Part II

The Moon Child: Dark Side Awakening

Deadly was the world's first snake.

Tempted by its fruitful hand.
And then there was the serpent of Chaos,
Breaking down the pyramids land.

One serpent diva turned men to stone,

Ruby eyes offend.

Reborn onto worlds again,
Their rein has yet to end.
And yet there always comes eclipse.
A time a gone,
A time a miss.

A new moon born,
As snake bites tail,
The Blood of the Moon Child,
Weighted on a Demon King's Scale.

Chapter 1

Lacuna: Blank Space, Missing Part

"I caught one." Kanato said.

"I would recommend not to let it bite you." Reiji was the last to walk over, spoke disdainfully, before he could get a glance at it.

"Are you certain it is not but a garden snake?" Laito looked at Kanato's find in the net.

"You all look like children catching bugs." Subaru scoffed.

"Who cares? Yui was literally felt up by that freak...if it was a demon snake looking for her I'm going to have his neck!" Ayato's green eyes stared down on it.

"I don't sense demonic power...this is useless." Shu walked away.

"I must admit...to think we've fallen victim again to another animal demon sneaking in and out..." Reiji scoffed.

"Oh yes, our cat hunt was similar. Beware those kittens again dear brother Subaru...I wouldn't go too near the bushes!" Laito smirked.

"Shut the hell up!" Subaru glared at him.

"What's going on?"

They turned to see Yui standing behind them.

"Another demon snuck in and out of your room and I'm not about to let him off the hook." Ayato stepped forward.

"But what did it do?"

"Are you kidding me Pancake!? That thing slivered all over you – and goddamn if this Burai guy wants a fight I swear to god I'll-"

"Seemingly he got away...like I said, that demon, if it was one was not Burai...his snake form would likely be incomparable in size and I doubt his intention would be to –" Reiji coughed. "- with the young women who holds his only daughter's heart."

"Well then damn it, what now?" Subaru looked off to Kanato, who had already decapitated the obviously un-demonic garden snake.

"We hold no good ground to start a war over this." Reiji looked to Ayato.

Ayato groaned. He knew it true.

"I was curious..." Yui piped in. "Was there anything left from the man I ..." She coughed.

Ayato suddenly felt a bit of pride. "Are you telling me you want to drink from your kill?"

"Well – I am hungry...and I-"

"While one might argue that you would be best to hunt again for practice sake it's no doubt with our other reserves..." Reiji looked at her.

She blinked. Reserves. Like human blood was found in a cupboard. She couldn't deny the taste for it, the craving in her soul...or whatever she had, but this...it just...

"Let's go then Pancake. Not leaving you out of my sight for a minute."

She stared at him in the living quarters. He handed her a glass.

She hesitantly took a sip, the feelings of the blood rush coming back to her.

She felt the blood. A small part of her tasted it. Death. Vengeance. A part of her wondered if she'd ever recover from the past – from the Neko-vampires and what they had left of her. If they took something from her...she hated malice, but knowing this man would have left a girl dead...another girl if it hadn't been her... to probably rape or abuse...

She looked over to Ayato who was sitting on a sofa chair, his eyes impatiently eying the night sky.

He wasn't innocent either. Before...he was once preying on women the same way. The other brides...

But then...why did the brothers feel different? Why did she separate them in her mind, as if they were nothing like Osamu's group or how this man had been? As if they had changed?

Were they as noble as she saw them as? Or was she disillusioned?

Perhaps as disillusioned as she was. She wasn't pure. She'd lost that with her virginity. With her fangs. With the blood now on her hands. With the visions, she had of the looming church over her as she struck a sword into a demon vampire, whose eyes turned to cat eyes, and then to the empty ones of the dead man she'd left on her bed nights ago after she'd lured him as Reiji had shown her.

Nightmares? Or simple truths?

"What's the issue Pancake."

She caught his green ones in a stare. "All of this trouble...for me again and...I'm not sure it's worth it."

"Worth it?" Ayato had heard her say this speech before, one night at the Mukami's with Ruki. But something else held her words down now.

"I-I'm not a good vampire. I'm not a good...me. A good person anymore. I'm not sure what I am. I know you all told me to kill only the bad ones...but...aren't we all bad?"

Ayato wouldn't admit it aloud but he knew it. She wasn't the same Yui anymore. His father wanted her to remain human...somehow...partially...perhaps she was...however Reiji's serum had affected her turning was unknown to him. But he wasn't going to admit that to her. That even he had no clue how she'd remain pure as she hoped to be.

"Everyone is bad pancake. Hell your no angel...nor were you. Are you telling me you never told a lie? Ever?"

"Well...no but I-"

"Yea, so what you killed that guy...humans kill for food. We kill for food. There's no way around that. Plus, have you ever considered that your father killed us? All the time?"

She looked at him, and blinked blankly at him. As blunt as it had been, it was true. Her father had been, once, a vampire hunter. Strangely she'd blocked that part out, only associating her father with kind of death temporarily during Karlheinz's ruse. But some of what she'd seen that night was true. Her father killed Reiji's mother.

Although she'd once seen them as monsters, she'd also seen them protect her. Goodness suddenly seemed relative.

She set the wine glass down.

"Look, for now, let me do the hunting. Or at least us. If it helps, but seriously stop being so self-sympathizing... I'm going to stop these snake freaks from getting close again, but you need to watch out too. Don't be-"

She knew he was right. She was being short sighted. In a sense, she was in another position where her position effected there's – but then they were also part of it as well. She existed and they did. Both as equally a part of the Demon King's vendetta. Her own self-sympathy would do nothing for herself.

"I won't."

"Plus, you know nobody will take you seriously if you don't show a bit of backbone Pancake."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning those dumb students made a mistake going after you, but I mean, you do have the heart of a Founder Pancake, survived some Cat demon freaks and you stabbed my father... you are the future Mrs. Sakamaki so do yourself a favor and act like it a bit." Ayato's eyes grew keen. "Plus, I mean I love moaning passive you Yui, but frankly, the you that drank that guy's blood..."

Ayato grabbed her arm and pulled her up, pressing her back towards him, leaving no space between her hips and his. "It was kind of hot Pancake."

Repeatedly she questioned why Ayato's forward actions always took her off guard; the feeling of a something similar to a blush again, running into the growingly familiar feeling of his body against hers grounded her again.

"I don't know who I am..." She muttered.

"You're mine. So let's make sure you remember that."