Chapter Text
Draconic Journal; Rivalry.
“Scalekin are very territorial beings, they will fight with anyone and anything for territory. This competitive behavior is also frequently seen when competing for Courtship Partners. Some classes of Scalekin will do ‘battles’ against each other for the favor of their Courtship Partner. Some of them will fight tooth and claw against other Scalekin for the attention and affection of their chosen Courtship Partner. The class that is most warned about when entering Scalekin territory is the Seraph class - they are the most violent class of Scalekin. Although White Seraphs are the most brutal of the two species, Black Seraphs are the most possessive.”
“Run!” Mika yelled as he looked at Yuu, “Run, now!” he roared, desperation and instinct swirling in him. He needed to get Yuu out of here, now. He watched as Yuu’s pupils constricted and sparkled emerald green before he grabbed Taichi and Akane, and ran. Mika smiled as he watched Yuu fly away, entranced for a moment- before the metallic smell of blood reached his nose- his family was still in danger. He reared up, turning towards Ako, who was lying on the floor, blood rapidly pooling around her.
Mika hissed, ears flattening to his skull, he shakily stood, the gaping wound in his chest ringing with pain. He growled lowly and stood in front of the remaining Hyuakuyas, blood dripping from his wounds as he watched Ferid’s body carefully. It was still, bleeding and lying on the once pristine floor. Mika flinched as he heard rapid footsteps coming in his direction and turned to look at a group of vampires running at him.
Mika screeched at them, a horrid noise - the sound a wounded animal makes when cornered. The leading vampire pounced on him and quickly held him down. He struggled, panicked, as he saw the other vampires surrounding his family - his children - and he watched in horror as a pink-haired vampire slowly walked up to Ako. The vampire slit her wrist, unflinching. She then neared her bleeding wrist to Ako’s mouth, holding her jaw open with one hand as he watched the vampire feed Ako her blood. He suddenly felt a rush of strength as rage blinded him.
Mika tore away from the vampire holding him down, hissing and roaring as he jumped towards the pink-haired vampire, biting her wrist and making more blood drip into Ako’s mouth. He swallowed around a mouthful of blood- feral instincts taking control over his body, the blood tasted rancid and rotten. He wanted to gag. He could hear the vampire saying something, red eyes wide as she looked at him, but he was unable to hear her words as burning, overpowering pain filled his body.
He could feel his bones creaking, growing - tearing at his insides as he grew. His transformation was painful- he could feel new limbs growing rapidly, as the vampire rapidly became much, much smaller than she was before. He roared in pain - the sound deafening and glass-shattering. His roar was cut short when he noticed his family’s pained and horrified expressions. He bit his tongue, sharp teeth cutting into it instantly, making blood pool in his mouth. He whimpered - unable to stay silent under such tormenting pain.
The pain faded away slowly, letting Mika breathe again as he lay on the floor- when had he fallen? - huffing, he opened his eyes and looked at his family; the children huddled together and standing in front of him, arms open and expressions fierce as they looked at the pink-haired vampire, who was smiling as she looked at him, before noticing that something was wrong, she turned to Ferid.
“Where is the second one?” she asked coldly, Ferid only laughed and sat up, making Mika growl - the vampire didn’t die after all - he rubbed his head, “Oh Krul, as cruel as always - can’t you see I got mauled?” The pink-haired vampire - Krul - narrowed her eyes at him, frowning. “I will not repeat myself, Ferid. Where is the second one?” she hissed at Ferid.
Ferid shrugged and smiled falsely, sheepishly, “He flew away, and took two of the orphans with him too.” he answered, “Though I’m afraid I was unable to see which way he went, it would be a pity if the council found out about this incident-” Ferid was cut off as Krul ran at him, slicing his arm off with a single swipe of her arm, Ferid tried to defend himself by blocking with his remaining arm, but Krul quickly knocked him onto the floor with a single swipe of her leg, she lifted her other leg and stepped harshly on Ferid’s throat, making him grunt painfully.
“I’m sorry, I think I didn’t hear properly. Could you repeat what you just said?” She spoke sweetly, her voice laced with poison. Ferid only smiled weakly in response, “Alright, alright, I promise not to say a word.” He answers, clearly defeated. Krul hesitates for a few moments before placing her foot back on the ground. Ferid only got up and walked towards his arm - which was carelessly thrown to the side by Krul - and picked it up, waving with his detached arm as he walked away.
Krul huffed at him and turned back to Mika, who was weakly beginning to stand. Mika ignored Krul as he wholeheartedly focused on his family, all of them shivering and pale with worry. He tried to speak - a loud grunt leaving his throat instead. He seemed surprised and then upset - he no longer could speak. He was reduced to grunts and growls, roars, and terrifying screeches. Mika leaned his now huge head down towards them, gently pressing his nose against his family, who cried and hugged his snout.
He purred softly against them, collapsing on his side while curling up around them - not forgetting about Ako, who was laying down weakly in the center of the protective circle Mika had created with his body. Ako was alive - she was breathing and Mika could hear the weak sound of a heart, but she no longer smelled like a human, but rather a vampire. Mika lifted his head away from his family and growled at Krul, baring his large teeth and snapping at her - a shrill screech leaving his throat when he tried to ask what she had done to Ako.
Krul somehow understood his meaning and walked towards him, making Mika bristle and hiss violently, curling up tighter and covering his long body with his many wings. Krul stopped short of touching him and looked him in the eyes, “I turned your cub into a vampire. She will now be dependent on feeding on human blood. She will stop aging once she drinks her first blood.” Once Krul finished her words, Mika screeched violently - the loud noise creating visible sound waves from the force, his wings and tail rattled loudly, his blue eyes turning a bloody shade of red.
Krul only stood there, taking the sound wave attack. Once Mika stopped screeching, she blinked at him once again. “Let’s make a deal, Scalekin.” She negotiated, Mika - unable to screech due to being out of breath, could only listen to her. “I’ll take care and guard your family, and in turn, you will help us. I’ll let you go outside on missions without supervision, but be aware that your family will be under my control for that time.” She spoke calmly and in a collected manner, making Mika’s tense nerves calm.
Mika looked at her for a few seconds, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the situation, before nodding, and slowly exposing his family - nestled comfortably against his stomach. Krul smiled and neared the humans, introducing herself. “I’m Krul, Queen of Sanguinem and ruler of this vampire kingdom. You’ll be under my care from now on.” She spoke gently, softly in an almost motherly way, making the children hesitate for a moment before accepting her words.
Krul smiled and started walking away, making a ‘follow me’ motion with her hand towards Mika and his family. Mika blinked and got up shakily. Unfamiliar with his new limbs, he limped towards Krul, slowly getting more accustomed to his quadruped body after being bipedal for all of his life. His family followed behind him, grabbing onto his feathers and supporting a weak Ako. Mika stopped when he saw this and laid down on the floor, letting his family climb onto him before getting back up and continuing behind Krul.
Yuu looked at his hand as he walked on a bridge connecting the school’s grounds. He retracted and protracted his claws, the action only took a mere second, but to Yuu, feeling as if it took a minute. He was about to protract his claws once more when he bumped into another student. A tall, lanky guy with pink hair and glasses, he shook his head to orient himself once more, opening his mouth to apologize-
the pink-haired guy sucker punches him in the face.
Yuu, now startled and hostile, cannot control his instincts before he growls and leaps at the student, claws protracting on accident as they rip through his sleeve. The guy seems surprised at this but fights back, using Yuu as a shield as he charges at the nearest wall. Yuu gasps and hisses as his back and head hit the wall. He punches the other in the face as they tumble onto the ground in a full-blown brawl.
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“Yuu! What happened!?” Yoichi exclaimed concernedly as he fussed over Yuu, whose face had gained a couple more bruises than before. Yuu huffed and looked away, “... I bumped into a telephone pole.'' He said after a few moments, Yoichi seemed bewildered as Yuu walked past him and into the building. After he snapped out of it, Yoichi hurried behind Yuu.
“Did you really bump that hard into a telephone pole?” Yoichi asked worriedly. Yuu growled, fangs glinting in the low lighting, “Yes. A very tall, annoying telephone pole.” Yoichi seemed even more confused at that. They walked towards the entrance of the building, where Shinoa was waiting for them. “My, my, did you get into a fight?” She asked teasingly. Yuu only looked away and continued walking.
Once they reached their classroom, they walked in, the chattering students turning to look at the trio. Guren sleepily looked up and yawned, “Alright everyone, these are your new classmates. You three, introduce yourselves-” Guren was barely cut off as Yuu started growling, voice slightly raspy from the vibrations, “Listen up! I’m not here to make friends. I’ve come to kill bloodsuckers and I’m going to be the best out of this class!” He announced proudly, closing his eyes and tilting his head back.
Guren promptly smacks him in the back of the head and sends him off to his new seat. Yuu, grumbling, makes his way over to his assigned seat, where he finds a student with his feet raised on the desk, face covered with a spell book, “Hey, move. I’m supposed to sit here.” Yuu snarls, baring his fangs and feeling his tail feathers rattle.
The student grumbled and uncovered his face. “Who-” he paused as he looked at Yuu, recognition flashing in his eyes, “It’s you! Telephone pole!” Yuu exclaims as he glares at the pink-haired student - Kimizuki - who stands up and accusingly points at him, “You’re the one who bumped into me at the bridge!” Yuu hisses and doesn’t bother wasting breath on conversation as he pounces on Kimizuki and begins fighting once again.
“How come they’re this badly behaved despite both being taught to make friends…” Guren muttered under his breath, Shinoa - who was standing beside him, heard these words clearly and started giggling as she shrugged, Guren glared at her and started walking towards the pair still fighting each other, Yuu had just landed a punch on Kimizuki when Guren lifted his leg and kicked them into the door as he yelled at Shinoa, “And you should take your job seriously!”
Yuu’s head bumps harshly against the wooden door as his consciousness starts to fade.
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Knock, knock, knock. Three knocks rang out, interrupting the music softly playing within the room. Guren looked up from his paperwork, “Come in.” he called. Kimizuki walked in, face bruised and covered with a bandage, “Oh, it’s you.” Guren acknowledged.
Kimizuki stood straighter, looking Guren in the eyes, “What did you come here for?” the question hung in the air for a moment before Kimizuki spoke, “I’m here to demand I get a Scalekin early.” He admitted. Guren sat up slightly, looking both interested and annoyed, “And what makes you say that you’re capable enough of handling a Scalekin?” he questioned.
Kimizuki’s breath hitched for a moment, “I’m the top student in your class, I’ve aced all tests you’ve put for me, and I’m more than ready to get a Scalekin.” Guren smirked and stood up, “Oh? Let’s test that out then.” He made a signal with his right hand, and out of the shadows crawled out a purple-pink Scalekin, a demon class to be precise.
Kimizuki flinched, freezing in place at the sight of the medium-sized demon. Guren made another signal with his hand, and suddenly the Scalekin pounced on him, wrapping her tail around his throat and gripping his head, looking into his eyes. Kimizuki started sweating, an incomprehensible feeling of sheer terror rapidly crawling up his spine. The room seemed to darken with an inhuman power.
The Scalekin’s eyes shone with an eerie glint, a supernatural strength hiding in that small body - smaller than his own- barely reaching his calf. But at that moment, it was clear to him that he had underestimated the power of a Scalekin, the reptile was merely looking into his eyes yet he still felt he was under mortal danger, sharp claws gripping onto his skull - not quite tearing into his skin, but he could feel pinpricks of burning pain where they had sunk into.
Guren whistled, and suddenly the dark aura disappeared, his fear fading away slowly as the Scalekin rapidly returned to her handler, lovingly rubbing her body against Guren’s leg. Kimizuki stood up shakily, breaths coming out in puffs. Guren smiled and shook his head, before promptly telling Kimizuki to leave his office, “I’ll be forced to kill you when you get possessed due to you underestimating a Scalekin’s strength.” These were the last words Guren said to Kimizuki before he closed the door.
“Alright everyone, pair up for training.” Sayuri called, instructing the trainees to join with a partner for training. Yuu hurriedly looked around, trying to find Yoichi, but he quickly found out that Shinoa had already chosen him as a partner, looking back at him and smirking. Yuu growled softly, looking around once more.
Everyone else had already found a partner, everyone except Yuu and one other. Yuu slowly turned to his left, seeing Kimizuki already looking at him. Yuu looked the other way and grimaced, feeling like this would not turn out well.
Yuu and Kimizuki were chained together by their wrists, Yuu’s left wrist being chained to Kimizuki’s right. Sayuri announced that the training was going to begin shortly, and right after she said that giant dolls started crawling out of the gates in the walls. Yuu grinned, “this is going to be easy.” he proudly announced, before leaping-
He was quickly pulled back by the chains, bumping roughly into Kimizuki, he hissed - Kimizuki had done the same thing, resulting in them being pulled towards each other, “What’s your problem?” Kimizuki asked, tone aggressive - making Yuu growl back, “The problem is that you’re hindering me!” Kimizuki scoffed, “I’m hindering you? More like you’re hindering me!” Kimizuki pressed his forehead against Yuu’s, using his height to make himself appear more intimidating.
Yuu growled audibly, a deep, rumbling sound ripping out of his throat aggressively, and pushed back against Kimizuki, both of them not noticing the giant doll walking up to them and lifting a fist.
Yuu, so caught up in his anger, ignored the fact that his body was screaming at him to move out of the way. The doll swiped at them with its arm, knocking them both to the ground. The doll was about to continue its assault when it suddenly shut off - all the dolls started to shut off one by one. Yuu got up and tilted his head, confused.
Sayuri quickly walked over to where Kimizuki was, “Kimizuki, your sister is in critical condition.” Kimizuki’s eyes widened, Yuu froze for a moment - Telephone pole had a sister?
Kimizuki got up and shook his head and hesitated for a moment before raising his head, “I apologize for the interruption, please continue the–” Kimizuki was interrupted by Yuu’s punch to his head, a loud growl humming in the room, “Your sister is dying and you still ask to continue the examinations!?” Yuu exclaimed, his growling distorting his words, Kimizuki looked at him surprised, before indignation took over his expression, “Why do you care about-” he started, but was once again interrupted by Yuu.
Yuu hissed, emerald eyes burning with an intensity Kimizuki was familiar with - flashbacks of Guren’s Scalekin flashing in his mind, “You’re going to go to her.” Yuu said, finality lacing his words as he dragged Kimizuki out of the training room.
Once at the hospital, Kimizuki stared solemnly at his sister - covered in talismans and purple marks, horns digging into the hospital pillows, “Her condition is stable, you should get back to your examinations.” The doctor stated, gently telling them to leave the room so she could rest. Yuu rose from his position on the floor and walked away with Kimizuki - wrists still connected by the chains.
They sat down on a bench outside the hospital, silence hanging between them. Kimizuki sighed and rested his head on the backrest of the bench. “Thank you… for making me see my sister.” Kimizuki spoke softly, swallowing his pride. Yuu smiled, “Failing the exams, not getting into the Moon Demon Squad. All of that doesn’t matter as long as you don’t give up on finding a way to help your sister.” he spoke softly as well, putting aside his anger to offer sympathy - no one knows the meaning of family better than Yuu, he knows firsthand how difficult it is to lose your family and it is a pain he wouldn’t wish for even his worst enemy.
Kimizuki only laughed, “Shut up, idiot.” His words no longer carried the same weight to them, sounding almost endearing. Yuu huffed, and smiled.
The announcement room now had an extra feature ever since Mika agreed to join with Sanguinem. This extra feature was a large hanging net behind the throne where Krul sat, Mika lay comfortably, swinging softly in his net. An announcer stood on the stage.
“Nobles of the kingdom of Sanguinem!” She called, referring to all the present vampire nobles, “Recently, the Imperial Human army of Shibuya has been slaughtering our own. They have joined together with Scalekin and have found a way to make them follow their commands.” She paused for a moment, letting the familiar information ring in the room.
“But now, they’ve found the way to do the impossible - they’ve created a human-scalekin hybrid, and are going to use it against us!” she revealed, making some of the nobles in the room widen their eyes. Krul stood up from her throne.
The announcer looked back at Krul in surprise, “If that’s how it is, then that’s how it’s going to be.” She paused for a moment, signaling for Mika to rise. Mika huffed loudly, the sound making some nobles flinch, for they had not yet seen the gigantic beast lying in the net. Mika rose, huge wings flaring open. He roared softly, the sound sounding ear-shattering in the enclosed room, loud enough to deafen some nobles.
Krul smiled, signaling for Mika to reveal himself, making the announcer gape in shock. Krul softly petted Mika’s snout, receiving a grumble in return, “Vampires of Sanguinem!” She called before revealing the shocking news.
“We’re going to war!”