Then a thunderous roar echoed across the battlefield as several buildings were torn apart by the fury of the new creature dominating the field, causing a chasm to form in the ground. At that apocalyptic sight Yurika could do nothing but fall silent, oblivious to her suspicions.

"Ferid what's going on? Do you have an explanation?" The girl continued to look in Yuu's direction, recognizing Crowley's voice. She doubted he knew about Ferid's twisted plans, so explanations would be put off until later. "It seems that humans enjoy creating monstrous creatures. Is that even possible, my dear Crowley?" Yurika almost laughed at the levity with which the vampire was posing the question, but a second later she realized better what was going on.

The angel boy looked like a demon straight from hell. And that demon seemed to be oblivious to everything. It advanced in a straight line with the clear intention of destroying everything that stood in its way. She sensed surprise in Crowley's voice, but the vampires' voices were distant from the scene. The next obstacle he would encounter was Shinoa. "Oh God..." She whispered.

Her greatest fears were about to be revealed in the worst way. Why of all the people she held dear was this happening to her sister? Yet there was no hope and the inevitable was about to happen. Yet another twist of the day was a game changer. Just as Yuu was about to stab the young girl, the blond vampire intervened, taking the sword for her. What was going on? What reason did he have to act like that?

"Shinoa! You can still bring him to his senses!" Guren's voice echoed through the air. Shinoa seemed confused at such a statement. "How?" She whispered weakly. "Hug him!" The girl blushed, "Stop acting like a child and hug him!" Then Shinoa, though still confused, ran towards Yuu, holding him in a strong embrace. For a moment nothing seemed to change, then the miracle happened, and the boy returned to normal, fainting in the girl's arms.

Yurika looked at the scene enraptured. "And this time it's gone... oh, maybe we're not alone anymore." At those words from Guren Ferid managed to predict the trajectory of the demonic weapon and dodge the blow. After all, there were too many interests at stake on both sides.

The girl recognised the shot. Byakkomaru. "Shinya..." She whispered. "And not just him." Guren's voice echoed. "Yurika, you should come back with us." "Why would I?" "Do you think your brother will be pleased to see you pretending to be that being's bitch?"

"Guren, watch your language." Yurika turned slowly in the direction of the voice.

It was Kureto.

"Don't listen to him Yurika, no one would use such words towards you." Her brother's extreme calmness put her in awe, it didn't promise anything good, ever. She knew that from experience. She glanced in Ferid's direction, he was still in her line of sight, therefore able to hear their words and retrieve her if need be... "After all, you found yourself in a difficult situation and perhaps we are responsible for what happened to you. We left you alone to face this difficult situation. It is normal that you had to adapt as best as you could." She suspected it, suspected on a subconscious level where her brother's speech was going, but she didn't want to believe he could go so far as to pronounce it.

"Become familiar with the enemy in a situation like yours was inevitable." "Does that mean I won't be judged for what I did?" She asked with extreme reluctance. "Guren's words were a bit extreme, don't mind him, but the idea of offering some, shall we say, intimate service to the enemy wasn't bad. Maybe you even managed to get some valuable information."

Time seemed to stand still for Yurika as she listened to those words. Was her brother implying that she had gotten herself into bed to survive and get information? That she had done so to follow a specific purpose? She felt short of air, but she wasn't the only one. Guren was also taken aback by the statement. Kureto's speech was out of tune with what Yurika had said before he arrived. More importantly, Ferid had also heard everything and would use those words to turn the situation in his favour.

"Kureto..." The girl struggled to pull her thoughts together. "Only a true Hiiragi would have made such a choice, don't worry, it can all go back to the way it was!"

"Do you really think I let him take me to bed to get information?"

"And for what other reason otherwise, Yurika?" The girl shuddered, realizing with anger and sadness how far the sick mind of a member of the Hiiragi family seemed to be able to go.

"How can you insinuate such a thing? How can you believe that I'm actually capable of that?" She felt that she was close to tears.

"Yurika I've already told you that you don't have to worry, we know you had no choice..." "With you I had no choice... You never allowed me to choose!" Kureto was starting to get impatient. He was happy to see her alive and well, but he had doubts about the young woman's state of health, perhaps that senseless reaction was due to the shock of what the vampire had done to her? "Yurika, listen to me. We will punish that monster for all the abuse you have been subjected to, you will be repaid for your sacrifices." "He's never done anything to me that I didn't want, how do I explain that?" By now the tears were flowing.

"Yurika!" The girl looked at the figure that was coming up from behind her brother. She didn't have time to react before she found Shinya's arms wrapped around her body. "Shinya..." She whispered. "You're alright..." At that moment she realised that she would have to use him to get back to Ferid, maybe he could understand her. Or at least she fervently hoped so. She returned his embrace by squeezing him.

"I've never been better." She whispered almost inaudibly, hoping he understood what she was getting at. Shinya loosened his embrace so he could look into her eyes, but the two remained close. "What are you saying?" He spoke softly as well, sensing Yurika's desire to share something only with him. The girl cast a glance towards Ferid.

"I was scared at first. So much. I couldn't stand his presence. I feared what he might do to me, but then... I can't explain why it happened either, and yet... I fell in love with him. With a vampire. The enemy. He makes me feel... alive."

Shinya was stunned. Incredulous. Those words couldn't be true, they couldn't. Reason prevented him from considering them so, but at the same time he felt that they were.

"What Kureto said was not true. He never forced me, in fact he agreed to wait. I... I only offer him my blood... please Shinya... I am fine with him. I love him."

She said the last words looking into his eyes, wanting him to understand, but he remained motionless. In a trance.

"I'd say we can stop with the lovey-dovey." It was Ferid who had broken the idyll, feeling that the girl had managed to say everything. It had shaken him to hear her confirm her love for him to others, he didn't think she was ready to take such a step.

"Yurika..." Shinya stopped her by squeezing her arm. Kureto drew his sword. "I thought you were more comfortable sacrificing a young girl to satisfy the enemy's pleasures!" "She's not your personal plaything." Ferid smiled. "But what if you said just now that surely she is playing at love with me to do you a favour? Had you agreed beforehand by any chance? Did you decide that she should seduce me?" Kureto remained motionless, not understanding those words. What did he hope to achieve by posing like that? Yurika loosened herself from her brother's grip by approaching the vampire.

"Ferid what are you...? You don't really think that...?" "After such statements, who can rule out that it wasn't all calculated?"

The sudden coldness that seemed to have taken hold of him completely disarmed her. Yet he must have heard what she had just confessed to Shinya. He also knew everything he had been through with them. So why react like that? Why was he doing this to her? "Ferid..."

"It seems that your Yurika and I have something to discuss. I think I'll keep her around for a while longer." Kureto and Shinya could have done whatever they wanted, but the vampire's speed was still unmatched by them.

This time even Kureto could understand what the others must have been feeling when Yurika had been taken away by the vampire. And he had been too caught up in other things to really try to snatch her from the monster's hands, and he knew someone would hold that against him. But he couldn't help thinking about how the events had unfolded. How Yurika had reacted to the vampire's provocation. He had cared more about his word than anything else, as if that was his priority. But that went against all logic, right?

"Did you really say those things about her?" The criticism hadn't come from who he'd expected. "Yes. That would be a commendable tactic..." "Which that vampire took very well." Shinya's voice was apathetic. He struggled to connect the alternating externals he had come up against. Kureto accusing, but praising his sister for forming friendly if not intimate relations with the enemy. Yurika who confided in him not only that she was well, but that she loved the vampire who had torn her from her life. The vampire who seemed to want to give weight and take Kureto's words as true, reacting in a manner inconsistent with what the girl had said. Was this all part of some shady plan of the Hiiragi? Yet even Kureto was not entirely present and aware of these dynamics.

"Kureto, when we get home, we'd better figure out what was going on." Kureto nodded a yes, but a chill ran through him. How was he supposed to deal with his father? What should he tell him about Yurika? There was also the matter of Yuichiro to discuss. There were still too many open questions.

After sorting out the more urgent matters relating to the war and what had happened, he had summoned Shinya and Guren to discuss Yurika, who was still a significant problem, but on which the other two could offer him different perspectives. Guren was the first to speak, explaining what he had seen before the two arrived, already here the visible dynamics between the two were suspicious, but Guren pointed out that he thought Ferid was rather ambiguous.

"When I said that Yurika did... whatever she did with the vampire for an axe to grind against us... is it possible that the vampire could hurt her for that? Given the reaction..." Kureto didn't even know why he was asking that question. No one could know the answer, just like when Yurika had just been kidnapped they found themselves at a dead end again.

"If he wanted to harm her, he would have acted already, don't you think? But no one can say that at the end of the day." Of course Guren couldn't reveal about his passages of information with the vampire at that juncture.

Yet both he and Kureto noticed how Shinya still seemed shaken or at least not entirely lucid, but they were waiting. They knew that Yurika had said something to him that they hadn't heard.

"Shinya?" Kureto tried to urge him. He sighed. "That doesn't make any sense. She told me she's fine, in fact, she's never been better." He paused, aware of the bombshell he was about to drop. "She said she loves him. Can you understand it?"

18/09/2021

How much do you love our Kureto? <3