Chapter 19

He waited for her by the cherry blossom trees in the courtyard, just as they agreed to. Truth be told, Caleb had a hard time remaining objective, which was rather frustrating. This wasn't him. Normally, right about now, his mind would be consumed with visions of the absolute frenzy to come. Yet all he could really think about was that ridiculous rumor Ryuji told him about the one tree in the middle of the courtyard.

"There's an old school legend that any couple who kisses under that tree when it blooms will be destined to be married one day."

He normally didn't lend credence to those sorts of ridiculous superstitions. Caleb had seen the other side for himself, after all. The Blood Sorcerer knew better than anyone that it was hardly a' magical' place for as much dark power as could be found in the world.

There were a lot of things he didn't lend credence to. Such as the concept of fate. Yet something about this chance encounter with Akane, about that letter, felt too damn convenient. Caleb had been subconsciously searching for the answer to a question. One she seemed to be on the verge of answering. He wanted that answer desperately. More than anything, if he was honest.

All the same, he needed to deal with the immediate and present danger first.

"Barlow-kun!"

Sana ran up to him with a bright smile as she waved ecstatically. He smiled back, his thoughts, at last, returning to the task at hand.

"Ready to go, Sana-chan?"

She nodded energetically, whereupon he offered his arm. As they walked to the front of the school, Sana reached into her bag and pulled out a hand mirror.

"Uggh, can you believe this?" she pouted while checking her makeup. "You're meeting my foster parents tonight, and I'm all out of my favorite mascara. You must think I'm a complete wreck."

He shook his head. "Not at all. You look great, Sana-chan."

She sighed wearily. "Just as well. I won't have any more until my backorder gets here. Some moron burned down my favorite cosmetics store."

Caleb perked a brow up in intrigue. "No kidding?"

Sana nodded in frustration. "It was all over the news. They used alcohol swabs or something to ignite the product on one of the aisles and then looted the place in the chaos."

He quietly considered what she just said before audibly laughing. She glared at him in confusion.

"Sorry, that's...not funny," Caleb assured, still chuckling under his breath. "Did they ever catch who did it?"

She shook her head. "No, the cameras never managed to make a face identification. And the description they got of her came from one severely traumatized employee. Aside from knowing it was likely a high school student, they don't have any leads."

Come to think of it, wasn't Akane wearing a different brand of makeup back there? He quickly shook the thought from his mind. Now wasn't the time for distractions.

"I'm so glad you finally agreed to meet my parents," Sana insisted, a mischievous tone in her voice. "I promise, tonight will be a lot of fun."

He smirked. "I'm certain it will."

Caleb took her hand in his, and she smiled at him. He tapped into the sea of vitae running through her veins. It felt nothing like Akane's. Then again, he already knew that. This woman's well ran far deeper, the result of powerful Blood Sorcery.

Despite the sweet smile on her lips, a sinister look formed in Sana's eyes. She knew it. He knew it. They both understood perfectly well what the other one was. Nothing really had to be said between them. After all, they'd been dancing around this issue for the past month.

It was only a matter of time before he ran into another cultist.