Nothing was left of the demon that was vanquished back into the darkness except for the smoky residue on the ground that was quickly blown away by the cold wind of the night.

Rukawa and Sakuragi stood in the clearing, watching the smoke curl up in the air before disappearing without a trace as if a battle has not just happened there a few minutes ago.

From behind the foliage of a high tree a few metres away, an attentive on-looker watched the dark-haired vampire walk towards the tall cloaked form who held out his clawed hand, the first action the form has shown to show that it was alive.
Rukawa Kaede... the watcher of the wandering shinma...

"Let's go, Hanamichi," the vampire said, looking up at the masked form in front of him.

Rukawa...

The vampire turned around as if he has heard someone call his name. At that moment a furious rustling of trees sounded from behind him and he lifted his head, just to see what seemed to be a big black bird ascending the sky.

Dismissing the flying animal as inconsequential, Rukawa turned back towards his companion and said, "I thought I heard someone call me."

The cloaked form pushed back his hood to reveal fiery red hair before taking off his mask to speak, "No, I didn't hear anything."

Rukawa held onto Sakuragi's arm and nuzzled his pale face against the strong limb, "Nevermind. Let's go."

Rukawa...

Vampire Rukawa...

The black bird flew further and further.

****

A boy was seen running in the chilly winter morning to catch up to his two friends who were walking in front of him, not noticing him until he called out to them, "Rukawa! Anta! Wait up!"

The two boys stopped and watched as their friend came up to them, his breath fogging up in front of his face.
"Ohayo!"

"Ohayo, Yasuda," one of the boys replied with a smile while the other just nodded.

"Hey, Rukawa," said Yasuda, looking at the silent brunette, "You're late today. You're always the the first one in the classroom."

Rukawa shrugged.
Yasuda then went closer to the boy and wrapped his arm around him to ask in a smooth tone, "Hey, Rukawa. Did you do your homework?"

Rukawa nodded and Yasuda at once grinned with glee, "Can I copy it?"

"Yasuda!" protested Anta, "Just coz he's just transferred here doesn't make it right for you take advantage of him!"

"Oh, shut up, Smarty pants," Yasuda sighed, rolling his eyes, "You're stingy with your work, so that's why I'm asking him. So how about it Rukawa?"

Rukawa shrugged again, indicating that he didn't care one way or another. Yasuda laughed, clapping the blue-eyed boy's back heartily before he took off with a wave to his friends, "See you guys at school! I gotta go see someone before class starts!"

"Moron!" Anta called his friend heatedly but Yasuda just laughed. Since he was busy jeering at Anta to care, he didn't notice a person walking in front of him before he bumped into the man's back, nearly making himself fall to the ground in surprise.

Yasuda winced, "Uh... g-gomen nasai..."

The brown haired man pushed up his glasses and smiled, "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes... sorry, sir..."

Anta huffed an exasperated breath as he watched his friend chatting with the man in the tan overcoat.
"Klutz, he muttered before turning towards Rukawa was was still behind him, "Rukawa, you don't have to help him, y'know. He's always taking advantage of people. You know he needs to learn for himself, right?"

Rukawa who was busy staring at the brown-haired man who was at that moment walking away from Yasuda, shook off his preoccupation and nodded to his friend in agreement but said, "But I don't mind."

Anta sighed, "Up to you.... but you can't spoil him forever, you know."


~~~~

An hour later, Rukawa and Anta sat in their classroom with the rest of their classmates, waiting for their homeroom teacher to arrive. The door shifted open and instead of a balding man with a stern face and an extra long ruler tucked under his arm with his usual teaching books, a young man with brown hair and glasses walked in with a smile for them.

"I am sorry I'm late, class," the brown-haired man said, placing his attache case on his desk, "I am Oda, substituting for Miura-sensei who you should know has been submitted into the hospital. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

The class bowed to their new sensei before the man waved at them to sit. While the rest was busy opening their text-books to where they left off last week, Rukawa was still looking at the brown-haired man silently with his hard blue eyes. At that moment, the sensei looked up and met Rukawa's blue eyes with his own brown ones. Turning back to the book in his hand, the man told the class to read three passages from the book and as the students began their task, Oda-sensei walked around the classroom as he read his own copy of the passages. Rukawa was not surprised that Oda stopped beside his desk which was at the farthest row and rapped at wooden surface lightly.
"Miura-sensei told me you always sleep in class," the teached said softly.

Rukawa shrugged and continued reading his book.

"Do you have a problem with me being here?"

There was a beat before Rukawa shook his head.

"Report to the library later," the sensei said, "I'll need you're help in organising some papers."

Rukawa finally turned to meet the sensei in the eyes again and nodded.


~~~~

Hanamichi. Do you hear me, Hanamichi?

The red-haired shinma who was leaning back lazily on top of the branch of a tree opened his eyes against the sunlight streaming through the leaves above him, the call as loud as the loudest shout for someone who's life was linked to his.

"Kaede..."


~~~~

After class, Rukawa went into the library and found the young new sensei busy organising papers and files into neat and alphapetical styles into the shelves. The vampire was surprised at first since he thought that the need for assistance in the library was just a ploy of an enemy.

"Sensei," Rukawa finally spoke.

"Ah, Rukawa," Oda-sensei greeted without turning around, "Bring me those files of that desk beside the first shelf."

Rukawa turned back and picked the file up before walking up to the teacher.

"So, is Rukawa Kaede your name?"
Oda nearly jumped in surprise when a file was thrust in front of his face.

"The file," Rukawa said, before he asked the sensei, "Is there something wrong with my name?"

The man gave Rukawa a knowing smile, "You were formerly called Tanaka Kaede, and Satoh Kaede. You also went by Hayashi, Yamamoto, Shimada and Hirano. Now then which one is your real name?"

Rukawa was silent for a second before he replied tonelessly, "I have forgotten."
And then he walked towards the teacher before he leaned against the table situated beside the man where files were still laid waiting to be shelved.
"What are you doing here?" Rukawa asked coldly, crossing his arms, "You dare to show up in front of me."

Already sensing in the class that the vampire has found out about him being a shinma, Oda was long gone past fear. The demon smiled, "You don't scare me, vampire Rukawa. I'm just a substitute teacher. I will behave myself."

Rukawa lifted his head to look up at the brown-haired demon in scrutiny before he shrugged carelessly, turning away. A few questions floated in his mind as to why a shinma would reveal himself to him. Unlike wandering shinmas, Oda doesn't seem to want to interfere with humans and so lies the question as to why he was here.

At that moment, Yasuda entered the library and walked up to the sensei as he looked at Rukawa in curiosity.

"You wanted me to see you, sensei?" Yasuda asked.

"Yes, Yasuda," Oda-sensei nodded, "I want you to redo your homework please. It's the same as Rukawa's work."

Yasuda turned towards Rukawa and accused under his breath, "You told him, didn't you?"

"No one told me, Yasuda," Oda told him, "I could see it when I checked. Every mistake was the same as Rukawa's. You, like him, got 6 of the 8 questions wrong."

Yasuda gaped at the terrible work he copied from the blue-eyed brunette, "N-Nani?!"

Rukawa shrugged, "You didn't ask if I knew how to do it."

"Thanks a lot," grumbled Yasuda before he bowed to the sensei in apology, "Hai sensei."

When Yasuda left, Oda and Rukawa was left alone again in the room. "We can't talk here at school," the shinma said, patting the boy's shoulder as he turned away to pick up his coat which was hung over a chair, "Meet me at the nearby shrine tonight. I'd like to have a bout with you."

Rukawa pushed himself away from the table and left without a word.

Later in the night, Rukawa arrived at the shrine alone in the darkness of the night. The only light to help him see the deserted surroundings came from the full moon above him. Rukawa's bare feet padded onto the concrete slabs of the shrine's floor, not feeling the cold, before they stopped when a black feather floated to the ground in front of the vampire. Rukawa was about to bend down to pick it up when a gust of wind blew the feather away from his reach.

"Good evening."

Rukawa looked up and saw a black form with wings perched on top of the arch of the shrine.
"I'm glad you came alone."

The vampire frowned, not liking it a bit that a shinma was at a higher point than him and was flapping his black wings without a thought of the freed feathers fluttering down onto his pale face.

"Let us start," Oda, minus the spectacles, said, lifting his wings which were his arms in his human form, "I don't want your companion interrupting us so why don't you come into my world?"

The surroundings of the shrine vanished and suddenly Rukawa and the demon were standing in a dark dimension where there were no other forms, living or dead, other than the two of them.

Rukawa glared at the trick and summoned a fireball from his fist. With a swing of his arm, the vampire sent the ball flying towards the winged shinma who flew up to evade it. When the fireball was just a mere inch away from his body, Oda quickly shifted and the fire hurtled past him without even singeing a feather.

Oda smiled a wicked smile and swooped down, his taloned feet directed towards the surprised vampire, with such speed that Rukawa hadn't had time to react other than to hold up his arm which was nicked by a sharp talon as Oda flew past him.

Rukawa winced and saw the blood on his arm running below his elbow. Holding it up, the vampire watched the blood slowly trickle to the unseen ground before his tongue touched the wound, followed by his lips to suck the blood away.

Satisfied that the blood would not run anymore, Rukawa lifted his narrowed eyes to the shinma and said lowly, "I will not forgive you for scratching me."

"Come then, Rukawa," Oda grinned.

Rukawa unwound the red binding from his left wrist swiftly. With a flick of the wrist he snapped the binding towards the flying shinma who gasped at the sudden attack. Oda struggled to get away but the binding which was wound around his ankle got tighter the more he struggled.

While his other hand held the binding holding Oda in his mercy, Rukawa summoned another fireball from his other hand and hurled it towards the shinma. Oda cried when the fire engulfed his body and he instantly went down as soon as Rukawa tugged at the bind still holding him tightly by the foot.

Oda fell down to the ground hard, flames still covering his now weak body, before Rukawa walked up to him with a cold expression on his face.

"Th-That was fast," Oda chuckled weakly, "So you're not neglecting your ... d-duty as the sentinal of all shinma..."

"Prepare yourself," the vampire said lifting his palm to summon the last fireball which would destroy the demon once and for all, "I am sending you back into the darkness."

Rukawa was about to release his fire onto Oda when suddenly his fist was caught by a big warm hand which grabbed him tightly.

"That's enough, Kaede," a husky voice spoke to him in his ear, "Let him tell us his story."

Rukawa felt his cold demeanor slip and suddenly he was leaning against the broad body of his redheaded companion, unconciously seeking for the warmth and protection that he has gotten used to since he has turned.

"Hanamichi..." Rukawa murmured, looking up at the redhead who looked at him with gentle brown eyes.

"Hai," Sakuragi nodded, bringing his other hand to hold the young vampire's shoulder.

The redheaded shinma could distinctly hear the pout in Rukawa's voice although the vampire's face remained lax, "You're late."

"Forgive me," Sakuragi apologised as he ran his palm from Rukawa's shoulder to boy's arm in a caress while his other hand still held onto the vampire's fist, "I couldn't find a pathway into this realm. Once you distracted him I was able to slip through."

Finally letting go of the vampire, Sakuragi shifted himself so that he was beside Rukawa but still close enough to touch, "He needed to know the extent of your powers for a reason."

"What do you mean?" Rukawa asked.

"Ru-Rukawa...." called Oda to the vampire.
Rukawa turned his attention back towards the dying shinma and listened to what it had to say.

"In the sea of our spirit realm, there is a ship... carrying the enemies of the japanese shinma..."

"A ship?" Rukawa asked.

"H-Hai."

"What kinda of ship?"


~~~~

Oda and his pretty companion, Yoko, were flying in search for food along the coast of the Demon World Sea when they spotted the dark silhouette of a big ship floating close to the shore. Deciding to take a closer look the two shinma saw that the ship looked like a ghost ship with its sails torn, its railings broken and old ropes hanging lazily against the mast.

"It seems to be a ship from the west," Oda commented, looking at the features of the boat.

"I wonder if anyone's on board," said Yoko, following Oda for a look.

Suddenly there was a flash of light reflecting from a shiny surface situated at the head of the ship and upon closer scrutiny they saw a masked woman standing there with her hood covering her hair except for a few loose brown strands escaping to caress the smooth surface of her mask. Oda and Yoko looked ahead and saw that she was not alone. Standing behind her while the woman stood on the prow, were other shinma standing still and mysterious, their masks hiding their faces while their cloaks flapped around their bodies.

Oda felt a bad trepidation but before he could grab hold of Yoko to drag her away, his body suddenly went immobile.

"Nani?!" gasped Oda, trying to move his body.

"Oda!" cried Yoko suddenly, "We're being pulled towards the ship!"

"What? No! Yoko!" the male shinma cried, struggling to move his limbs to reach out to the female shinma who was now being pulled away from him towards the ship faster than he was.
"Yoko!"

"Oda!" Yoko screamed.

"Come hither," a soft feminine voice was heard despite the strong sea wind and their frantic cries, "Come."

"I-IEEEEE!!" Yoko screamed before she was sucked into the clear globe floating on top of the western shinma's palm.

"Welcome to my crystal ball," the masked woman spoke before she chanted another spell that slowly destroyed the female japanese shinma who was crying in pain inside the globe.

"Run away, Oda!" begged Yoko, "Run away while you still can!"

"No, Yoko!" cried Oda, beginning to flap his wings when he found out that he could move easily since the western shinma's attention was concentrated on one target.
"I won't leave you behind!"

But before he could do anything, Yoko's form disappeared with a whisp of black smoke and so went Oda's will. Knowing that he could not fight the powerful foreigners alone, he flew away still seeing in his mind the last of the tears shed by his beloved in her last moments of life.

The masked shinma clenched her fist, willing her crystal ball to disappear, and said wonderingly, "That was too easy. Is that all to this to these Japanese shinma?"


~~~~

"And you searched for me?"

"Hai," sighed Oda, "To beseech you to avenge her. I-I risked my life to see for myself the power of the sentinel of the Japanese shinma and the vampire, Rukawa Kaede."

"I am not interested in avenging against the Western shinma," Rukawa said in monotone, surreptitiously glancing towards Sakuragi who has gone still since they heard of the ship of the Western shinma.

"I am begging you Rukawa.... T-Those Western Shinma will take over the Japanese spirit realm..." Oda gasped. And that was all the shinma said before he died with a last exhalation of breath before the fire finally overtook his body and soon his remains, or what was left of it.

Rukawa turned away from the ashes of the demon and spoke to the redhead, "To the Japanese spirit realm then."

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