APOLOGIZE
Disclaimer: I don't own Rosario+ Vampire or it's characters, nor do i own the lyrics used in this fic. The song is 'Apologize', version by Timbaland feat. One Republic. If you want to listen to it, go to Youtube.
Summary: When Moka went one step too far, it was customary she apologized for it. But sometimes, it's too late to apologize, and even Tsukune's forgiveness wasn't infinite.
Shout Out: Right, I read MistressWynowill's story, 'Get What You Wanted', and while it was interesting read, I just had an itch to write an off-shot... without the harem involved, and because I watched Tsukune's confrotation of Issa for Moka's rosario, this happened. Seriously, even if I appreciate Tsukune's unofficial harem, there was a red-eyed, silver-haired male candy of a vampire just waiting to snatch the boy for himself, and I fullfilled his wish. /Snarks/
Warnings: It's SLASH, meaning there's a boy/boy pairing, thus Shuzen Issa/Aono Tsukune. I've never saw this pairing done, so I claim the first story written about 'em /wide smirk/. If you don't like it, then you don't need to read. You were warned. If you are still here, enjoy!
PS: Used the lyrics as a makeshift borders, because I wanted the attention on story, and also because using the line border while I already have lyrics to mark the story segments would have been kinda overrated.
I'm holdin' on your rope,
Got me ten feet off the ground.
He never would have thought that it would come to... this.
When he had wed her, he had hoped that their romance would last into eternity... they had deserved it with their blood, pain and tears, he had broken his body for her, heart, mind and soul, but apparently that wasn't enough.
'Know your place.'
How he hated those words.
Just because of one... disagreement about the children, because of her foolish pride and his wish the child would know the best of the two words...
And when he dared to disagree, dared to tell her their children would be accepted in the human world, her usually cheerful green eyes darkened and she said the words he never, in his wildest nightmares, would have thought she would say.
"Either you comply, or I will sleep with Gin."
That one sentence made his heart jerk painfully in his chest.
Would she really be so cruel? After all of what they had been through... just to be together...
Dark brown eyes dulled with pain slid shut as the man hung his head.
"But - Moka-chan -"
"Know your place."
Three words that caused him to physically jerk back, as if pierced with a poisoned lance.
Those dark green eyes, like the most precious of emeralds, glared at him, as she turned around and reached for the phone.
He had watched her call the number, still in disbelief of her actions.
Had she really deemed him so worthless as to totally disregard his opinions and wishes?
He watched her turn around, her pose regal as if it were an Inner on the display and not the mellower, cuter, Outer version of Moka Akashiya.
Fifteen minutes later, the werewolf came, and with the bouquet of roses in his hands, no less. Moka acted coquettishly, as if she wasn't a married woman, or a Bonded vampiress, inviting the mutt into their bedroom coyly and all the time, he had stood here in the living room, like some kind of a weird ornament, misplaced, useless and broken, as he listened them emitting animalistic sounds of pleasure in the nearby room.
And ten years of devotion shattered into painful fragments of useless sacrifice that seared his heart, or what was left of it, with the bitter feeling of despair.
And I'm hearin' what you say,
But I just can't make a sound.
"So there you are." Her voice pierced the silence like acid.
He was standing beside the window, looking at the street below sightlessly, barely aware of the evening darkness creeping in.
How long had that... travesty lasted? Two hours? Three?
He didn't know.
He only remembered the pleasured cries, growls, whimpers and animalistic howls emanating from their - no, her bedroom.
She dismissed the werewolf with a kiss, not refuting his offers of an encore sometime later, both of the cheaters barely looking at his forlorn form.
"You understand now? Or do you need another lesson?"
At her voice calling out at him, so calmly, as if they were arguing about the weather, he turned to her.
She was clad in the dark red silk bathrobe patterned with white and pink sakura petals - the one he had given her for their first wedding anniversary.
Her long pink hair was mussed, her lips puffy with the kisses given and received and her usually blemish- free alabaster skin was now dotted with tiny bites that were not made by him.
She looked like trained seductress... innocent but dripping with invisible poison.
She sighed. "I wish it hadn't come to that, Tsukune. I wish you saw it my way. But you didn't and now you will have to bear the consequences."
Her voice quivered a little.
"You understand it, right?"
He wanted to say... something.
Anything.
But his throat was clogged and his mouth full of ashes.
You tell me that you need me,
Then you go and cut me down...
But wait..
"I need you, Tsu-kun."
Her sweet voice echoed in his ears, like the hiss of a snake, full of promises and poison, sweet, seductive and lovely.
"Your blood is so good, Tsu-kun. Let me drink some more..."
A small puff of warm breath on his throat, before those pink colored lips opened, revealing pearly white teeth with sharp, sharp fangs that sunk down into his tender, scarred skin -
"Why do I have to protect you?"
A flash of silver and red.
"Know your place." Pride-filled silhouette, drenched in blood standing in front of his broken body.
What did it matter if he had done the majority of the job of weakening the monster?
What did it matter that she had appeared only in the end; she, the pride-filled Inner, with majestic form and crimson eyes and cutting words?
She was his Moka.
Wasn't she?
He had endured it all for her, gladly.
Hadn't he?
But now, the same prideful poise gleamed through the slender frame of the Outer, her green eyes the same sheen of mercilessness as the red ones...
"You understand, right?"
You tell me that you're sorry,
Didn't think I'd turn around...
And say...
"I'm sorry... I 'm sorry...Tsukune... please, I'm sorry."
He finished his packing, heedless of her demands and calls and threats and tears.
What did it matter?
Nothing.
What did she matter?
She had been his everything, his heart of hearts.
Now...
She didn't.
Empty brown eyes looked into teary green ones as he straightened out as he hauled the small duffel bag on his back.
Funny how few things he had, that were truly his own.
And then, he strode forward, nearing her, and she flinched, expecting him to explode.
His shadow moved, past her and he walked away, into the antechamber, searching for a jacket and an old, worn pair of trainers.
That it's too late to apologize.
It's too late...
"Tsukune... Tsukune! Come back, please! TSUKUNE!"
He didn't heed her calls.
It was all too much, too fresh, andtoo painful.
He never thought it would have happened to him... but it had.
His wife - no, his mate, with his best friend.
It was... too late.
His footsteps disappeared into the darkening night, leading him away from their - now her - home.
Where?
Somewhere.
Her apologies came...
Too late.
I said it's too late to apologize.
It's too late.
Yeah!
He wished it would have rained when he sat on the bench in the park, but no such luck. The day was sunny and on the sky, there were blinking stars, hiding behind a cloud or two, while the street lamps were beginning to be lit slowly, one by one.
He distantly heard the crackling of the small white stones under the feet of the people - there was an old drunkard slung over the bench, snoring loudly.
The shades of the trees were steadily being painted by the yellow of the streetlights, and the fountain was still quietly bubbling with water.
That particular summer evening would have been peaceful, but he was feeling too pitiful to appreciate it properly.
Even breathing was hard now, as if he were inhaling little shards, instead of the half-tepid air, and instead of a heart, he felt as if he carried a painful mess in the middle of his chest.
He felt... worthless.
There was a measured crunch-crunch of the footsteps under someone's feet - very faint, but Tsukune's keen ears heard it, even if dimly.
And then the steps stopped as a person sat beside him on the bench.
"Tsukune."
He cringed at the smooth, commanding baritone of this... person.
He had totally forgotten about him.
And he was such a mess... how shameful.
"Tsukune... look at me."
Pain-dulled brown eyes looked up into the calm red ones.
"Issa-san."
I'd take another chance,
Take a fall, take a shot for you.
The red eyes bore into his own brown ones silently. Their owner was a man with somewhat-longish silver hair. He was clothed in a dark gray suit, which should have surprised him, as Issa-san wasn't one to wear modern clothes much, but he supposed even old vampires had to get used to the fashion customs if they didn't want to be regarded as weirdoes - and even if Issa-san was a womanizer and a bit old-fashioned in his beliefs, he couldn't be accused of being stupid. After all, stupid vampires didn't survive very long in their society.
"I apologize for being such a mess, Issa-san."
He managed to get out as he lowered his eyes.
He couldn't look at Issa-san - too many painful similarities to her.
Crimson eyes.
Silver hair.
I need you like a heart needs a beat,
But it's nothin' new, yeah!
Both of the men sat on the bench for the time.
"Tsukune. What happened?"
He flinched at the stern voice.
His father-in-law was... difficult to get along with - it took time to get his approval and even then, Issa had given it reluctantly, and Tsukune reminisced bitterly, it was with a good reason.
Vampires and humans coexisted on completely different scales of society.
They had different values, different laws, different... everything.
And even if Tsukune had theposition of Issa's son-in-law, the newlywed pair was still faced with some difficulties while moving in vampire society.
How could he tell the father he had been cheated on by his favorite daughter...
Cheated on with the help of a werewolf, no less?
"Tsukune."
The man's - no, vampire's voice was firm, unrelenting.
He inhaled a shuddering gulp of air.
The pain was nothing new.
The shame was... a different point altogether.
Swallowing a bitter taste back in his mouth, he began.
I loved you with a fire red,
Now it's turnin' blue...
The vampire listened to his hacked-through story patiently, not interrupting him even once.
It was the hardest thing he had to do in his life - harder than rejecting the girls in favor of Moka, harder than battling with Issa-san, harder even than standing outside his and Moka's bedroom, listening to her coupling with the werewolf...
The words came out of his throat and across his tongue like little balls of ashes - dry and unpleasant and marring everything that had been sacred to him about her.
It was as if he were skinning his heart - little slices being carved away, as if it had been an apple, red giving the way to white and the meat was being whittled away - hacked away by his clumsy tongue and seared into his memories by the same virtue.
How sad.
How agonizing.
How... shameful.
And then, finally, he finished his story.
Surprisingly, the silver-haired vampire didn't explode. But as they say, still waters run deep, and Tsukune didn't exactly expect the cultured man to explode in public like some common mongrel.
And then, the man stood up.
"Come with me."
And you say...
Sorry, like an angel
He didn't think. He couldn't think. Death would have been preferable to that torment, the fire and ice raging in his chest.
"Tsukune. I'm sorry. Please, come back."
Click.
He shut the cellphone, grimacing as he blocked the numbers, both the home one and the one from Moka's cellphone.
He was hiding in the room like some kind of wounded animal, with Issa-san keeping him an occasional company.
It was the third day since the... debacle.
He dimly wondered just how Issa had persuaded them to leave him alone - they didn't encounter anybody, but he had been sure Moka would have raised a ruckus about his disappearance sooner than later, not that he wanted her to, but -
He was clad in dark blue loose drawstring pants and an oversized black T-shirt and right now, his favorite place was the sinfully soft mattress and thick, dark covers.
He had dreamed about her.
He had called to her... his angel, his devil, his everything.
The fourth day, Issa-san strode in and outright grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, hauling him out of his cozy hidey-hole of blankets.
"Enough."
Tsukune glared at him with watery eyes.
"Get up. Shower. Change. Stop moping around, it's unbecoming of you."
He snarled. "What the fuck do you know about heartbreak!"
Those crimson eyes chilled. Tsukune swallowed.
'Oh, shit.'
"You stupid boy." Those pearly white teeth glinted as the man snarled at him.
"I won't pity you. But you are definitely on a good road to deserve my disdain. Heartbreak happens. Shit happens. You have thirty minutes to take care of your hygiene; I expect you in the rose garden."
Then, the man hurled him onto the bed, leaving him there, stunned with the outburst that was so out of character for the leader of the Shuzen family.
Nevertheless to say, twenty minutes later, Tsukune could be found strolling hurriedly toward the rose gardens.
Heaven let me think was you...
But I'm afraid...
He arrived into the rose garden on the dot - it had taken some hurrying, but it paid off. Issa-san was not a man to be left waiting, after all.
He looked at the man cautiously.
Issa-san was clothed in his usual attire, looking at the pond filled with lotus flowers and gold fishes. Tsukune always wondered just why there was a pond of water in the middle of the vampire grounds - it sounded like a recipe for a suicide, intentional or otherwise, but he didn't dare to ask.
The day was closing to the evening slowly and the slightly humid air was pleasantly cool by the recent rain shower.
The roses were displaying their beautiful blooms in bountiful cascades - red, orange, white and pink, with all the shades in between.
It was a beautiful place, Tsukune had to admit.
A fitting background for Moka -
No.
He had to get over it.
Over her.
"Come sit, Tsukune."
The man's voice tore him out of his ponderings.
Tsukune blinked.
"Yes, Issa-san."
It's too late to apologize.
It's too late.
"What do you want to do now?"
He blinked, stunned.
"Issa-san?"
Crimson eyes narrowed at him. "Much as I loathe to admit, she had done something very stupid. What will you do now?"
Tsukune kept silent.
"She wants to apologize." he finally said.
"And?"
He wanted to twitch. Issa-san definitely wasn't helping.
'The bully.' Tsukune thought petulantly as his eyes narrowed with discomfort.
"I don't want to hear it." He finally bit out.
"She's too late."
The man stared in his eyes for a long moment.
"You sure?"
Tsukune nodded, biting his lip.
"Yeah."
The man stared at him some more.
"Good."
Brown eyes blinked owlishly at the silver-haired vampire.
"What?!"
Tsukune yelped out, incredulous. Here he was, fearing for his skin and life, and then the man says he... approves of his decisions? About his favorite daughter, no less?
Had the world gone mad while he was sulking in his room?
I said it's too late to apologize.
It's too late.
Whoa!
"Yes. She made her choice. And loathe as I am to leave her to deal with the consequences, she has to learn she can't depend on the family and you to get her out of her troubles forever."
Tsukune shifted on the bench uncomfortably. "But..."
Crimson eyes slanted at him amused. The older man knew what was gnawing at the youth, but he left him to struggle with it.
"Isn't that kinda... two-faced?" Tsukune finally blurted out, flushing with embarrassment.
"It could be interpreted as such, yes." The silver-haired man nodded regally. "However, we were merely lovers and not bonded like you two are."
"Were." Tsukune mumbled distractedly as his eyes trailed after a colorful butterfly.
"Tsukune. Do you wish to denounce Blood-bonding?" The vampire asked him, his voice now serious - a total opposite from his carefully modulated mirth.
"Yeah. Yeah, I do. Maybe I would have been better off with one of the other girls."
He blinked as he was grabbed by the shoulder.
"No. That train already departed." The man told him harshly. "You belong totheShuzen family."
Tsukune's taken-aback face morphed into irritated one. Just as he opened his mouth to protest, Issa-san interrupted him again.
"You belong to me."
Wide brown eyes looked at the vampire. "I- Issa-san? What the heck were you drinking?" The youth asked suspiciously.
"I didn't drink anything. You proved your loyalty, persistence and passion - truly, Moka is a fool to think I would have thought any less of your possible offspring." Issa-san paused as he inhaled the fresh air.
"Anyone else, I would have forbidden them to wed her. But you... you were an exception. Even that day, when you came for the Rosario..." He trailed off, sharp crimson eyes softening a smidge as he looked at the floored hybrid.
"You surprised me. You somehow made me respect you. And your loyalty made me like you. I was certain that Moka would be safe with you... and I wasn't mistaken. Why do you think I called you for the talks so often?"
Tsukune closed his mouth. Gaping was unbecoming, after all. "I thought you were keeping an eye on me," he said slowly, still blindsided by the revelation.
"That too."
"You're straight."
"You're an exception."
Tsukune gulped.
"I am straight."
A wicked smirk.
"For how long?"
The youth blushed fiercely.
'For how long,' indeed.
"This will be such a mess..." he sighed, defeated.
It's too late to apologize.
It's too late.
It was an awkward series of meetings and events. Tsukune couldn't help but feel flattered, and also intensely uncomfortable at the thought of having the lord of the Shuzen family desiring him.
Itwas almost worse than thinking about Moka's... indiscretion.
He was also confused - except from their talk in the rose garden, Issa-san didn't mention his attraction to the youth in any way, shape or form. It was as if the entire episode was some kind of a bizarre dream.
But he had to wonder...
... What it would have been like?
To be taken care of, instead having to take care of, to be protected instead having to protect, to be saved instead of having to save...
But... Issa-san was a man.
And a vampire.
Tsukune grimaced as he buried his head into the soft fluffed up pillow with a heart-felt groan.
Out of the pan into the proverbial fire.
At least he had been sufficiently distracted to delete all the numerous messages from Moka without feeling too guilty on her account.
I said it's too late to apologize.
It's too late.
The silver-haired man stared at the sunset thoughtfully. He was clothed in a tasteful ensemble consisting of charcoal gray trousers with black shoes and - wonder of wonders - a soft pale yellow cashmere pullover that seemed almost golden in the fading light. Usually, the man wasn't one to wear pullovers, as he preferred much more... traditional clothing, but he had came to appreciate the more relaxed variant of dressing, courtesy of his soon-to-be ex-son-in-law.
Ex-son-in-law. What a mouthful. The man chuckled to himself quietly, garnet eyes looking in the distance through the window fondly. His youthful face was in odds with the silver color of his hair, and the sharp burgundy-colored eyes only accented the contrast. Anyone who would have seen him, they would have thought him to be shy of thirty years, maybe thirty-five years old, while in truth, he could be many-great-grandfather even to the oldest living human in the world.
And yet... he was chasing after the youth that was, in age comparison, not even a baby to him. Aono Tsukune was an enigma, a puzzle and the simplest equation in one - he was naive, faithful to a fault, stubborn twice and thrice over, and he may have fought for wrong beliefs, but that didn't deter the man from finding him... interesting, even when they had been enemies. Truthfully, the man would have preferred someone, anyone else for his beloved daughter - Moka deserved the very best, after all, but even those he deemed the best ones weren't as foolish as to challenge him head on, much less as they were aware they lacked everything - power, resources and cunningness to prevail.
Tsukune lacked all three of them - sure, the lad was plenty powerful, especially for such an eclectic mix of creatures he had been created from, but he still charged on, love and faith leading him.
But when he saw Moka's... feelings toward this youth, he let it be. Not that he didn't put the young man through the wringer later on - he still chuckled at the memories of some of the...challenges, but the boy didn't disappoint. Instead, he exceeded his expectations, earning his respect with blood, sweat and tears, and if the man were honest with himself... he envied his daughter. That kind of love and steadfast loyalty... sure, Akasha loved him, but he instinctively felt that the kind of love Akasha had for him and the boy had for Moka were different like day and night. While Akasha's was possessive and at times jealous, the boy's was like the bird's nest - soft, warm and yet firm enough to shelter through the harshest of storms.
He could see just why his eldest daughter was so... interested in the kid.
But that didn't help his own problem with him liking the boy more than he should have had. It came as a shock to him - after all, he was a connoiseur of feminine beauty through and through, but something in this boy demanded his attention, his feelings and he was helpless to avert them away, or - the thought was just heinous - to bury them deep inside and lock them away.
However, he had done just that, because he wanted Moka to be happy, wanted - surprisingly - Tsukune to be happy and if he had to sacrifice a part of his heart for it, then so be it.
But foolish, foolish Moka had done the inexcusable. At first, he had been shocked when Tsukune told him just how low she had gone in her trying to force Tsukune to conform to her wishes - he understood her point of view, but Tsukune was equally as right, if not more so, in his own - and then, she dared to issue the ultimatum that broke every vow the young pair had taken in the Rites...
He shook his head slowly. Even he hadn't been so stupid, womanizer that he was. He wanted to slap Moka, both Inner and Outer, because mates like Tsukune were rare jewels, and even he had heard about the boy's pseudo harem back then in Youkai Academy. All those girls, Tsukune could have had bent to his whims, could have his pleasure with, but no, instead the boy remained faithful. And Moka, stupid girl she was, discarded him in favor of chasing after some imaginary perfection. Didn't the girl have any brain in her foolish head? He wouldn't have let Tsukune Court, and later on Bond her, if he had been against their children, even if there was indeed a chance of them being of mixed descent.
"Issa-san?" The man's musings were interrupted by the soft voice of a young male.
The silver-haired vampire turned his head, looking at the young man with black hair and soft brown eyes.
Oh well. Her loss, his gain.
Issa smiled pleasantly. "Tsukune. "
Surprisingly, even to himself, his smile was genuine.
And when Tsukune hesitantly smiled back, Issa knew that he would do everything in his power to catch and keep this person for himself.
I said it's too late to apologize, yeah!
I said it's too late to apologize, yeah!
When Tsukune announced his intention to break his bond to Moka, everyone was surprised. Tsukuna and Moka were perceived as a perfect, if slightly weird pair, after all. And for Tsukune to call it quits, something had to be horribly wrong with their marriage. Because if nothing else, Tsukune was known to be particularly stubborn when it came to sticking with Moka, and for him to formally denounce her, it was troubling news.
However, when they found out just why he wanted to sever their Bond... they raised an uproar, with Tsukune's unofficial harem in the front. The girls were practically baying for Moka's blood, and it was only Tsukune's wish that held them back from doing horrible things to the pink-haired vampiress. Kurumu wanted to skin the 'wolf... the painful way, and if she ever found Gin, she was more liable to make her threat real than to treat him civilly.
Akasha Bloodriver watched the broken pair in front of her. Moka was in a bad state – with a swollen stomach, her green eyes puffy with all the shed tears and clothed in a cream-colored dress with the rosario around her neck, her pink hair loose around her face she could have been beautiful, if not for the abject look of misery on her face and a distended middle. Her leaf green eyes were looking at Tsukune pleadingly, trying to make him to understand, to forgive and to take her back. She even got so far as to wear the small emerald and diamond brooch Tsukune had bought it for her for their fifth anniversary of marriage - Akasha knew that, because she remembered Tsukune coming to her, all awkward and blushing and stuttering as he asked for her help in the matter, which the Shinto vampiress gave gladly. The small thing cost half of Tsukune's monthly pay, but the boy still bought the small thing, because it was something that Moka would be happy to have - they weren't rich by any means, but Tsukune worked hard to change that fact, even if it meant working overtime and sometimes juggling two or three jobs to get them both through the month comfortably. Akasha could have helped, but Tsukune insisted he would be the one to provide for them, and Akasha reluctantly agreed.
She looked at Tsukune. The young man's eyes were not hopeful brown ones anymore, but dulled as if the light that usually made them alive was almost snuffed out. He was clothed in a dark gray business suit with a black tie and white shirt - older, more haggard looking, even if he was clean-shaven and his hair combed - a little longer than at his bonding and his whole attire was a jarring contrast against the traditional ones of the gathered Vampires, as if clothes were pointing out that he was different - not human, but different from theVampires and thus distancing himself from them even further.
"We gathered there today to break the Blood Rites between Aono Tsukune of the house of Shuzen and Akashiya Moka of the house of Bloodriver." Issa's smooth voice didn't betray anything, as if the man was totally indifferent to the happenings. But Issa was always like that - always in control and rarely surprised by anything. It was no wonder he was one of the most dangerous vampires still alive, Akasha reminisced reluctantly. If only it weren't for his... womanizing ways, he would have been perfect, but Issa was Issa.
"Aono Tsukune, step forward."
The young man complied gracefully, not even looking at his soon-to-be ex-wife.
"On what grounds are you calling for breaking the Blood Rites between you and my daughter?" Issa asked, his voice not revealing anything. 'The bastard,' Akasha thought bitterly. 'Unfeeling, emotionless, cruel –'
"She cheated on me." Tsukune's voice was as empty as his eyes were. "She cheated me out of my children, my honor and my heart."
Akasha saw her daughter wince. Tsukune certainly was a blunt one, making the Shinso vampiress pity Moka for her foolishness all the more.
"Akashiya Moka, step forward." Issa's voice hardened for a bit, making the present vampires cringe slightly. Moka did so meekly, hanging her head.
"Is what he said true?" Not that the question was needed - all of the vampires gathered in the room could smell her scent, and it definitely wasn't one Tsukune's - instead, she carried a faint scent of wolf musk, mixed with her own natural blood and roses one.
"Yes." She whispered.
"What reason did you have to break the Bond between the two of you?"
Green eyes looked into the red ones.
"I wanted the child to be raised with vampires. He didn't. I said to him if he didn't comply then I would find someone to give me purebred children."
Akasha couldn't believe the callousness of her own daughter.
"Aono Tsukune, is that correct?"
Tsukune looked into the red eyes of his father-in-law. "I wanted the child to experience both the Vampire andtheHuman world. She didn't agree, threatened me to find someone more compatible with her demands and then proceeded to realize her threat."
Akasha winced. Moka's foolishness was utterly astounding. She had been on the world long enough to know whether someone lied to her, and Tsukune couldn't lie to save his life.
But his...dispassionate recounting was just as bad, if not worse than his anger would have been. Because after that particular worm got out if its proverbial can, Moka would be disgraced in the vampire circles, even if she technically did have the right to choose another, the fact that she had chosen a werewolf would rub the proverbial fur of the vampire society bad enough to scorn her. Worse yet, she had broken the Blood Rites, meaning she would be lucky to be treated civilly after this... farce was done and over with.
"I, Shuzen Issa, grant you the right to sever the Blood Rite to the one Akashiya Moka."
Akasha blinked. She had expected Issa to question Tsukune more, to reason with him - as did Moka, if her suddenly desperate eyes were any indication to her distress.
"Thank you." Tsukune nodded as he finally turned to the shaking pink-haired girl. "Aono Moka, from this day on -"
"I'm sorry!" The eyes of the witnesses widened at the pink-haired young woman's interruption.
How uncouth.
How...Disgraceful.
The murmurs started to flow among the people, shocked, entertained and disgusted.
First she dares to break the Rites, not even trying to discuss things with her Bonded, with a werewolf, no less, and then she tactlessly apologizes -
"Tsukune, I am sorry! I am really really sorry!" The girl hurried with her words, cringing under the incredulous and in some cases, ill-willed glares of the present.
"I didn't mean to!"
Akasha closed her eyes resignedly.
"Please! I didn't, I really didn't mean to! Please, Tsukune, believe me!" The girl's voice reached a higher pitch in her panic, her eyes wide with terror and hope and remorse and something darker -
"It's too late." Tsukune finally replied tonelessly as he looked in the eyes he once admired with all his heart.
Moka stumbled, her face paling even more.
"No..." Her voice was small weak and desperate. "Please, we went through so much... please, give me one more chance. I won't disappoint you, I swear, just... please..."
"Moka." At his voice Moka eyed him hopefully - she knew he would forgive her, he always did and the Inner Moka smiled -
"You are carrying another man's child. And you are seriously expecting of me to take care of the both of you, raise the proof of your adultery in my house?" The words were spoken out gently, with no inflection of anger or incredulity, it was a merely a question to confirm the spoken facts.
"I - no, but –" She stumbled over her words, as if she were a child that barely began to speak.
"No. I may have tolerated many things, but I am no fool. And despite of your thinking that humans are cruel, stupid and inferior, they do in fact know and practice something called fidelity. When we bonded, I entrusted to you my heart, and honor and swore I would be faithful to you all the days of my life." Tsukune tilted his head.
"Remeber, Moka? You should, you did promise me the same."
Akasha's breath hitched as she recalled that particular memory. Moka had been resplendent in her bridal dress, then and even if it had been a weird custom, Issa surprisingly allowed it to be carried out. But what Akasha remembered the most, were the pledges.
It was cruel of Tsukune to remind Moka of them, but was that really cruelty? Hadn't Moka been the cruel one first, what with her breaking the sacred promises?
Beside her, Issa made a small sound Akasha didn't know how to interpret. A growl? A hum?
"But couldn't we work through it?" Moka's voice was that of a small girl who knew she had done something wrong, destroyed something irreparable, and still hoped to attain it back, miraculously whole and be forgiven in the whole deal.
Tsukune smiled at her gently, but that smile was void of warmth, void of anything.
"It's too late to apologize."
The breaking of the Bond proceeded without any other interruptions, save for an occasional sob or two from the disgraced pregnant vampiress.
I'm holdin' on your rope,
Got me ten feet off the ground.
It was done. Tsukune exhaled. It had hurt to see here standing there, so heartbreakingly beautiful, looking at him with guilty eyes, but Tsukune persisted. He loved her, true, but to bear and rear up the child of her adulterous actions was way beyond forgiveness even for him. In some way, he understood Moka's motivations, but her blind fear of the children being persecuted like she had been, despite Tsukune's arguments on the contrary, had broken everything between them.
And now he was standing here, in the rose garden, overlooking the pond and contemplating his future. He still had to deal with his own family - his mother was ridiculously fond of Moka and now he had to tell her that there wouldn't be any brown-eyed, pink-haired babies running around - he sighed, wishing for a smoke to relax his frayed nerves. And he had to get to the registry office to change the ownership of their shared domicile – even if it would be hard, Tsukune already decided to let her have the flat – even he, as a human, knew now that Moka's actions were aired out, there would be little, if any, mercy for her among the vampires. Even if she had Shinso blood, and was a member of one of the most prestigious families, that only meant her fall from grace was all the harder. He just hoped that Gin would do the right thing and mate her. And if not… well, bully for her. He was done playing hero-or better, victim - for her.
The roses were still showing off their resplendent beauty, but Tsukune knew that under the fragrant silky blossoms and dark green leaves, there was a mass of vines and thorns. It was ironic that the castle boasted one of the most beautiful gardens that were full of flowers which drew blood if handled carelessly, but it fit…somehow, the young man supposed.
Sighing, he rubbed his eyes. He was still clad in the business suit, only his jacket was now off and his tie was loosened from its proper place. The evening was warm enough to not need the jacket, and Tsukune was never one for formalities, and today he had enough of them to last him for a lifetime.
"Tsukune." A smooth voice reverberated behind him, making the hybrid halt his motion and turn his head around to see the caller.
"Issa-san." He acknowledged the man shortly.
Issa was clothed in his usual attire, which made Tsukune uncomfortable as it only enhanced that Issa wasn't an ordinary human but a… being that had literally lived longer than Tsukune existed. He was sharply reminded of that fact, as he had become comfortable with Issa being clad in casual clothes lately, seemingly making the silver-haired man one of Tsukune's peers - if not by age, then at least by image.
"You didn't come to dinner." The man admonished him, those dark, wine-red eyes narrowing at Tsukune chidingly.
"The situation is already uncomfortable enough." Tsukune replied, turning his head away to look at the red and white rose - the outer side of the petal was snow white, while the inner was blood red, as if the inner side was soaked in blood. Fascinated, Tsukune gently touched the fragile bloom, his fingertips gliding lightly on the outermost side of the velvety softness of the petal.
The man sighed as he looked at the clammed-up youth. "You are still part of the family, Tsukune."He muttered, mildly exasperated at Tsukune's behavior and a little miffed that the boy's attention was centered on a rose instead of him. Was he such a sore sight for eyes? Tsukune wasn't a coward, but him averting eyes from Issa was beginning to get irritating. Issa wasn't the foolish girl who had managed to shatter Tsukune's heart, and even if they did have silver hair and red eyes… Issa was a man, damn it!
Elegant silver eyebrow twitching, Issa placed a hand on Tsukune's shoulder. "Look at me, Tsukune." He paused. "Please."
Tsukune blinked with surprise. It was rare of the Shuzen lord to utter that little word, so it had to be important. Warily, he looked up to the lord and was once again struck with the familiar and yet unfamiliar lines.
"You still have place among us, Tsukune." The man said to him, his voice low and intense. "I know you are feeling guilt right now, but Tsukune, it was her decision."
"And me breaking the Bond will practically make her an outcast among her people –"
"Stop." Issa commanded the guilt-ridden boy forcefully."She had done wrong to you. You did the right thing. I know you are not thinking like that right now, but look – would you rather be with her, and raise the… child, knowing how it was brought to the world and being captured in the worry of her repeating the deed once you had done something she doesn't agree with?"
"… No." Tsukune's reluctant mumble made the strong fingers on his shoulder clutch a little bit, before relaxing. "But I loved her." That meek excuse sounded weak even to his own ears.
"I know. However, if I learned anything in my life, it was that loving someone also meant to let it go. Sometimes, the only solution is to let go, even if it's painful feeling." Issa muttered to the youth, his burgundy-colored eyes dimmed with memories.
Tsukune blinked. "Issa-sa –"
"Issa, Tsukune. Just Issa." The man muttered to him, sighing wearily. He now knew the feeling of being…set aside only too intimately, even if unintentionally. And he was a little disheartened at Tsukune's dense nature. But that denseness was also a part of Tsukune, and as such, a lovable personality trait, even if it made Issa wish to shake the youth something fierce to get at least some awareness into him.
"Uhh, okay. Issa-sa - Issa." Tsukune offered timidly, making the vampire quirk his mouth in a tiny smile.
"So what will you do now?" Issa asked, his voice a mite bit more relaxed - Tsukune didn't know how he knew that, but he knew it as sure as he knew the sun will rise again the next day.
"I don't know. With your permission, I wish to stay here for the night, and tomorrow…" He swallowed heavily. "Tomorrow, I will begin to pack and hopefully find a new lodge."
Ah. Tsukune, the stubborn fool, still insisted on leaving the flat to Moka. Well, that was all well in Issa's books.
More than well, in fact.
"They you will come to live with me." Issa commanded, disregarding Tsukune's taken-aback yelp of surprise.
"Wha - No! I already used too much of your goodwill as it is!" Tsukune protested, his gentle brown eyes wide with dismay.
"Tsukune. This is not negotiable." Issa growled at him. "And if you insist on yourself representing a burden to me, then you will just pay it back via being my companion… won't you?"
Devious red orbs looked at the wide-eyed Tsukune, who shivered like a small rabbit in front of a hungry wolf. "Um… alright - but only until I find the flat for myself!" Tsukune capitulated hastily, making the silver-haired vampire smirk smugly at him.
"All right, then."
Was it Tsukune's imagination or did he just heard the mourning bells tolling for his plans of acquiring his own flat? "Uh… At least let me pay for my share of living expenses!" He pleaded, his heart hammering wildly under his ribcage.
"Of course," Issa agreed, his voice perfectly amiable to the idea.
Tsukune barely had a time to squeak when he felt smooth, a little cooler lips touch his own. Brown eyes widened even further and his heart just about jumped out of his chest, but Issa's touch was fleeting, like butterfly's wings.
Issa couldn't resist the temptation. The tiny rabbit-person in front of him was just too tempting to even attempt the resistance, and with Tsukune being free, he didn't waste time to lay the claim on the youth. It was only a small taste, if barely that - not his usual barrage of seductive kisses and nips, but this little rabbit deserved more than his usual fare.
And Tsukune's blush was more than a pleasant sight too.
"What-but-what - !" Tsukune stammered, as he stepped a step back, and to his surprise, Issa-san -no Issa now, let him. He covered his mouth, as if denying that the kiss had happened, but the delicious warmth spreading across his lips was unmistakable. And deny it as he may, Tsukune was intrigued.
"Yes, Tsukune?" Issa answered, his voice undertone with a low purr that made Tsukune shiver - whether with dread or excitement, he didn't know.
"Why did you do… that?" Tsukune asked, blushing even more.
"Well, firstly, we sealed the contract." Issa answered, as if it him kissing Tsukune was totally normal occurrence.
"W-Well, I don't remember any contract that would require for a-a kiss!" Tsukune persisted, his voice trembling now.
"Of course not." Issa agreed, making Tsukune squeak indignantly.
"I did tell you that you were mine."
And with that said, Issa gently touched Tsukune's flushing cheek gently, stroking the fragile skin, before turning around and walking away, leaving the flustered young man to stare after him.
"Y – You wish!" Tsukune called after him, before slapping a hand on his insolent mouth in horror. But Issa's only answer was a devilish chuckle, full of anticipation and amusement.
And even if Tsukune was feeling mortally embarrassed, he was feeling as if he was floating ten feet off the ground, held only by Issa's rope and dearly hoping that this time he would make it to … wherever they would go.
Although he had a sneaky suspicion that unlike Moka, Issa would hold his own end of the rope through thick and thin, and despite how he dreaded that particular occasion, Tsukune couldn't find it in himself to mind too much.
/Owari/The End/