Chapter 24

Akane followed the light of her life up the stairs, her whole world seemingly shining bright at that moment despite the darkness that surrounded them.

We're holding hands! She thought to herself, lost in a dream. Senpai is holding my hand!

Caleb cursed quietly under his breath upon seeing the headlights in the driveway, bringing Akane back onto full alert as well. They braced against the wall near the front door, the sound of car doors opening and slamming shut ringing clear in their ears. It wasn't the cops; Akane was certain of that. There were no flashing lights or other indicators of law enforcement. Not to mention the security system in the house was disabled; she saw to that herself.

"Friends of yours?" she asked, peering through the window at the indistinct cars in the driveway and the darkly dressed occupants leaving them.

He narrowed his eyes at one of the figures approaching the front of the house. Upon seeing his face, Caleb groaned in annoyance.

"Unfortunately...yes."

Ryuji stopped at the front door, a smarmy grin on his face. "Alright! Whichever one of you is still alive in there, come on out!"

"Hold on a second..." Akane murmured. "...I recognize his voice."

Caleb nodded. "That's Ryuji Taiso. He's a third year at our school." He growled in frustration. "Apparently, he's been keeping a secret of his own from me. Dammit, how did I not see this coming?"

She frowned at him worriedly before listening through the door again.

"There's no use trying to hide," Ryuji insisted. "If you don't come out, we'll just barge right in. The choice is yours."

He sighed in frustration before hitting the wall. Caleb proceeded to slowly reach for the doorknob, at which point Akane immediately stopped him.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

"This isn't the first time Hunters have threatened me, and it certainly won't be the last. Those unblessed masses of flesh out there are no match for me."

"But..."

Caleb jerked away from her stubbornly before opening the door and stepping out. Akane, meanwhile, elected to stay behind, hiding near the window and quietly observing.

Upon coming face to face with the Blood Sorcerer, Ryuji raised a slightly surprised brow at him. "Well, well. You actually managed to bring her down. Color me impressed."

He quietly glared down at Ryuji murderously.

"You know, I really owe you one, man." The Hunter paced back and forth as he spoke, backed by at least a half dozen of his allies. "My father and I have been tracking that witch Sana's movements for some time now. We figured this would be as good a moment to strike as any."

"So this was your big plan?" Caleb called out to him. "Wait for us to finish destroying each other so you vultures can pick at whatever is left? You're intruding on matters that don't concern you, Hunter."

He shrugged, that same smarmy grin on his face. "You know what's great about being born into a family of cultist killers? I don't have to give two flying shits for your rules or your traditions. Our only concern is wiping you lot off the face of the Earth."

Caleb seethed in rage. He could not believe this idiot managed to get the drop on him like this. Akane, meanwhile, had already grabbed her schoolbag and slung it over her shoulder before returning to the door.

"Japan is one of the few countries left on Earth that cultist scum like you haven't completely managed to corrupt yet. We intend to make sure it stays that way. Just as we intend to purge all lands of your kind."

Caleb smirked at him. "None of you will live long enough to see it happen."

He bit down on his hand and channeled his power, crimson light glowing from his palm once more. Whereupon he was immediately blinded in a flash of bluish-purple light as the headlights of their cars changed color. Caleb felt his power completely dissipate as the glowing crimson aura in his palm faded and harmless blood leaked from the wound.

"Shit..."

Ryuji and the other Hunters pulled handguns from their belts and started firing while Akane quickly pulled Caleb to safety. Despite her best efforts, he felt a round hit his left leg as well as one in his right arm as the walls were peppered with bullet holes. They scrambled for the dining room on all fours.

"Bāowéi fángzi!" Ryuji shouted. "Wǒ fùqīn de hòumén bèi gài zhùle!"

Akane's eyes lit up upon hearing the Hunter's words.

"Come on!" Caleb shouted while clutching at his wounded arm. "We'll lose them in the woods behind the house!"

"No, wait!" she shouted, taking off after him. "Don't!"

Too late, Caleb had already ran off for the back entrance to the house, running on pure adrenaline. Before she could reach him, he flung the back door open, stumbling into another trap in the process. Floodlights with that same purplish-blue tint shined in his face, at which point his position was peppered with more gunfire. He took two rounds in the gut for his trouble, knocking him onto his back, where Akane immediately pulled him to safety.

"Bǎochí wàiwéi! Bùyào ràng tā táopǎo!" she heard someone shout, bringing her back on full alert.

"The basement..." she muttered.

Wasting no time, she placed her arms under Caleb's shoulders and began dragging him with surprising strength through the house, retreating back into the basement. The moment they were out of the light, he seemed to perk up, no longer writhing in pain at the wounds in his belly.

"Get me down the stairs," he grunted in discomfort while trying to stand.

She offered him a shoulder, schoolbag in hand, as they descended the stairs together. Akane could hear them shouting outside, something about setting up more lights? An entry team? Caleb pulled away once they reached the bottom and collapsed onto a nearby wall.

"Senpai!" Akane rushed over to him and knelt down, digging into her bag for medical supplies.

"Fuckers got me good." He winced in pain. "Dammit, I should have known they'd have the back covered too."

"I tried to warn you about that," she admitted, setting out some bandages and disinfectant before tearing open his shirt to inspect the wounds. "Ryuji said his father already had the back door covered. They've established a perimeter, and I believe they're about to send some of their guys into the house."

Despite the pain he was in, Caleb quirked his head at her curiously. "How do you know that? I couldn't understand a word they were saying."

"That's because you speak fluent Japanese, not Mandarin," she explained while unscrewing the cap on a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. "Lucky for you, English isn't the only other language I'm fluent in either."

She was about to douse his wounds when he stopped her.

"Don't!" he insisted. "Just the bandages."

"But the wounds could..."

"I can't get infections," he explained in between labored breaths. "And hydrogen peroxide nullifies my ability to manipulate vitae. It destroys the catalyst, the blood."

She gave him a squirrely look before looking down at the bullet wounds in his gut. Much to her amazement, they appeared to be shrinking, blood flowing in reverse back into his belly.

"See? I'm already starting to regenerate," he assured. "So long as I'm not in those lights, I can shrug this off."

This raised so many more questions, but Akane fully understood they simply didn't have the time. She began bandaging up his wounds as best she could.

"You sure do come prepared," he admitted, clearly impressed.

She blushed. "I like to plan ahead."

"So do I." Caleb looked up towards the top of the stairs. "Unfortunately, this was not part of the plan." He growled in frustration again before banging his fist against the wall. "Fuck! I refuse to be outsmarted by that prick like this."

"Is there anything you can do to fight back?" she asked hopefully.

He sighed, resting his head against the stone. "There's plenty I could do...if those damn UV lights weren't on. Limey bastards know my biggest weakness."

She looked up towards the stairs, her razor-sharp focus returning as her mind began to whir into overdrive.

"So all you need is for those lights to be taken out?"

Caleb nodded. "Yeah, but good freaking luck getting out there without..."

Akane was already on the move. She dug around in her bag for a few tools she would need before standing up and heading for the stairs.

"You stay here and heal, Senpai," she insisted without so much as an ounce of fear or hesitation. "I'm going to go upstairs and take care of those lights." A murderous scowl formed on her face. "As well as kill every single one of those wretches for doing this to you."

Caleb stared up at her incredulously. "You... you're going to go up there? Are you insane?"

She snickered. "Maybe a little. But not nearly as insane as they are. After all..."

She turned her gaze back at him, and for the first time in Caleb's life since his father was killed in front of him, he felt a chill run up his spine.

"...nobody hurts the man I love and gets away with it."

His mouth fell open, and his heart leapt into his throat. "Wh...what did you just say?"

She turned away, hiding the furious blush on her cheeks. "In my bag... there's a letter."

Caleb shifted his gaze to the bag in question.

"I meant to give it to you at school, but...then all this happened."

He looked back up at her, still unable to fully believe what he was hearing.

"Read it," she insisted. "It will explain everything. Meanwhile, I'm gonna kill them. All of them."

"But..."

"It's okay," she assured, finally smiling back at him again. "I may not have strange powers like you. But I'm a lot stronger than I look. Smarter too." A disturbed chuckle emanated from the back of her throat. "And there is nothing...that is going to stop me from ripping those bastards to shreds."

She placed her hands on her cheeks, her own mask slipping to join his on the floor as she stared down at him, eyes wide, smiling from ear to ear like a complete lunatic at the man that was her greatest obsession.

"It's all going to be okay, Senpai. Your darling Akane is here to protect you. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. That's how deeply I love you."

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, both of them having seen the true entity behind those masks they wore every day of their lives. Akane heard footsteps upstairs, and she scowled malevolently towards the door.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, my love..." she spoke in a low, dark voice while picking her hatchet up off the ground. "...your sweetheart needs to go take care of the intruders."

He watched as she ascended the stairs. Akane was really going to do this. She was really about to try and take on an entire contingent of Hunters single-handedly. That girl really was insane.

But maybe insane was exactly what he needed right now.