Even when Crowley wasn't in Sanguinem, you liked to go to the training grounds on your own to practice sword-fighting. If anything, it got you out of the house and away from Ferid. Then again, he gave you plenty of time alone, probably when he was off torturing some other poor soul. Still, you wanted to leave. No. You needed to leave. Especially after that morning. The unpleasant aftertaste from your conversation with Ferid still lingered on your tongue, gnawing at the back of your mind as you kept your eyes straight ahead and trained on your destination. Your fidgeting fingers played with the silky ribbon that connected a small crescent shaped charm to the end of your sword.

'Damnit. Why am I so restless?' Your eyes went upwards, as if looking for divine inspiration. But there was nothing inspiring about a bunch of rocks. 'What I wouldn't give to see the sky again...' The glow and warmth of the golden sun, the ever-changing shades of blue that painted the sky, not to mention the silvery moon that refused to be smothered in the darkness—it had been far too long.

'Maybe that's it? Maybe living underground has made me this restless...' The earthy brown tones of the ceiling all melted into each other, and the half-destroyed buildings that the livestock stayed in weren't much better. Vampires wore black cloaks. Livestock wore white cloaks. A monotony of monochrome, day after day and night after night.

'Now I see why Ferid likes to play so many games... This kind of setting could suck the life out of anyone, but centuries of it... I can't imagine.'

With a shake of your head, you pushed the dismal thoughts back. Dwelling over things you couldn't control wouldn't change anything and being able to sympathize with Ferid couldn't be a good thing. Though the days at Sanguinem were long, they were also temporary. Soon enough you'd be able to see Ayato, Laito, Subaru, and Shuu again. What were they like now that they were older? Did they remember to watch out for each other while you were gone? All too often, thoughts of your four favorite Sakamakis ran through your head. Back then they were just innocent boys—innocent boys at the mercy of cruel adults.

"AH!" The strained shout is the kind of bloody cry ripped straight out of someone's throat by force. The sound isn't coming from anywhere in the immediate vicinity, but it still had to be near you.

'Speaking of cruelty...'

Placing your hand on the hilt of your sword, you walk along the alleyways, peering down each only to see flashes of white coats as the other kids heard the cries and ran. They knew. They knew better than to get involved, unless they wanted to be the next one screaming until their throats were raw. 'But... It's not like any of them can really do anything. They're just glad that they aren't the ones being picked-on.'

The shouts were muffled now, like the person was biting down on their lip to try and hold back. A heavy, rhythmic thudding resounded over and over again, alongside pitiful whimpering.

It wasn't hard to figure out what was going on. You saw it all the time. The kids who were twelve when they were taken in after the virus spread were sixteen now. Suddenly, they're smarter, taller, and stronger. Not strong enough to take on the vampires, of course not, but more than strong enough to take on a handful of pre-teens without even breaking a sweat. In the hierarchy of livestock, they were at the very top. Some of them just made it their life's mission to make sure that everyone else knew their place by stealing food rations, starting fights with anyone who looks at them funny, and even sexual assault [1]. Everyone thought that vampires would be the only monsters here.

They were wrong—so, so wrong.

The sounds are coming the loudest from the alley just in front of you.

"How's that?! Huh!?" The words are emphasized with more kicks and punches, the dull smack of skin hitting skin, and the sound of the whimpering grows fainter and fainter.

'Whoever is getting hit like that is going to die at this rate.' You unsheathed your sword as you stalked into the alley, letting the metallic hiss chase off the mocking echoes of your conversation with Ferid. No. You didn't know why you were doing this.

But you couldn't say that you wanted to stop either.

And the monochrome walls certainly did look much better with a splash of red.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Crowley! Just the vampire I wanted to see!" Ferid clapped his hands together eagerly at the sight of the muscular vampire.

Crowley's smile didn't falter, but he tilted his head. Ferid only looked this happy when something was making him particularly excited, which of course meant he was up to something. "Oh? And why is that?" Crowley asked levelly, knowing that chaos was sure to ensue soon.

"Seems like little (Name) has been feeling restless lately." Ferid put his index finger to his chin and tilted his head up, just like (Name) had this morning. "I wonder if it's because she hasn't been taking her medicine," he contemplated innocently, as if he had nothing to do with her drastic shift.

"(Name)?" It seemed like lately, all his one-on-one conversations with Ferid had been focused on you. "How so?" He didn't notice anything too different from when he trained with her. Then again, maybe she had gotten stronger and faster lately, but it wasn't as if her growth skyrocketed, she improved at the same steady rate she always has.

"Tell me Crowley, did she tell you about her walks around Sanguinem?"

The first time (Name) ever killed a human, Crowley had smelled the blood on her sword before she even unsheathed it. He didn't press too hard on her motives, but when she talked about it to him, all she said is that she was sick of doing nothing. It wasn't like all her other stories, all those detailed accounts of the new song she learned, or a recipe she tried—it was short and to the point. From then on, every few weeks, her sword would be tainted with that same scent of iron, and he didn't bother prying into it. It wasn't his concern what happened to the livestock here.

Ferid sighed, breaking Crowley out of his thoughts on the topic. "Uwah, the two of you really are the best of friends." If he could suppress his smirk, he would have pouted, but he did clutch his hand over his dead heart regardless. "I'm a little hurt that my cute (Nickname) would play favorites like that. Or more so, that she would pick you over me when I was the one who introduced the two of you."

Centuries certainly didn't affect a man like Ferid Bathory, that was for sure. Crowley had to admit, he was just glad that Ferid kept things interesting. And now to an extent, (Name) was making things just as interesting. "This all has to do with her medicine, right? So without her medicine, she's become detached and bloodthirsty?"

"Hmm. No. Not quite bloodthirsty, yet. Seems as if she's still got moral boundaries when killing since they say she only goes after any aggressors. Also, it's more likely that her detachment is because she grew up surrounded by vampires."

"Right." Crowley nodded, the explanation made sense. He crossed his arms over his chest. That didn't answer the big question though. "So. What is the real effect of that medicine then?"

"I don't know, but I do know where to find the answer. The answer, of course, lies in her blood."

Crowley looked at the gleam in Ferid's eyes. For a moment he pitied her for catching the attention of a vampire like Ferid, but his own curiosity outweighed that fleeting hint of remorse. "How're you going to do that without breaking the treaty with Karlheinz?"

"Oh? Who said I was going to do it? Since the two of you are such close friends, I'm letting you have the honors, Crowley."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With the amount of blood draining out from the boy's body, you were surprised that hungry vampires didn't flock to the scene and take it all for themselves whenever you did this. Or maybe they did, right after you walked away, since you would never see the bodies a few days after.

Cleaning up the mess you made was never really in the forefront of your mind. The teenage livestock lay in a growing puddle of his own blood, his eyes still wide open—glassy brown eyes that would never again register whatever walked in front of him. The last thing he saw before he died would have been the dark haired boy that he was intent on killing. That boy was still alive. Still alive, but barely breathing. Earlier, he barely stirred at the deafening screech the other boy let out when your sword went right his heart. Now, he was still just lying there, as the edge of the bloody pool crept closer and closer towards him.

'I'm pretty sure no one really wants to wake up like that.' With that logic, you wrapped your arm around the unconscious boy, gently lifting him up so he wouldn't get caught up in all the mess. He was the real victim here, after all.

"Who," his eyelids fluttered, letting you see flashes of his bright green eyes as he fought against the call of unconsciousness. "Who are...? Ugh." His voice trailed off into a pained groan as he closed his eyes and clutched his head. His skin was swollen in multiple places, along with small brush-burns from being pushed around on the ground. All those slightly discolored patches of skin were sure to darken and bruise by tomorrow. You smiled sympathetically at the dark haired boy, not that he could see it.

'Dark hair and emerald green eyes... He looks just like him.'

Gently, you leaned him against one of the buildings a short distance away from the corpse. There was no point really bringing him much further away, after all. Who knows where he actually stayed, he wasn't in a state to talk, and you didn't want to have to deal with hysterics right now. Besides, even if you wanted to, there wasn't much you could do to help with his wounds since you couldn't take him back to Ferid's mansion out of all places.

'I'm not a saint and I'm not some heroine.' You told Ferid the same thing this morning... Yet... Leaving him here, nursing heavy injuries... In its own way, it was cruel. Who knows if he would be treated by anyone at all, or if he had sustained enough internal damage that he might die anyways.

Once again you caught a flash of green as he tried to force his swollen eyes to stay open, only to flutter shut again. 'Looks like this one's a fighter.' You smiled. Sanguinem broke people. Livestock had their rebellious spirits smothered and they walked with their head down, a herd of animals headed to the slaughter. Not this one. His knuckles were red, he had put up the best fight that he could despite being severely handicapped against the older boy that was a little too tall and too strong.

He may not have been able to hear you, but you really wanted to say it. "You know, you really remind me of an old friend of mine." You may not have known Yuu for long, but if he hadn't died back then, he would probably be close to this boy's age too. He was also a fighter. "I'm sure you'll be fine in the morning," you said in a choked voice that was barely above a whisper. You rose to your feet, closing your eyes and letting out a breath. Just like you did whenever you went to visit Mika and Yuu's grave.

"Try not to do anything to get yourself killed like he did," you spoke in a clear voice this time, because if he heard anything you said, you hoped he heard that.

Opening your eyes again, you took one last look at the bruised and battered boy. You turned your back and walked out of the alley, leaving him and the dead body behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[1]: Sexual Assault: This is cited in the Light Novels, because of some of the older kids there.

ღ✎Authoress's Noteღ✎: I might end up releasing chapters whenever I finish them, more than anything aha. Note, chappy is unedited for the most part so let me see if you spot any mistakes!

Also I don't know why I like the idea of Ferid and Crowley just getting together and gossiping about (Name), it seriously cracks me up. Jokes asides, what do you think Ferid's going to do to poor Rea-tan? Or rather, what is Crowley going to do? Or will he do it at all?