was in what happened to her when she sang, and when she opened her eyes again, it was to see that the expression he wore was curiously-soft. He made no initial comment, simply flowing into a seated position and taking her with him. Tilting his head to the side, he took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted her face up towards him. Never predictable, though, he simply pressed his lips to her forehead chastely. “Beautiful,” he said simply, and the arm at her waist loosened, freeing her from his grip. She was free to go with no more harassment than that.

Naya never really knew what to make of this man, honestly. The one who flirted with her and every other woman, who harassed her, who acted like he didn't care, and probably did not for all she knew...kissed her on the forehead and was now simply just letting her go. She just did not get him at all. He was like a puzzle that every time she put a piece in, some other, more confusing empty slot showed up, with more questions than answers.

Even so, it was a slight relief to be able to move again, though it felt strangely cold. Well, maybe that wasn't so strange, considering the weather, but...she shook her head, clearing it, and stood up. She looked at him sideways before leaving.

"All you ever have to do is ask, Kishi-Tora."

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Character Portrait: Haru Akarui Character Portrait: Naya Akarui Character Portrait: Reiko Akarui
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For once, Reiko wasn’t in the library. In fact, she was waiting at the gates of the Academy, dressed casually in a long-sleeved shirt, skirt, dark leggings and boots, accounting a little for the winter weather but not actually bothered by it. She supposed it was not long until the holidays, though it wasn’t really something that her family bothered with much one way or another. Still, they might take a trip this year—she honestly didn’t have much of a preference on the matter. She turned another page in her book, only to smell her siblings approaching. Marking her place carefully, she tucked the book into her messenger bag, and her face assumed a small smile.

The Akarui siblings made a point of getting off-campus every once in a while, once a month at least. This usually involved, as it would today, going out into the nearby town and just having a day for the three of them. Reiko always looked forward to it, because while she and her siblings were very different people, she loved them too dearly for words, and considered any time she had with them precious. Even if Naya had nearly killed her more times than she could properly remember and even if she’d accidentally walked in on Haru and a pair of lovers one time, prompting their mother to make the ‘not-under-our-roof’ rule. She attributed both of these things more to her own bad luck than anything, and for someone so hung up on fairy-story happy endings, she was very supportive of her brother in whatever he wanted for his life, even if she did know more about his feelings for Ryo (and Ryo’s feelings for Haru) than anyone would ever give her credit for.

These things—loving and accepting people for who and how they were while still trying to help them be their very best selves—were what the love of a family was about. So when her siblings arrived, Reiko smiled wider, and just barely managed to avoid stabbing herself on the wrought iron of the school gate. This, however, only made her shake her head. She was used to it. “So, where to today, guys?” She asked brightly, taking one of Naya’s hands in her left and one of Haru’s in her right. Sometimes, Reiko was definitely the oldest sister. Other times, one would guess she was the youngest, and this was such a moment, perhaps.


Naya was in a rather simple outfit, a plain white hoodie jacket and a short denim skirt, though perhaps what really seemed off about the outfit were her shoes. Black converse, but unlike most, they reached all the way up to her knees, laces and all. She loved those shoes, really. She was wearing black leggings as well. Haru simply had a pair of khaki shorts and an orange short-sleeved hoodie on. He grinned at Reiko, easily taking her hand. He may be the youngest, but he never really felt like it. He loved his sisters, honestly, though there was something almost...endearing about his oldest sister's habits at times. He had a silly little smile on his face, and shrugged.

"Well, I think a new bookstore opened up in town. We could go there, and of course we have to get Nana her chocolate ice cream topped with pickles. You know she'll complain about it if she doesn't get it."

Naya looked around her sister to stick her tongue out at Haru. "Shut up, Ha-chan." Haru chuckled. "So, managed to escape from fate's little game of chasing you around today, Rei-rei?"


Since they had a destination in mind now, Reiko started walking, paying careful attention to where she was placing her feet so that she didn’t step in a hole in the road or something. It would be just her luck, but she didn’t want to drag her siblings with her if she fell. She might be used to the accidents, but Naya and Haru generally went through life without her level of mishap, and so naturally, they weren’t as used to it all as Reiko had become. She didn’t want them to be, either. While it was probably funny most of the time, and she’d learned to take it in stride, it could be really unpleasant sometimes, too.

“Well, maybe a little, but honestly probably not,” Reiko admitted. They’d reached the town without major incident, but there were more distractions here, and she was more likely to mess something up and cause a disaster. The idea of a new bookstore was almost too enticing to pass up, but she tugged her brother and sister towards the ice cream parlor first. By now, the owner of the place knew Naya’s strange order by heart and greeted all of them warmly. Apparently, his grandfather had used to tell stories of a woman who ordered exactly the same thing, except sometimes with cheese. The comment, made once a few years ago, had made Reiko laugh. Likely, the owner’s grandfather had served their mother during one of her pregnancies.

Reiko herself ordered a chocolate-strawberry swirl flavor, and sat down at one of the tables in front of the window. She thought it might snow soon, the way the weather was going. She loved the snow—there was something almost magical about it, even if it was just frozen water. She tried not to let knowing a lot of science diminish her sense of magic. Where was the fun in that, after all?


Naya bit into her ice cream with a satisfying crunch, Haru sitting across from her with a bowlful of orange creme. She smirked over at her brother, who leveled his gaze at her but waited until she spoke. "So...is there a reason that I can smell Ryo-chan all over you, Ha-chan?"

Haru rolled his eyes at his sister. "That really is none of your business, Nana. What about you? Bossman's scent is still lingering on you." He smiled, satisfied when he saw Naya turn a rather interesting shade of pink. So it was true then, Naya did have a crush on Torahiko. How interesting.


Kiko fought not to giggle at the precision shots exchanged between her brother and sister. She had noticed both of these things as well of course, but she was generally not one to bring them up until it looked like they might want or need some advice on the matter. She doubted that either of them was so inclined at the moment, so she constrained her mirth to a light smile and tapped Haru across the knuckles with the back of her spoon. “Be nice, Ruru,” she said with a light—joking—note of chiding to her tone. “Nana has never had a crush on a boy before. It’s a delicate situation.” The way she raised one of her eyebrows at him, however, suggested that she knew quite well that actually, the more delicate situation was the one her silly little brother had managed to get himself into, because there were much deeper feelings involved in that one than a simple crush.

For all that Reiko didn’t know about sex and intimacy, she managed to know an awful lot about crushes, love, and the sometimes-terrifying, sometimes-exhilarating, range of feelings in between. Where she had come across this knowledge, she had never given even the faintest hint, but most assumed it was from books somewhere. And why not? Most of the things she knew came from books. It didn’t mean she knew less well than someone with a wealth of experience, as she’d proven on more than one occasion, like when Naya had caused the school’s lawn sprinkler system to go haywire and drench everyone. Reiko had been able to fix it without a problem, though she’d been soaking wet afterwards. That was just her luck, though.


Naya chuckled, turning her bright amber eyes on her sister. She had a sly smile on her face as she did so, as if she knew a secret that no one else did. Maybe she did, but really, it was more or less her usual look. "So Kiko...what about you? Ha-chan and I have our relationship problems -Shut up, Ha- but we can't be the only ones, right? Surely you've got your eye on someone, rather than your knights in shining armor you're so fond of reading about." Haru's eyebrows rose, and shut his mouth. He was actually a bit interested to see what his eldest sister would say.

The ploy was so obvious that clever Kiko saw it coming from a mile away. In fact, she’d known the conversation would eventually turn this way since they’d started pestering each other on the same topic. She loved her siblings, but they were hardly subtle. Reiko was not one to lie, especially not to family, but she was subtle, and could easily manipulate the truth so that everything she said would conform to it and her secret would remain just that—secret. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them
 well, actually it kind of was. She had faith that Haru wouldn’t tell her secret on accident, and most likely not on purpose, but
 Naya didn’t have much in the way of a filter. It was one of her charms.

“No, nothing like that,” she said, shaking her head and smiling gently. And it was true—her issues weren’t really like theirs at all. Eien wasn’t actively pursuing her as Torahiko was Naya, and they certainly were not
 involved the way Ryoku and Haru were. The very thought was almost too much, really. She was just his cousin. “I suppose I’m still waiting—and there’s nothing wrong with a knight in shining armor
 as long as he remembers that the lady can save herself just fine, most of the time.” She didn’t let on that the knight she was still waiting for had a name, and definitely not that she suspected she’d never stop waiting. That she’d already all but given up. It wasn’t the sort of thing for light discussion over ice cream.


Naya sighed. "You're no fun, Kiko. That's boring." Haru only shook his head with a smile, and then stood up. "Come on, we've got a book store to burn through. And no, Nana, you can't actually burn it down."

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Character Portrait: Naya Akarui Character Portrait: Farah Tasogare
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Naya glanced up at the sky. It was night now, and a full moon to boot. While she had none of that blood that boiled within her cousins during such evenings, something about the moon still stirred her. Perhaps it was because she was nocturnal by nature, she'd never really know. Even so, she enjoyed it thoroughly.

It was a peaceful night as she roamed the edges of the forest that always seemed to threaten to overtake Cross Academy. Mako was atop her head, as usual, and she absentmindedly reached up to pet him. Nothing around them stirred, most of the creatures sleeping, save for a few raccoon's. She thought about singing, but instead decided to keep silent. She liked it too much to disturb it just yet. Her amber eyes glowed in the darkness, the only thing, aside from scent perhaps, that gave away her position in among the branches of an old oak tree.


Farah sighed, running her hands against her forearms as she stared up at the moon. She could feel her beast stirring under the moonlight, and it was taking every ounce of strength she had to keep it from rising. She didn't have the control her siblings had, and they were nowhere to be found right now. With their help, she wouldn't lose herself to the beast, and if she did, they would be around to bring her back. Or stop her from destroying something. That thought frightened her. She could lose control any second now, and they would not be around to stop her. A scent filled her nose and for a moment, she panicked. Usually everyone kept their distance from this far into the forest, but it was a scent she recognized.

"Naya-chan, you...you shouldn't be out h-h-here," she spoke, concern laced in her voice as she gazed up at Naya, who was sitting amongst an old oak tree. She closed her eyes as a painful surge coursed through her body. She knew that feeling. She knew it all too well. It was the feeling she got right before she lost control. "P-please...go, Naya-chan," she spoke through gritted teeth. She had maybe another few minutes of control, and even then, it should be enough time to give Naya a head start, with her speed at least.


Naya frowned, her gaze lighting on Farah, who did not look good at all. She didn't have to guess why, she'd seen this quite a few times over in her hundred years of life, but she'd never been alone with one of her cousin's during a shift before. Something tugged at her, trying to get her to do what Farah told her, but...that other part of her simply couldn't just leave Farah alone like this.

So instead of running, like her instinct was telling her to, she stayed, jumping down from her branch and landing lightly in front of Farah. "I'm not going to just leave you, Farah." Mako, however, had listened to his own instincts, and had stayed up in the tree, climbing to a higher branch. The tiger wanted nothing to do with this canine; not tonight at least.


Farah inwardly cried. She wanted Naya to leave her, even if was to leave her alone. Her safety was priority, and Naya knew, or should have known, that Farah could not control her beast. It had rampaged more than once in her life, and it was only stopped by her siblings. The first time she had shifted, she was at least lucky enough to have done so in front of Shizuka and Hikaru, both of whom managed to subdue the young girl at the time and keep her from harming anyone. Her siblings were the ones she relied on the most. A surge of pain shifted through Farah as she clutched her head.

"Na...ya, please," she pleaded to Naya, trying to get the Akarui girl to leave her, however; she could see it in Naya's eyes that she was not leaving. "I'm...so, so sorry," she stated, her eyes conveying her guilt as she felt her body go numb. It was less than three seconds before Farah's body shifted, brown fur covering naked spots, her once white hair, now turning brown. She stood, a large wolf in her spot. Farah's eyes narrowed, her animal instincts taking over her human ones as she turned and spotted Naya. Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, her lips pulling back to reveal pearl white fangs.

She stepped forward, the hairs on her body raising in anger. She knew this scent, this person, but she didn't know who it was. This person smelled of threat, and she wanted to eliminate the threat. Farah pulled back, bellowing out a loud howl as she charged Naya, her teeth glistening as she tried to bite the pure-blood girl.


Well, anyone who said that Naya Akarui was not the smartest person definitely had it right. She was stubborn, and never knew when to simply leave. So, when Farah turned, the hairs on the back of her neck rose, but she stayed put. For a second, she thought that maybe the wolf wouldn't attack.

The howl and subsequent charge proved her wrong. Naya rolled, just missing wickedly sharp claws. She swore under her breath. "No, Farah, I'm sorry." She was an idiot, really. There were several more seconds of dodging and blocking; this was bad. It only got worse when Naya found herself pinned between the wolf and a tree. She had managed to block most of the blow using the tree, but she'd also been bitten, the wolf's fangs sinking deep into the juncture of her neck and shoulder.

Naya whimpered softly, the scent of her blood staining the air. Something felt off, and felt wrong but she didn't understand it. Suddenly she just sort of froze, and there was a sharp pain in her right eye. She couldn't see it, but it began to glow, and she was aware that something was happening, both to her and to Farah. Her head swam, and slowly, the wolf in front of her began to change, and slowly reverted back into her human form.


Farah wasn't aware. She was blank, void, empty. She hated that feeling. It was a feeling she knew all too well, and associated it to that thing she was. She didn't ask to be born this way, and she prayed every night that what she was, wasn't true. That she was a human, that she lived a normal life, and wasn't this creature of death. She never wanted to hurt anyone, but the moment she felt blood touch her tongue, Farah regained her consciousness. She peered out of her beast's eyes, and saw Naya pinned beneath her to a tree, her fangs in her shoulders, and her eye glowing. She wasn't sure what happened next, or if she was even aware anything was happening until she felt the cold air nip at her skin. She was human again.

"Na...ya," she choked out, tears streaming down her face before she lost consciousness. She was sorry, she was so very sorry. She hadn't meant to hurt Naya, and now she was bleeding because of her. She was a monster.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Ryoku Minamoto Character Portrait: Haru Akarui Character Portrait: Naya Akarui Character Portrait: Farah Tasogare
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Haru absentmindedly twirled the thick steel needle back and forth between his index finger and thumb. His left arm was behind his head, Ryoku asleep next to him. It had been almost two and a half months since their first escapade, and they had actually found themselves in one another's embrace more often than someone else's. Haru wasn't overly surprised, it was good sex, and about as addicting as a drug, really. It didn't matter how dangerous it got, at this point Haru wasn't sure he could stop if his life depended on it, regardless of how he felt about Ryo. He was addicted to this man.

It was almost enough for him to confess what he felt, but something held him back still. Haru had come to accept what he was, and what he did. Someone like him didn't really belong in a long-term relationship; things always ended up getting messy. Inevitably, Haru got bored. While he was fairly certain he was never going to get bored with Ryo, he was uncertain of the Minamoto's feelings on the subject, so he kept his mouth shut. But there were a great many other things he could talk to him about.

Like the favor he wanted to ask. Haru rolled, laying his upper body across Ryo's bare chest, nudging him in the process. "Hey, Ro-chan. Wake up." He grinned slightly as the male stirred, and held up the needle. "Wanna do me a favor?" After that, he stuck his tongue out, making it rather clear just what exactly he was asking; the steel needle really was only used for one thing, and it was decidedly not for sewing.


Ryoku lay, a content smile on his face as his chest gently rose with each breath he took. As of late, he had found himself more and more in the company of his cousin, Haru, than he had any other student, and he couldn't have cared less. He genuinely enjoyed being with Haru, more-so than any other person he'd ever been with. He took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as he rolled to his side, keeping his eyes closed even after he heard Haru speaking to him. He let something of a whine and groan escape his lips as he cracked one eye open.

"Don't you know I'm not a morning person?" he stated, though it was already almost noon. He opened the other eye in time to see Haru stick his tongue out, holding out the needle for him to take. Ryoku took the object, stared at his cousin, and allowed a smirk to cross his features. He leaned in close, as if he were about to grab the tongue his cousin held out, however; he closed the distance between them, grabbing Haru's tongue and sliding his over it before pulling back. "I can think of other uses for that tongue of yours, but if this is what you want, then alright," he spoke.

He grabbed Haru's tongue, gently, and grabbed the needle and piercing that would need to be applied quickly. The moment his tongue was pierced, Haru's healing factor would kick in and heal it. In order for his tongue to be pierced, Ryoku would need to leave the needle in and slide it out as the piercing was pushed in. With that in mind, Ryoku pierced Haru's tongue as quickly as he could, sliding the needle out and putting the piercing in as fast as his natural speed allowed him to. "Well then, you might want to keep your tongue to yourself for awhile, and I suggest not mentioning it to Aunt Nicole. She...might not be the biggest fan, but," he drawled out, leaning close to Haru's face in the process and smirked.

"I like it."


It was a bit of an odd feeling, having a cold piece of metal sliding through your tongue, but it was also a rather erotic feeling. Haru didn't even flinch when Ryo pushed the needle through; growing up with a mother like Nicole, who made sure all three of ther children could shrug off the effect of her blood manipulation, you knew what pain felt like, and this was certainly not it. There was something just...utterly horrific about having your own blood move without your consent, bending to another's will.

He rolled his tongue around in his mouth, testing the new object as the last bits of his blood vanished and the piercing slowly healed. He grinned then; he liked it, too. As for his mother, well...he shrugged slightly. "Mom will juth have to get over it. Ath for what I can do with thith tongue..." He slid his leg across Ryo's waist and straddled him, bracing himself with his hands on his chest before leaning down.

He kissed him then, though it was quite a bit more gentle than he was used to, and it would have to be for a few days, unfortunately. Even so, the feeling of another tongue on the metal in his mouth combined with his own blood was...well, it was more than enough to get him going. He pulled back slightly, that dangerous grin on his face. "I had a feeling I wath going to like thith, but I think I undereth-timated juth how muth."


Ryoku rose an amused brow, watching as Haru straddled his waist, and placed his hands on the back of his head. He smirked against Haru's mouth when he leaned down and claimed his lips, and for a moment, let a content sigh pass through his nose before Haru pulled back. His smirk remained in place as he rolled his eyes at Haru's explanation. Nicole could be frightening (probably not so much as his father) when she wanted to be, and her ability only heightened that fear. Of course, thanks to the nullification he inherited from his mother, he didn't have to worry about that. But Haru didn't have what he had.

"It's your funeral," he replied with a careless note laced in his voice. His smirk widened to a grin before he flipped Haru over, pinning Haru beneath him and allowed his face to lean closer, his nose barely grazing against Haru's. "So, I guess I should take advantage of the time you have left to live," he stated, moving his head to the side of Haru's neck and trailed his tongue over it, nipping softly at the tender skin in the process. "So what does Haru want to do for the remaining time he has?"


Haru looked a bit surprised when Ryo flipped him over, however; he wasn't really surprised. It was simply how it worked between them. Haru smiled, shuddering when he felt the other man's tongue on his throat. His eyes slipped closed, looping his arms around Ryo's neck. He had been about to answer when his body went rigid, a particular scent hitting his nose, and his eyes snapped open, a glaringly furious shade of crimson. A growl escaped him as he let go of Ryoku, the shadows swallowing him. No one touched his sister and got away with it, he didn't care who it was. He reappeared outside of the academy, taking off in the direction he could smell Naya.

It was a gruesome scene. It also didn't take him long to figure out what had happened, at least with Farah. Under a full moon, she couldn't control it, and Naya had either not left or been too close and unaware. Haru gritt his teeth, but was slightly confused. The night was far from over, so why was Farah in her human form?

"Haru...?"

Her voice snapped him back into reality, and Haru was at his sister's side in an instant. He shrugged out of his shirt, laying it over Farah for now. He could smell Ryo not far; he could take care of his step-sister when he arrived. "Hey." he said softly, his eyes narrowing at her eye. For a second he wondered if she shared his ability, but no. The mark was different, and in her opposite eye. They locked eyes, and he felt it.

Something in his chest constricted, making it hard for him to breathe; it was very strange, it was as if he could feel himself...getting younger, and not in a good way, either. So Haru did the only think he could think of, and activated his left eye. He felt the pressure relieve in his chest, but the two powers were deadlocked; you could actually see time and space beginning to warp between them. Haru frowned. It would seem as if Naya's ability was the opposite of his; when they mereged, it caused instability in the fabric of time and space, and that was dangerous.

"Naya, you have to shut it off. Concentrate, let it slip away. I can't keep this up forever, and neither can you."

Naya looked scared. She didn't know what he was talking about, and she didn't know what to do. Her head felt like it was going to split, and that strange look of the air between them, she didn't like. She shut her eyes, burying her face in her hands. Haru pulled at them, forcing her to look up at him, but in the end, he let out a sigh and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"Hey, it's alright, Nana..."


Ryoku felt it the moment Haru's body went rigid beneath him, and his eyes snapped towards the window. That scent, those scents. He knew them, and he cursed beneath his breath when Haru left. He knew how protective of Naya he was, and that alone would cloud his judgement slightly. That sent a low growl down Ryoku's throat as he jumped out the window, applying the speed gifted to him at birth. He arrived at the scene to spot Naya and Haru seemingly caught in a stare off, and he glanced around and spotted Farah laying on the ground, Haru's jacket covering her form. He sighed softly through his nose as he walked to her side.

"I'm sorry, Far, for not being here when you needed it," he spoke gently, caressing her cheek softly and moving her snow white forelock to the side. He removed his outer shirt, since it was a bit larger and could cover more, and placed it over her, wrapping her up in it and carrying her in his arms. He glanced at Haru and Naya, watching the scene unfold. It seems Naya tapped into a similar ability as Haru's, and she couldn't control it. "I'm taking Farah back, take care of your sister," Ryoku stated in a calm tone. This night was going to be a long one, he could feel it.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ryoku Minamoto Character Portrait: Hikari Minamoto Character Portrait: Haru Akarui Character Portrait: Naya Akarui Character Portrait: Eien Minamoto Character Portrait: Reiko Akarui
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It was midwinter by the time things really went to Hell, as Torahiko so elegantly put it. Tatsu and his brother were taking a circuitous walk of the grounds, talking business for once. Tora was of course bored out of his mind, but even he recognized that they were beholden to the Council, the bastards. Well, it didn’t matter much to him. All it meant was that he sometimes had to kill shit, or gather information, both of which he enjoyed anyway. Otherwise, they let him do pretty much whatever he wanted nowadays. His time was limited anyhow—he didn’t see the point in spending the life he had left fighting a leash he didn’t even notice most days.

He zoned back into the conversation just as Tatsu finished speaking, and had turned to glance up at his taller brother from the corner of his eye. Tora shrugged. “Whatever.” it was pretty decent as far as catch all replies went, but he’d apparently picked the wrong one for the situation, because Tatsu sighed.

“Do you ever listen when I speak, or is it simply an exercise in futility to even make the attempt?” Tora snorted slightly, shaking his head and disheveling his shaggy caramel hair even further.

“Wasn’t you talking, Tatsu. It was Councilman Walsh, and you know that as well as I do.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and watched his bother sigh again, this time a resigned one through his nose. It was funny—most people found his brother very inexpressive, like trying to read a blank wall, but Tora knew better. It was just that Tatsu said a lot with a little. Unlike him, who said a little with a lot, being very boisterous but rarely ever giving anything away for truth. They were opposites in just about every sense, but they knew each other better than anyone else ever had or would, probably. Tora at least knew for sure that nobody would ever know him as well as his brother did—there just wouldn’t be enough time. But maybe, one day, after he was gone, someone might know Tatsu better.

The thought didn’t sit well with him, actually, but it, and whatever Tatsuhiko was about to say in response, was cut off when both brothers went still at the same time. Tora did because he smelled something wrong, and Tatsu because he was just that attuned to his brother that he could tell that something had disturbed Tora’s superior nose. Within a few seconds, the Ghost could smell it just as well as the Huntsman, but neither knew what it was. It triggered something in them, though, like a long-suppressed combat instinct. They’d been rather at ease the moment before, but now each was coiled and tense as a taut bowstring ready to snap, something under their skin live and waking, like crackling electricity and roaring flame in their ears.

“Tora
?” his brother started, and the man grinned broadly. He’d never felt this kind of adrenaline rush before, but he didn't need to question it. His instinct, visceral and feral and raw, was demanding a fight, and he wasn’t one to deny his instinct, not in any facet of his life.

“Oh, Hell yes,” he replied, and then the spring-loaded tension was released in both of them, and they were off with speed in excess of bullets for where they smelled the disturbance.

It was closer to campus than they’d expected, but that didn’t really bother Tora any. Each brother drew the blade at his waist, and they charged forward together for the nearest foe, a large, muscle-bound creature with strange green skin and yellowed tusks protruding from its lower jaw, curling up and around towards the sky. They might have been a foot long in total, and the creature was twice again the height of even Tora. It also wasn’t alone—there were at least five in the area, most of them very close by.

It was almost too good to be true. Tora continued his straight-on bull rush, even as Tatsu veered off to the side. While the brothers could fight in concert, there was currently nobody else here, and as such, Tatsu diverted to engage the nearest other foe, a red-skinned creature with black tusks that otherwise looked very much like this one. Tora’s own enemy surprised him by being quite quick, turning what would have been a fatal stab to the chest into a merely damaging one to the left lung. He pulled his blade out immediately, unsurprised when the wound began to close up almost immediately. This was going to be fun.


Hikari sighed, rolling her eyes as Ryoku smirked. He had challenged Eien to a staring contest, one the elder Minamoto had no desire of participating in, however; he was currently deadlocked with his younger brother. Ryoku had resorted to making faces at Eien, trying to get him to blink, however; he only succeeded in making himself blink, Eien's face still passive. Ryoku sighed in defeat and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head in the process. His brother really was no fun. Even as a child, Ryoku did everything he could to just get a peep out of Eien, but to of no avail.

"Really, E, you should learn to relax and loosen up," he spoke, his voice deadpan and neutral, mocking Eien's usual monotonous voice. Eien merely stared at Ryoku, taking a sip of his drink before turning his attention out the window. Something felt unsettling in his stomach, and he couldn't quite understand why. Ryoku rose a brow at the lack of response he received, and turned his attention towards Hikari, about to remark something to her when he noticed the look upon her face. Her brows were furrowed, her eyes narrowed, and he could see the chills crawling on her skin, the goosebumps forming before he turned back to Eien.

"Something is not right," were the only words Eien spoke before he stood, setting his cup down and walking calmly out of the door. Hikari was immediately up, following after Eien as Ryoku sighed. He couldn't smell anything, however; he would trust his brother's instincts. They were a lot sharper than his. It wasn't until the three of them hit the outside, that a foul stench entered their noses, and Ryoku and Hikari twisted their faces. Eien's remained neutral, his head snapped in the same direction the scents were coming from. He could smell Tatsuhiko and Torahiko in the nearby vicinity, probably also investigating, however; there was a scent of blood lingering in the air. They were currently engaged in battle with whatever was producing the foul odors.

Immediately, all three Minamoto's were off, applying their speed towards the nearest scent. The sight they were met with was rather...unexpected. There were two, rather large, and oddly shaped, creatures standing oddly towards the side. They had never seen such things before, and for a moment, all three stood, gauging their foes as the oni turned to face them. Hikari's face morphed into one of disgust as she noticed the large tusks protruding from their mouths. "What are they?" she questioned, a growl emanating from her throat. Eien side glanced his sister as Ryoku shrugged his shoulders.

"Whatever they are, they sure are ugly," Ryoku spoke, a grin forming on his lips. The larger of the two oni, growled towards the three, turning so that it was fully facing them. The other one, the one with the darker shade of skin, remained with its back towards them, seemingly occupied with something else. "Oh? Did I hurt your feelings?" he continued to mock the creature, earning a low growl from the oni. He smirked, allowing it to pull at his lips before it turned into a grin. It's been a while since he last had a good fight, and judging by the creatures size, he'd be in for one hell of a fight.

"Ryoku," Eien spoke, his voice, for once, dangerous and low. Ryoku rose a brow at his brother. "You do not know what these creatures are. Do not go picking a fight without determining exactly what your opponent is capable of," he spoke, standing still as he glanced at the oni with its back still facing towards them. Ryoku gave a careless shrug of his shoulders. Why should he be careful? Even if they did not know what the creatures were, there were three members of the Minamoto family present. They would be more than enough.

"Don't get cocky, Ryo," Hikari spoke, however; the moment she did, the oni attacked. Ryoku ran to intercept it, ducking as its claws swiped at him. Eien sighed, his eyes never leaving the other oni. Something seemed off about it, however; he did not move to help his brother or sister with their opponent. They could handle themselves. He noted a slight muscle movement in the oni, watching as it slowly stood and turned to face him. The two stared at each other, almost as if they were waging a silent war within. Without much more thought, Eien was immediately engaged with his silent oni.


There was one oni currently not engaged with any opponent, the creature seemingly staring off into space, however, it was brought back ot the battlefield by a sound. Specifically, laughter. Bright, bubbly, maniacal laughter, to be certain. No one ever really quite understood just why Naya enjoyed fighting so much, but if you knew her mother, it made a bit more sense.

The blue-haired Akarui female could be seen racing across the battlefield, sword in hand and a maniacal gleam in her eye, her little brother right with her. Trevor, on the other hand, kept his distance; he was not one for much close-range fighting, he could cover them -all of them- from a distance. Naya may not have been overly strong, but she was quick, and she dodged a swipe from the oni's large hand, and landed lightly on his shoulder, impaling his eye with her blade. She frowned then for a second; even pushing through his eye was difficult, the oni was incredibly resiliant. She had to let go of her blade and jump backwards, she would have been caught if she hadn't. Haru, on the other hand, was standing back a ways, attacking with his shadows.

For the most part, he was using them as distractions, using his eye to speed up the process of the creature's wounds his sister inflicted. The oni grasped at the stick in his eye; it was an incredible annoyance, and he wanted it out. Naya was grinning madly as she landed next to her brother, whose face was a bit more passive. "Cool it, Nana...you're going to get yourself killed." he cautioned, whereas his sister merely grinned.


Torahiko, like his brother, was a being engineered by the best scientists in the world for exactly one purpose: to kill. Unlike Tatsu, he had never really minded this. But even for him, this was a surprising challenge. He was strong enough to deal substantial wounds to the creature, but its healing factor was simply insane—he’d sliced an arm clean off a few moments ago, and the stump was already sealing over, the limb showing signs of regrowing. In another thirty seconds or so, it would have a brand new arm. Tora’s eyes narrowed—this wasn’t anything he was used to hunting. It was far and away superior to a Hunter werewolf, and he was willing to bet even most vampires would have serious trouble doing any lasting damage to it.

Fortunately for Tora, he was neither of these things, and the prospect of a challenge only made him that much happier. He was aware of others arriving and dispersing, and in fact recognized all of the scents, but he was far too busy with what he was doing to much care. The only other person on the field he bothered to keep much track of was Tatsuhiko, and that was actually impossible, given his brother’s abilities. So Tora narrowed his world until all that was in it was him and the large creature he fought, his lips pulling back from his teeth in a feral smile that was as much a snarl as anything. The deep green of his eyes flashed gold for just a moment before the color settled and he leaped away from a hit, just missing becoming a part of a massive crater in the ground created by the impact of the thing’s fist.

Darting in, Tora took advantage of the still-missing limb to slide in under the creature’s guard, laying a hand on its side and moving away as the psychometric readings bombarded him with information. He was used to sorting through information like this on the fly, and though it was too much focus to attack and sift at the same time, he could defend, and when next the massive fist came at him, he blocked it with one of his own hands, the pressure of the hit sinking his feet several inches into the ground. “Oh good,” he drawled lazily, sounding somehow like a large cat even now. “I was getting so bored. You just might entertain me for a while
”

A particular tidbit of information crossed his mind, and the smile almost fell off his face for a moment. The Council had sent these things? He saw their purpose and snorted. Well, he didn’t care. They hadn’t told him they were doing this, so as far as he was concerned, he’d never discovered the plan and still got to kill it. He’d just
 not tell Tatsu until the fight was over and the oni, which was apparently what these things were called, was dead. He could still feel that curiously-charged adrenaline under his skin, different from the kind a normal fight gave him, like an instinct tugging at the back of his mind that had never been triggered before. It wasn’t like it really mattered—he would have killed the creature either way. But the fact that some buried visceral response was urging him to do so was interesting, if not quite yet. He’d think about it later.

Darting in much faster than someone of his size had any right to move, he flayed several massive gashes in the creature’s chest, satisfied when they healed somewhat slower than the first ones he’d dealt. It would appear that this would come down to a question of endurance.

And nobody beat Tora at endurance.

Tatsuhiko’s battle looked much different from his brother’s. While Tora was well-known for being the aggressor in a fight, Tatsu was not currently displaying the same tendency. Actually, he wasn’t attacking at all, simply moving and flowing around the attacks leveled against him with unmatched speed and precision. These were the traits that had been trained into him for a hundred years, after all, and they were his primary strengths in such situations as these, perhaps. Without the benefit of psychometry to impart what he needed to know, Tatsu had to make a study of the creature, to memorize everything about it that he could, his considerable intellect and capacity for such recall working quickly to calculate what it was about to do, aided by his perfect precognition for a few seconds. He was effectively untouchable, but that was not the same as being the victor, not yet.

He seemed to flicker and disappear from view, and indeed, even his smell vanished from the field, as though he’d never been there at all. The hit that had been aimed for him passed right through the spot where he’d been standing, but Tatsu was already behind the creature, watching as it raised its head and sniffed at the air, trying to find where he had gone when its eyes and ears revealed nothing to it. His would not be a battle of endurance—rather, he would operate as he always had: strike first, strike fast, strike last. All he needed to do was find the right opening


Reiko Akarui had actually been off-campus when the oni first appeared, and as such, it had taken considerably longer for the scent of them to make it to where she was in the town. Even when it did, it was quite faint, and she almost thought she must have imagined it. But it triggered something, a memory not her own, and she gasped sharply, dropping the books she was holding and doubling over, hugging herself around the abdomen as though struggling to keep her flesh together at the seams. And she felt like she had seams, now, and that she was about to burst at them. Her blood was on fire, burning at such a fever pitch it was almost painful to bear. And for someone with as high a tolerance as her, that was really saying something.

She didn’t know what it meant, but she knew she’d find out if she tracked that scent. And so she fled towards it, walking swiftly for just long enough to make it past all the humans in the area before breaking into a run. The burning in her bloodstream pushed her faster than she’d ever had reason to go, until she was nearly flying over the ground, the landscape blurring by around her. She pulled to an abrupt halt when she smelled her family members near odors similar to the first one, and hesitated.

That hesitation was enough, and the owner of the original smell was able to get a hit in on her. Faster than its kin, it was also more subtle, and its yellowed claws raked against her back, tearing easily through the fabric of the handmade dress she wore and leaving her flesh sliced to ribbons. A startled cry escaped her, and the smell of her blood hit the air in a sudden gush. The wounds started healing right away—one of the benefits of having a factor as strong as hers. She whirled to face the creature, barehanded and bereft of anything even resembling a weapon, because she hadn’t been about to bring one into town.

There was a burning, hissing sound, and the creature, onyx-skinned and easily twenty feet tall, resolved into full view from the shadow-form it had occupied only a moment before. The places where her blood contacted its hands seemed to be afflicted as though by acid. Reiko didn’t understand it, but she filed away the piece of information for later use. For now, though
. She just needed to figure out how to stay alive. Kiko saw another swing incoming, and sprang back onto her hands, propelling herself out of the way with a flip. Her focus was intent, and none of her usual clumsiness remained to her. Her eyes narrowed, and she listened for the sound of its heartbeat, something she could just make out, loud against its ribcage but relatively muted compared to the other sounds of battle. That simple knowledge was all she needed, though, and she focused in on the blood she could feel rushing through its veins.

The creature was simply too large and strong to control fully, but she was able to slow it down considerably, and its movements became jerky as it had to fight her control at every step. Okay, so
 it probably couldn’t hurt her much for now, but her control wouldn’t last forever, and she still had no real way to damage it, apparently aside from bleeding all over it. So
 what now?

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ryoku Minamoto Character Portrait: Hikari Minamoto Character Portrait: Haru Akarui Character Portrait: Naya Akarui Character Portrait: Eien Minamoto Character Portrait: Reiko Akarui
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Hikari snarled through her teeth as the oni's claws raked against her forearm, her teeth gleaming beneath the light. These creatures were a little difficult to handle, and even with Ryoku's help, they had not managed to even injure the creature. Eien was faring no better. He had switched to dodging the blows the oni was dealing him, trying to keep its claws from marring him as it had his sister. He could smell her blood, however; he could not afford to take his eyes off of his own opponent. It wasn't life threatening, so she would be fine. The two dealt blows to each other, Eien sporting cracked ribs and an broken arm, but they healed almost instantaneously. A benefit of having mixed blood, perhaps.

Ryoku was faring no better either. He had managed to gain the oni's attention from his sister, however; it cost him a dislocated shoulder, and a large gash across his chest. Hikari had jumped upon the creatures back, digging her claws into it as she held on, trying to keep her balance upon the creature, but she was ripped off, tossed against a tree, and she felt a rib crack. She hissed, pressing her digits to the wound as she rolled away, avoiding the oni's large foot as it came crashing down. Ryoku snarled, the air going a bit colder than usual. He could feel the ice slowly forming into his hand, taking on the form of a dagger before he charged, digging the blade deep within the oni's back.

Eien jumped to the side, barely missing the oni's claws, however; they did manage to rake his shirt, creating large tears down the middle. His eyes narrowed slightly, tilting his head back, narrowly missing the oni's fist as he felt the air graze his nose. This battle was not boding well for them. These creatures did not seem to have an immediate weakness which frustrated Eien. He summoned the purple flames to his hand, molding it until it was but a fine blade and sliced it towards the oni, watching as one of its fingers was severed, and it howled in pain. He watched, an eyebrow raised, as the oni's flesh bubbled. He glanced at the flame in his hand and back towards the oni. Perhaps this could be of more use than he thought.


Haru and Naya were faring little better, if not worse over-all. Naya was now sporting several blunt wounds, showing off many bruises as they slowly healed; she was a pureblood, but she didn't quite have the healing factor her sister did. Haru was a bit worse off, though. Haru's healing factor always suffered a bit, if only because of the fact that he usually ran low on blood supply. Not being able to consume blood tablets did tend to do that to a person. He'd managed to avoid getting hit too much to not have that problem, however; the oni was a bit smarter than it looked, and went after his sister instead, and predictably, Haru made to help her.

Which in the end only managed to get him pinned under the oni's other hand. He felt his ribcage all but shatter, and he heard his sister scream his name. Just in time he faded into shadow, putting distance between himself and the creature, struggling to breathe as he felt his bones mend. It would be a slow process, and until it was done, he was little more than a sitting duck.

Naya's eyes narrowed at the creature, the air around her crackling as the electricity lit up the air around her. She was beyond pissed. Nothing, nothing hurt her brother and got away with it, especially not something this damned ugly. She snarled, her fangs gleaming as she charged, Trevor swearing under his breath as he watched, taking aim and firing. He wasn't able to wound the oni, but he could hopefully keep it distracted. He grimaced as Naya tore the creature's ear off, watching as it began to regrow. Naya could tear him limb from limb, it would do her little good.


As it turned out, decades of experience killing things was rather useful when trying to kill new things. The creature that had been attempting to locate Tatsuhiko suddenly found itself with the blade of a very sharp sword in its skull, buried to the hilt and erupting out its brow. Withdrawing the blade, the half-vampire used his perch on the oni’s shoulders to adjust his position and slash again, this time taking off the entire top half of its head with the precise strength of the blow. Blood welled and spurted from the wound, but Tatsuhiko jumped clear of the collapsing creature long before any of it could hit him. It may have taken some study, but the results could not be argued with—the first of the oni was down.

Across the field, Tora was in fact engaged deeply in a contest of endurance with his, the two battering away on each other with the force of thunder and lightning. Tora’s ribs were cracked and healing, but the worst thing was the cough that wracked him, pulling up blood from his lungs and spattering it onto the ground. It would seem his condition was attempting to get him to slow down. Fuck if he was going to let it.

Despite the ribbons of blood the flowed freely over his lips and down his chin, the Fujiwara’s tiger kept at it, hammering away at the oni, whose healing factor was getting more and more sluggish at it took repeated devastating slices to vital areas. Stripes of red-black blood flew from the curved blade of his katana, joining what he’d donated towards dyeing the ground with the life-essence of the dying.

Really, it was just a matter of who was dying sooner.

And it wasn’t going to be him. With a charge, Tora leapt, torquing his body in midair and hitting not with his sword, but his foot, delivering a solid roundhouse kick to the oni’s temple and dropping it like a very large sack of stones. Once it was down, the coup de grace was a relatively simple matter; he simply drove his blade down into the creature’s heart, ripping brutally sideways with the weapon and tearing the organ in half.

“Regrow that, motherfucker,” he snarled gleefully.

He finished just in time for Tatsu to appear at his side, or perhaps his brother had been there for some time already—it was really impossible to tell with him. He gave his brother a bloody, feral grin, but as always, Tatsu did not smile back. In fact, he simply raised an eyebrow and jerked his head to the side, where Tora could just make out Naya’s twin—Rei, he was pretty sure her name was—ducking out of the way of a hit from an even larger oni, this one the color of a night-dark sky. The grin only widened, and Tora nodded.

The great thing about fighting alongside his brother was that there was never any need to discuss strategy. They worked in absolutely perfect synchronization, as though they’d lived their entire lives inside one another’s minds. It was not so far from the truth. This was the one bond in the world that Torahiko held sacred above all other things, and he knew that Tatsuhiko was much the same. When he could trust no one else, he could trust his brother. When he could be loyal to no one else, he could be loyal to Tatsu. And he’d never have to worry about being burned for it.

The girl was doing something that was keeping it slow and pinned, making their job considerably easier. Both sheathed their swords as they ran, putting a bit of distance between themselves to accommodate the changes in their physiology. Tora descended to all fours, a massive golden tiger, and rushed low, latching onto one of the creature’s hamstrings. He would have pulled it to the ground, save that the massive, indigo-scaled dragon went high, impaling its shoulders with night-dark claws. Tatsuhiko had dropped his blade right next to Reiko, murmuring a quick instruction on his way past which she now took, taking up the blade in both hands. She wasn’t the best with swords, so as an extra precaution, she let some of her own blood down the thing, lunging forward to where the oni was stretched taut between the brothers, using all the force she had to thrust the sword into the creature’s exposed throat. With a wet gurgle, it expired.


Ryoku growled as he sported a fresh wound down his backside. This was getting ridiculous. They were being defeated, and it was something he did not like. For one, he hated losing, and for two, he still had no clue as to what this creature was. It was one thing to know an opponent, but another thing when it was something entirely new. The only supernatural creatures in the world were vampires, however; his mother and father's existence had tipped that a long time ago, and brought forth him and his two siblings. He glanced at Hikari, who was still latched onto, keeping her claws dug deeply in the oni's back.

"Ryoku," she stated, no other words needed as he nodded. In the blink of an eye, two, very large, wolves stood; one black as midnight, the other white as snow. Hikari was the first to charge, her speed amplified slightly as she managed to grab hold of the oni's arm, her teeth sinking into it's flesh as she twisted her body, locking her jaw in place. Ryoku was the next to attack, his jaws latching onto the juncture where neck met shoulder. He pulled slightly, tearing of a chunk of flesh while Hikari managed to follow with another jugular attack, ripping the creatures throat out. Once it collapsed to the floor, Ryoku descended upon its back, his fist pushing as hard as it could and found the creatures heart, crushing it beneath his paws as Hikari was already off to the other oni.

Eien dodged his oni's attacks, his flame sword still in hand as he aimed precision slices to the creature. His flames were slowing down the oni's regeneration ability, however; it still healed. Though it was slow, he was using it to his advantage. The creature was wearing thin, growing tired as Eien drew out the battle, reserving every ounce of strength and stamina he could. It wasn't until his sister came into view that Eien made his move. The moment the oni's eyes were off of him, and focused on Hikari, he made his move. Hikari had managed to latch onto the oni's arm, twisting her body around and pulled, ripping the oni's arm out of its socket as it cried out in pain, unaware of Eien, who plunged his fire encased fist through its chest.

As the other one before it, it fell. "Is everyone alright?" he questioned, his eyes glancing over towards where the others were. Ryoku had shifted back, covering his form back with partial pieces of shredded clothing. Hikari, however, opted to remain as she was, as a beast. If she were to change back, she would be exposed, and she had no desire to reveal herself as such. She huffed, sitting on her hind legs as she glanced towards Naya, Haru, Reiko, and finally the two Fujiwara brothers.

"For the most part, it seems," she spoke, her eyes narrowing in the process.


Luckily, Naya was a bit smarter than most gave her credit for; while she certainly preferred simply tearing her opponent apart, sometimes it took a little more than that; like right now. She'd long given up on her sword, but she gathered the electricity from the air around her, the energy making a high-pitched chirping sound, like a thousand birds.

"Trevor."

The Edyta sighed. Well, it wasn't like anything else was working. He flickered from view, reappearing next to niece, and he picked her up. "We got one shot at this. You ready?" She nodded, the electricity thrumming through her as she condensced it. It was then that Trevor threw her, both his own strength and her power increasing her speed, and she tore through the oni's chest, taking out its heart in the process. It left her rather coated in blood, but she cared little.

Her only priority was Haru. She ran to her brother's side, who grinned up at her. She sighed in relief, and then slugged him. "Idiot! I was worried about you."

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Character Portrait: Naya Akarui Character Portrait: Torahiko Fujiwara
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For the first time in a rather long while, actually, Naya was quite pleased. While she herself had not had a direct hand in it, her brother and cousin had finally found each other; while Naya took no end of pleasure at teasing her little brother about the Mark, she was also inexplicably happy for him as well. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Haru actually smile for truth so often.

Perhaps it was because she was so happy that she could be heard clear across campus; she was singing, something she did not do in public very often. While she was not singing loudly, the wind carried her voice down from the tree in which she sat.

She wasn't bothered at all by the sun that shone down on her, and if anything, it only made her disposition brighter. Mako was sitting on the branch next to her, his tail twitching as his eyes slowly slipped closed. He always did like Nana-chan's singing.


Tora was pleased as well, of course, though naturally much of his satisfaction was from the—rather brilliant, if he did say so himself—part he’d played in the whole thing. Of course it was good to have his Henchmen back and not annoyingly mopey, and he’d happily admit to the fact that he preferred things when all was right with them, but he wasn’t entirely sure he had much of a capacity to empathize. He tended to leave the touchy-feely shit to Tatsu, who was much better at it, what with that sensitive guilty brooding thing he could do. Tora hadn’t ever really been sensitive or felt guilty for anything, and when he wasn’t feeling all that great, he tended to choose coping mechanisms other than brooding. Like breaking shit and fucking. Those were great for relieving tension.

Plus, the look on Tatsu’s face whenever he suggested his brother try his methods was probably hands down the funniest thing he’d ever see. Most people probably assumed his brother had one facial expression—maybe one and a half, if he was feeling particularly bad about something—but Tora knew he had then all. He could even make the guy do any of them except the smiling one. He’d lost that one somewhere along the way
 in fact, Tora knew exactly when.

But now he was feeling down, and he didn’t really like it. Time to find a solution, then, and as it so happened, his keen ears picked up on a decidedly-familiar sound. He’d essentially forced it out of her last time, but she appeared to have decided to sing on her own this time. Well. Wasn’t that convenient? Here he’d just been having this problem, and then a solution fell right into his lap. Metaphorically speaking—the more literal version would take a little more work. Not too much, though, because he was very good at what he did.

“Hm
 beautiful as always, kitten,” he said as soon as the song fell silent. The compliment slid over his tongue smoothly, easily, and he left it opaque whether he referred to the song, her rendition of it, or just her in general. She was in the lower branches of the tree, and so he could see her quite easily, especially considering his height. “Gotta say, the view from down here is quite something.” He grinned lasciviously—really, the uniform skirts here were delightfully short, unless one elected to wear the long one on purpose. Naya, however, had not.

Tora wasn’t complaining.


How he always managed to sneak up on her, Naya would never know. She blushed lightly, realizing that he'd heard her singing. Honestly, it had been out in the open, so it was her own fault. But she blushed even harder at his comment, and at that...well. Sometimes she really, really hated this man.

She leaned backwards just enough to let gravity bring her down, her fist connecting with the top of his head as she did so, crossing her arms and stepping away from him with a scowl. "So tell me, do many women tell you you're an ass? Because you really are, Torahiko." Her scowl only deepened when Mako jumped from the tree, landing on Tora's head. "Kishi-san!"


He, unfortunately, did not so much as flinch from the hit. Instead, he tilted his head sideways and grinned down at her. “Oh, quite a lot,” he said truthfully. “Though not as many as confess to being fond of my ass, suspect me of being an ass man, or beg me to put—“ his sentence, still truthful but perhaps too much so, was cut mercifully short by the fact that Mako landed on his head. “Hello, Little Mayhem,” he said, reverting from the rather dangerously-low tone he’d just been using to something bright and almost chipper in less time than it took to blink an eye. He reached up and laid a large hand on the cub’s head, rubbing behind both ears at once.

He allowed Naya a moment to think that the presence of children would dissuade him from anything worse, then his eyes fell back to her and the grin inched wider. “Green’s a very good color on you, kitten.”

No part of the Cross Academy uniform was any shade of green.


Naya made an indecent noise and crossed her arms. "Actually, it is not, it clashes with my hair." She chose to retort back rather than to take the compliment. Or whatever it was he'd verbally slung her way. She never could tell, honestly. She sighed delicately through her nose, arching a blue eyebrow. "Just what exactly are you doing here, Tora?"

Some part of her couldn't help but be inherently suspicious. She'd learned that Tora never did anything without some sort of ulterior motive; it made her wonder just why she liked him, loved him, even. But she could not deny that there was something that she felt for him. On Tora's head, Mako giggled. "I think Nana-chan's p-m-essing." Naya glared at her familiar. "Shut up you little furball, or I'll turn you into an actual hat."

Mako only giggled again, his tail flickering back and forth. "I'm already a hat!"


“And a most excellent hat you are, Little Mayhem,” Tora said with a grin, dropping his hand from the tiger cub’s back with a smirk for his joke about what might be causing his mistress’s irritation. Perhaps some men would have been uncomfortable with the mention of such things, but he wasn’t. He honestly found it kind of stupid when other people were. It was just biology; what was there to be uncomfortable about?

Tora tilted his head to the side, his grin dimming into a subtler smile, full of mischief. Reaching out, he caught Naya’s chin and brought his face down close to hers, careful not to unwittingly dislodge his living headwear. “And what would you say, Kitten, if I told you that the only reason I’m here is because I wanted to see you, and this happens to be where you are, hm?He was dangerously close to her mouth with his own, still tilted into that maddening smile that bespoke of things he would not admit to. He was trouble and danger and mischief and a little bit of nonsense, but he was unapologetically, unabashedly, shamelessly, and always himself.

He’d never seen a good reason to be anyone else, anyway.


Naya's eyes widened slightly; being this close to him, she could feel his breath mixing with hers. Her head clouded and she fought to clear it, jerking backwards when it hit her just how close they were. She scowled only further as she felt her cheeks turning red. "I'd say that I don't believe you. You don't just want to see me, do you?"

The trouble was, she was actually hoping that his answer to that would be that he did want something more; her reaction had been instinctual, even as much as she'd wanted to close that gap between them. That infuriated her more than anything, the fact that she wanted to touch him, to feel him. She sighed through her nose. "So I'll ask again, maybe a little more clearly: what do you want?"


Tora huffed through his nose when she pulled away from him, but he let her go. The blush really was quite becoming, he decided. So wonderfully frank, this girl—it was a trait after his own heart. Well, Tora wasn’t really sure he had a heart, but that was probably beside the point here. She was rather poor at hiding the evidence of her desire, also, and it would have been obvious what she wanted even if he hadn’t touched her and therefore been able to read her psychometrically.

“Are you so sure you want to know the answer to that question, kitten?” he asked slowly, his voice dropping to a sensual purr. Tora took another step forward, closing the gap she’d created by moving backwards, the differences in their physicalities obvious in their close proximity. Of course, he fully intended on giving her said answer, whether she confirmed her inclination to hear it or not. “I’ll say it again, perhaps a little more clearly: I.” One of his hands reached out, trailing a thumb along her cheekbone and down the side of her throat, to rest over the point of her pulse. “Want.” The hand slid to her shoulder, but his nose followed, insinuating into the crook of her neck and inhaling deeply, before pulling back so that he was a fraction of an inch from her face, the last word breathed almost into her very own lungs, so close were they.

“You.” With no more warning than that, Tora closed the gap between them, capturing her lips with his own, sliding the hand along its former path to cup the back of her neck and thread his fingers through the cornflower-blue silk of her hair. The other arm found a home around her waist, banding there like steel. She wasn’t getting away now—though of course he suspected she wouldn’t really want to.


Well. She had expected something, but perhaps not something so forceful. But then, this was Torahiko. Forceful was his very nature, in certain respects. That aside, she wasn't wholly prepared for her own body's reaction. Heat pooled in her stomach like liquid fire as her arms looped around his neck. He may have been holding her to him, but it was she that pressed herself closer to him, her hands languidly trailing down the front of his chest as her teeth caught his lower lip.

Tora smiled against her mouth, the hand around her waist finding the hem of her shirt and sliding under, ghosting over her side before his fingers rested, splayed, over the warm skin of her back. She was quite instinctive, but still clearly very new to the whole idea, and he found this of some novel fascination all its own. With no effort at all, he picked her up off the ground, encouraging her to wrap her legs around his waist, but in the end whether or not she chose to was of little relevance, because he moved them until her upper back pressed against the tree, parting her lips with his tongue and sliding it against hers, teasing and coaxing with surprising patience until she caught on to the game, and then, like the fickle creature he was, parting their mouths to instead trail kisses down her jaw and throat, nipping playfully with sharpened fangs at the delicate skin where neck met shoulder.

He pulled away just a fraction of an inch, such that they were still maddeningly close, but not touching. Tora tilted his head to the side, as though studying her, and licked his lips in a decidedly sensual fashion. “We both know what I want, kitten,” he said simply, his smile positively predatory. Taking one of the locks of her hair that had fallen over her shoulder, he twined it almost absently around a finger. “The question is, what do you want? And are you going to take it?”


With her legs wrapped around his waist like that or not, she knew very well what he wanted, and the way her own body was reacting, it was decidedly certain that she wanted it, too. It was stupid and dangerous and she simply did not care. She shivered when he licked his lips, the predatory gleam in his eyes only drawing her further towards him rather than sending her away.

Perhaps she should have run, because now she was falling, with no sense of direction or time or awareness of what would happen. All she knew, all she cared about, was him. Though she wasn't overly sure about taking. He had a much vaster knowledge of this respective art than she, hell, her little brother had more experience in this realm than she, so if this was going anywhere, it was he who would have to lead them. That didn't mean she wouldn't answer his question, however breathless she sounded.

"I want you, Kishi-Tora."


Tora chuckled darkly, but it was not a sound of amusement, exactly. That was all he’d really needed. The rest, he would happily teach. He was somewhat considerate in this arena, however; one made a poor lover if one was only interested in oneself, and Tora didn’t like being unskilled at anything. Sociopath he may be, but he was also capable of some understanding, at least to a degree. Which was perhaps why he proceeded to gather her up in his arms and run them both to her room, not simply grant her request right there. He had no problem with exhibitionism, but he understood that people, women especially, often considered one’s first foray into the delightful world of sexuality to be rather important.

Kicking the door shut behind him, he laid her gently atop her covers, backing up for a moment to appreciate the aesthetics of the moment. They’d be back to the heat in very little time at all, but some things should be done slowly. He hummed a note in his chest as he traced a callused thumb over one of her cheekbones. “You’re beautiful, kitten,” he told her matter-of-factly, tracing his fingertips down her throat and past her collarbone and sternum, “but it’s your spirit that makes you shine.” Leaning down, he kissed her slowly, deeply, and resolved to take his time.

He wouldn’t be much of a knight if he rushed it, now would he?