Here it is, the final chapter. Thank you so much for all the great reviews and I'm glad you all liked the story. I carefully wove this ending. I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think. Vampire Princess Miyu was created by and is property of Narumi Kakinouchi and Toshiki Hirano. Enjoy!

Through the Heart

Chapter 5

Miyu found herself sitting on the same high building ledge, looking over the night skyline of Ginza. Tokyo Tower shined like a bright beacon off in the distance. She had a tortured look on her face as the critical and deep thoughts ran through her mind.

'I have to tell him. He deserves to know. Otherwise I'll never truly be at ease with him.'

Miyu stood up and gave a quick nod to herself.

'That settles it, I will tell him tomorrow. No matter what the consequences might be.'

Miyu raised her arms, levitated up into the air and disappeared into the brisk, blowing wind of the night.

Morning had come. Miyu and Itsuki had met each other at the school entrance as usual. Hand in hand they started walking down the hall among the many students. Miyu became very quiet as she built up the courage to get out what she wanted to confess.

"Um, Itsuki?"

"Yes, Miyu?"

"There's something I need to tell you."

"Okay, sure Miyu. What is it? It sounds like it's important." Itsuki said as they stopped and stood over at one side of the hall, away from the busy traffic.

"You see, Itsuki…the truth is…what I'm trying to say is…" Itsuki started to see the frustration build in Miyu through her expression. This caused him to gently cradle her face in his hands and say,

"It's alright, Miyu. Just tell me what's bothering you."

Miyu swallowed her nervousness and began to speak.

"Itsuki. You have to know that I'm a-"

Suddenly the feeling of warning shot through her again. This time, stronger than it's ever been.

'That Shinma again! Of all the times, why now?' she desperately thought as she quickly scanned her surroundings. At the same time, Itsuki became dizzy and had to place one hand on the locker next to him to steady himself. Miyu noticed this immediately and held him up as he was about to fall over.

"Itsuki! Are you alright! Itsuki!" She said, giving him a shake.

The feeling of the Shinma's presence faded and as that happened, Itsuki's condition slowly went back to normal. He shook his head and then looked down at Miyu as if he were roused from a deep sleep.

"Itsuki? How do you feel?" Miyu said, still holding him up by his arms, her face wrought with worry.

"I feel fine now. I just felt really strange there for a minute. Wow, I didn't know you were so strong, Miyu. Stopping me from falling over and all." He said little confused.

"Yeah, well. I just caught you at the right angle, that's all." She said, slightly turning away. Temporarily retreating back from her decision of confession.

"So what was it you wanted to tell me?" He said, standing up straight again.

"It's uh…Well this probably isn't the best place. Besides, classes are going to start soon. We'll discuss it later." She said, sheepishly.

"Oh, okay. We'll discuss it later, then." Itsuki said.

With a quick kiss and the toning of the bell, the two separated to go off to their classes. As she walked away, in her mind she told herself that she was just making excuses. That she was a coward for not being able to tell him the truth about herself.

Throughout the day, Miyu sat through her classes. The lectures of her teachers became meaningless background noise as her concentration was directed deep inside. She was questioning herself and her ethics for taking things this far. She also began to wonder if she was a coward for choosing this love and escaping her duty, her destiny as a guardian.

'Maybe I am just a coward for not facing my destiny. No! I love Itsuki. That feeling is real. If I have to turn my back on my destiny, then so be it.'

Miyu had made up her mind and gained an iron-clad confidence. After classes had ended, Miyu went to their usual meeting place at the entrance. She waited there patiently with her head down. Without even having to look, she knew Itsuki was approaching her.

"Hey, Miyu. Are you ready to go?" Itsuki said.

Miyu, without saying a word, took Itsuki's hand and led him away. Silently, they walked all the way to the park. Itsuki had grown very concerned, seeing as this is the first time he's ever seen her like this. Miyu found a park bench in a quiet area and they sat down.

"What's this all about, Miyu? It something going on?" Itsuki asked.

"Please, Itsuki. Just listen." She said, raising her hand in a gesture of silence.

Itsuki was instantly relieved to hear her voice, but at the same time he became more worried at the melancholy sound of her tone.

"Itsuki, I have been alive for a very long time. To me, the lives of humans are like flashes of light. Here and then gone a moment later. I have a destiny and a duty, Itsuki. But I don't care about that anymore. I'm willing to give that all up because I love you." Miyu placed her hands on the sides of his face as she formed a teary smile and looked deeply into his eyes.

"Miyu, what are you saying?" Itsuki said, lovingly placing his hands over hers.

Then, the feeling came again. It was as strong as ever.

'No! Not now!' She thought. Miyu quickly stood up and motioned Itsuki to be still as she looked in every direction. Itsuki stood up as well. With her back facing Itsuki, Miyu felt a chill go up her spine.

"Are you looking for the Shinma?" Itsuki said, causing a slight sting in Miyu's chest.

She slowly turned around, giving her full attention to Itsuki.

"What did you just say?" She said, slowly stepping up to him.

"The Shinma, you feel him nearby, don't you?" Itsuki said, his voice becoming warped and inhuman.

"Itsuki…?" Miyu said, now moving cautiously.

"Your precious Itsuki is mine now, Guardian. Heh heh heh. I've been waiting for this for so long and now I will finally have my revenge." He said, a devilish smile now running across his features.

"No…it can't be." She said, now standing frozen with fear.

"Believe it, vampire. You and your scythe carrying masked freak sent me screaming into the darkness through a raging pyre! But I escaped from the darkness. You remember me." He said, as he began to slowly circle her.

"The Shinma from the Continent: Rai Cho, the demon of lightning and stealer of bodies." She said.

"Correct. Although, I've remained an observer inside his body up until now, I've finally decided to take control." He said with a smile, running his fingers along the soft, pale skin of her chin.

"You bastard!" she said, closing her fists.

"Ha ha ha! Oh, I could not possibly conceive of a sweeter vengeance than this." He laughed. "Your precious Itsuki at my mercy, bloodsucker."

"Damn you!" Miyu yelled.

"Ah ah ah. You already have, once. I won't let that happen again, though. You see, as long as I'm in this body, you won't harm me, will you?" He said.

"We'll just see about that. You see, I've learned a few tricks since we've last met!" Miyu said, leaping back into the air, creating a good amount of distance between them.

"I learned this from a spiritualist named Himiko who was quite good at exorcising possessed demons!" Miyu yelled as she levitated up into the air.

"What?" Rai Cho said, now becoming uneasy.

Miyu then put her palms together and began to chant, "Om Bazara Daruma Kiri Souka" over and over until a ring of light surrounded Rai Cho. "What the hell is this!" Rai Cho yelled as he felt himself become restrained.

"It's over, Rai Cho!" she yelled before chanting the final spell.

"Rin Pyo Tou Sha Kai Chin Retsu Zai Zen!" she yelled into the night.

At the completing of the words, Rai Cho was torn from Itsuki's body. Itsuki fell to the ground as the ring of light closed around Rai Cho's ethereal form, continuing to restrain him.

"Larva!" Miyu yelled. Larva quickly appeared out of the night, grabbed Itsuki's unconscious form and brought him away to safety.

As Miyu lit a flame in the palm of her hand, she said,

"Now, I cast you into the darkness, Shinma!"

"Ha ha ha! You think you've won? Even in my demise, I still succeed in my revenge!" Rai Cho yelled, as tall flames formed around him, engulfing him in unforgiving fire.

"What do you mean?" she said, chilled by the smile still on his face.

"Remember, Miyu? Once a human is possessed by a Shinma, their life becomes forfeit. Ha ha ha! Even in my defeat, I have still won!" Rai Cho laughed in the delight of his victory.

"No! Itsuki!" She yelled, as tears welled in her eyes.

"In my patience and careful choosing, I took your precious happiness from you forever! Hahaha!" Rai Cho yelled, now slowly disintegrating.

"You bastard!" Miyu screamed, her rage forcing all of her power into the flames surrounding him.

Rai Cho's laughing slowly faded until his fragile burning form finally broke down into nothingness. With a wave of Miyu's hand, the flames quickly extinguished. With intense worry closing its fist around her heart, Miyu landed on the ground and ran over to Itsuki as fast as she could. She took him into her arms as she wept tears onto his sleeping face. Their surroundings faded away and they appeared in Miyu's world: Her only sanctuary, the only place in reality she can call safe.

"Oh, no. No. Itsuki. If you and I had never met, I would never have caused this to happen to you. I love you, Itsuki. I love you so much and I always will." She said, as she held him close.

"Now, all I can do for you is give you a dream. A dream of eternal happiness."

Miyu slowly bowed her head down and with her fangs, made a cut on Itsuki's neck. As she took a little of his blood, a peaceful smile formed on Itsuki's face. Miyu laid Itsuki's head down on her lap and gently ran her fingers through his hair, straightening it. Then she caressed his soft cheeks as the look of happiness on Itsuki's face became ever deeper.

"Dream, my dearest. Dream of us and the happy life we could have had together. Most of all, Itsuki, dream of our love." Then, after a while, she slowly lowered his head to the strange surface of the otherworldly ground. Miyu stood up, looked down at Itsuki and said, "Good-bye, my love." She then turned around and said,

"Larva…Shiina…Let's go. There are stray Shinma waiting."

The next morning, Itsuki was found sitting on the edge of his bed, staring blankly across the room. A peaceful smile, still on his face.

Sometimes in life, there are no happy endings. At times we face a grim, foreboding reality and afterwords, we are left with nothing but sorrow. But the experiences that we gain from these sad tragedies can only make us stronger and hopefully, wiser. For Miyu, this is one of those times. This is but one lesson that Miyu will remember for the rest of her eternal life. Most of all, Miyu will never forget the deep love that she and Itsuki had shared, if only for a short while. Miyu will cherish this memory, as she does many others…forever.

Epilogue

In a small hospital in Tokyo, there are many residents suffering from the same symptoms of Catatonia. All seemingly brought on by the same mysterious cause, but there is no evidence proving what that cause is for sure. All of them are different ages, and come from many different backgrounds. There are two striking similarities between all these cases. Each of them expresses on their face a look of pleasant happiness, as if going through some eternal dream of joy. And each have an identical cut on the left side of their neck.

As we walk down the long, white hallway, we see several names next to the hospital room doors of these residents. However, nearing the end of the hallway, one name stands out among the rest:

'Itsuki Maehara'

Inside, we see Itsuki sitting on his bed, staring into nothingness with glossy eyes as he is in a reality that is all his own. In the world of modern medicine, there is not much that doctors can do for a person in a catatonic state. All they can do is care for the body, in hopes that someday the mind will return to consciousness. None of these cases have ever 'woken up' from their trance since they have arrived here. Some of them have stayed here for many years, causing the hospital staff to doubt they will ever awaken at all. Itsuki, though, has only been here for a few short months.

As Itsuki continues to stare into the abyss of his trance, something unexpected is starting to happen. A twitch would go through his fingers now and then. Followed by numerous movements going up and down his body. This went on until finally, the glossy look from his eyes had disappeared. He was awake. Itsuki turned his head left to right, looking around the room. "Miyu?" he said, standing up. "Where am I? What is this place?" He said, walking around the room. "Miyu. I have to find Miyu." He said. Itsuki threw open the door and ran down the hallway. The sound of his loud steps became more and more distant.

Sometimes in life, there are also times when miracles do happen and we are given a second chance.

END