Shadows of the Menschilche(Language, Violence, Blood)

Chapter 1

One Week Prior to Present Day

An adult Menschilche looked over the dead body of a female Mus, he had seen wounds on the neck like this before. He also knew from the lack of any blood on the wounds that the body had been drained dry. He had seen too much of this as of late, he knew that the creature he was dealing with was a vampire, but he had no idea of how to track it or where to find it. He wished he was like his father, so that he could pick up the smell and track this creature. He grabbed his polearm and looked around at the police that were arriving, "Hello, Officer." The cop looked at him, "Guards in training aren't supposed to be at crime scenes, leave before I report you to your superiors."

The Menschilche nodded, and left the crime scene without a word. He was very worried about what was going on, these murders had been happening for the past week and there was no end in sight. As he walked down the street, he looked down at the ground with his hand on his chin, he was trying to figure out how to find this creature and how to stop it. His research had found little to nothing about the type of creature he was dealing with or the means to stop it. Only the identity of the creature and the type of wounds, as well as myths surrounding it. He walked into a bar and sat down, "One beer please." The bartender nodded, "I'll have to see some ID, please." The Menschilche nodded and showed his ID, the Bartender sighed, "I'm going to have to cross reference this with my database, you're a Menschilche, right?"

The Menschilche nodded without hesitation, "Go ahead." The bartender took the ID into a room and after a couple of moments, he came out and handed it back as the manager walked over to him, "Sorry Sven, bar policy." Sven nodded, "Not yet old enough to legally drink?" The manager laughed, "Nah, forty-two is the legal drinking age for a Menschilche and you're forty-seven. Just we need to check ID of all people trying to drink." Sven nodded as the bartender poured him a beer, Sven started to sip it a bit, "Tell me, have you seen a creature that looks like a human?" The bartender shook his head, "I haven't seen one, is it related to the string of murders of men and women with the two puncture wounds in their jugular veins?" Sven nodded, "Yes, and the proper medical term is carotid artery." The Bartender sighed, "Same thing."

The manager shook his head, "I've not seen anything like that, but you might be able to get information from one of the patrons here. By the way, guards drink free, within reason of course." Sven nodded slightly and took his beer over to a table where a female Mus was sitting, "Excuse me, may I ask you a couple of questions?" The Mus looked up at him, "Go ahead." Sven sighed, he didn't think it was going to be that easy, "Have you any information about the string of murders that has been going on in this city?" The Mus shook her head, "Nothing that the news hasn't shown." Sven nodded, "Thank you for your time, ma'am." Sven looked around and saw a man sitting in a corner, with his hat down. He walked over to the man, "Excuse me, may I..." Sven noticed that the man wasn't breathing, so he used his polearm to poke the male Mus.

The Mus fell over dead, but as Sven went to go check his neck, he noticed the wounding on the neck was the same as the female, but this body was still slightly warm, meaning the killer hadn't gotten far away. Sven placed his beer on the table and ran into the kitchen and then out the back door. He didn't care how many rules of the establishment he had broken, he was going to catch the son of a bitch who had been murdering people in his hometown. He ran as fast as he could, following every alley way that he could, until eventually he ran upon an abandoned house. He walked carefully towards it, his polearm at the ready. He noticed that the window was broken, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to end up walking into a trap.

He decided to use the same window that was broken to enter, so as to make as little noise as possible. He silently walked through the halls of the house, taking up positions on each corner and looking into each room carefully. He felt like he was being followed, but every time he turned, he couldn't see anything. When he found nothing on the first floor, he decided to check the second floor. He repeated the same thing he did with the first floor and found nothing. Except his feeling of unease grew even more. He felt extremely uncomfortable and couldn't shake the feeling that he had just walked into a trap. He started to make his way down the stairs, when he started to get a gut feeling that he should just escape.

Upon reaching the first floor, he tried to silently get to the window and climb out. Unfortunately something grabbed him in a hold and bit into his neck. Sven expected to be completely drained of blood and wind up dead like the rest of the victims, but the Vampire stopped, "Your blood smells like a human's. Well then." Sven felt something wet touch his wounds, and an incredible pain shot through his body. However, though he felt stronger, he was also losing consciousness due to the pain. The last thing Sven heard before he finally passed out was, "You're a Vampire just like me and soon you will have your first taste of the blood of these creatures! Enjoy your new life as a creature of the night!"

Chapter 3

Yoshiro walked through the streets of the city, followed by his old guard and the Mus Police Force. He sniffed the air, trying to follow the scent that he found on the cloth that belonged to the killer, while Erna was doing the same. Suddenly Erna pointed in a direction and started to lead them, the scent became stronger and stronger, eventually they reached an abandoned house. Yoshiro turned to look back, "Alright, this seems like the place, Erna, what do you think?" Erna nodded, "The scent is as strong as it's going to be." Yoshiro nodded, "I want two teams of cops in the building. Teams of Four. Rogelio, Lilah and Erna, you're on me." Yoshiro looked up at the building, "Adora, Bettino, Edgard, Dita, you go in as a team. The cops will take the first and second floors, Adora, your team will take the attic. My team will take the basement."

Yoshiro sighed slightly, "Stay together at all times and move as a group with eyes all around. We're dealing with an enemy that could ambush any one of us and pick us off one by one. Everyone else, form a perimeter. If it's not one of us and I don't authorize it to leave the building, I want it shot dead, understand?" They nodded an the Police Lieutenant looked at him, "You're ex-military, aren't you?" Yoshiro shook his head, "No, I was a king with an excellent military adviser. He taught me military tactics, which is why the Dracoknights looked and functioned like a military unit, rather than just a Royal Guard." The Lieutenant nodded and went to form his teams, once all four teams were formed, they entered the building and the teams started to split off from each other to go search their respective floor.

Yoshiro led his team to the basement door, which he was shocked to see open, he pointed down the stairs, "Lilah, you know what to do." Lilah nodded and started to blend in with the shadows as she walked down, as she did this, Yoshiro leaned into whisper to Rogelio, "I want you to remain on the stairwell, Erna will be at the bottom of the stairs with her weapon ready, got it." Rogelio nodded as the three of them walked down the stairs, Rogelio stopping in the middle, Erna stopping at the bottom and Yoshiro walking into the basement, "Come out, I know you're in here." Yoshiro pulled out his pistol as the closet door opened, he kept it trained on the occupant, who looked at him with red eyes, "Another fool comes into my lair. I guess I'll feed off of you."

Yoshiro didn't hesitate as the Vampire walked towards him, he kept the gun trained on him, "I would recommend that you stop moving, human." The Vampire took another step just to be defiant, "And why is that." Lilah slipped out of the shadows behind the Vampire and plunged her dagger in between his shoulders, at his spine, paralyzing him. Yoshiro smirked slightly, "Simple, because I set up a trap, and even if she missed. You have two gunmen with their weapons trained on you, if you made a hostile move, you'd have been dead to begin with." The vampire looked up at him as he fell to the ground, "So why have you come here, do you share the same reasoning as that fool that came here before?" Yoshiro picked up Sven's scent and became angry, he pointed the gun into the Vampire's face, "Where's Sven!?"

The Vampire laughed, "He's a vampire, just like me. He's in the other closet. By the way, my name is Christopher." Yoshiro didn't care anymore, he was so fueled by rage that his son had been harmed by this vampire that he shot Christopher in the head, "I'll be sure to put that on your grave." Yoshiro walked to the other closet and knocked on the door, "Sven, you in there?" Yoshiro moved to the side, expecting a vampire to jump out at him, but instead, the door opened and Sven crawled out weakly, "Father?" Yoshiro put his pistol away and picked up his son, "I'm here for you, son." He looked at the others, "Put your weapons away!" Sven looked up at him, "You're here to kill me, aren't you. Christopher told me that you'd try to kill me if you ever found me."

Yoshiro placed him against the wall, "You're malnourished, Sven. You haven't eaten in about a week, save your strength." Yoshiro looked at Lilah, "Toss me a dagger." Lilah took a dagger off her belt and tossed it to Yoshiro. Sven sighed, "I guess it's true. I want to live, Father. But if you think I should die, then well, you're wiser than I am." Yoshiro nodded, and took the dagger out of its sheath, he removed his right gauntlet and grabbed the blade tightly with his bare hand, "Open your mouth." Sven opened his mouth and Yoshiro pulled the dagger through his hand with a hiss, cutting it deeply. He then held his hand over Sven's mouth and let the blood flow into it, Sven tried to close his mouth, but Yoshiro sighed, "Sven, please. You need to feed, this will keep you alive."

Sven looked at him, "I don't understand, I'm... a vampire. I'm a monster." Yoshiro shook his head, "You are a Vampire, yes. But I can access the Serpentarius database and figure out what you are." Sven nodded, "What about me... being a monster." Yoshiro sighed, "Sven, you didn't kill anyone, you didn't drain them of your blood. This has been your first meal in a week, and your first meal of blood as a vampire. You're still the same Sven I adopted all those years ago, you're still my son. Just because some jackass decided to turn you into this against your will, doesn't mean that you change because of it. He became a monster, because he felt that he had power over people, that he could kill people and get away with it. However, you have a conscience, it won't let you kill innocent people."

Sven nodded as Yoshiro cleaned the dagger off and placed it back in its sheath before tossing it back to Lilah. He put his right gauntlet back on and picked up his son, "Come on, let's get out of here." He carried Sven up to the first floor and called out, "The vampire is dead and I found my son, let's get out of this damn place." Yoshiro then led his team out of the abandoned house, where he encountered the police force waiting for him, he walked over to the Lieutenant, "I'm going to take my son to the hospital, he's malnourished. The Vampire is dead, if you want to go retrieve his corpse, you may do so." The Lieutenant sighed, "Alright, but why did you kill him." Yoshiro stopped, "Hundreds of people died because of him, even paralyzed he was a threat." Yoshiro didn't want for a response as he carried his son up the road towards the hospital.

Chapter 5

A few days had passed, and both Yoshiro and Sven found themselves in Lupine Territory, specifically Bruno's kingdom. Sven didn't feel comfortable at this altitude as he wasn't quite used to it, Yoshiro however was seemingly comfortable. The two of them looked down at the city that was nestled in the mountains as they stood at the temple of a Lupine Deity, Yoshiro motioned towards the entrance, "Go in there and ask for Kasimira, not Mareike. Mareike is working on my sword currently, and I have to go retrieve it from her today." Sven nodded as the two of them walked in and separated from each other, Sven started to look for a Lupine that he could ask directions from.

Sven found a woman at a forge and frowned, "Excuse me, ma'am. I'm looking for Kasimira." The Lupine woman looked at him, "I'm Kasimira, you must be a friend of Killian." Sven stepped in, "Actually I'm his nephew, I'm Yoshiro's son." Kasimira nodded, "Yoshiro's probably gone to talk to my mother, anyhow... come in." Sven walked in nervously, "You know what I am and you have no issue with it?" Kasimira shook her head, "You're a Menschilche, other than that, I don't know anything about you really." Sven nodded and walked closer to the forge, his red eyes and fangs showing, "I'm a Vampire, ma'am." Kasimira nodded, "You still are you own person, now people usually come to me when they want a weapon." Sven nodded, "I want a long sword and shield like my father."

Kasimira sighed slightly, "I cannot do that for you, I'm sorry." Sven frowned, he expected this to be easy, "Why not?" Kasimira pointed at his body, "You have never swung a weapon in your life, let alone a sword. I cannot let you have a sharpened sword, because you may accidentally hurt yourself or someone else. As for the shield, I can make you a heater shield, it will take some time, if you still want a sword, you will have to accept that it will be not be sharpened." Sven nodded, "Alright, I can do that." Kasimira gathered the materials she needed and started to put the metals in the furnace, she wanted to make the sword first, and Sven watched this go on. He started to feel rather tired and as his lids grew heavy, he looked at Kasimira, "Do you mind if I take a nap here?" Kasimira shook her head and Sven closed his eyes completely, drifting off to dreamland.

Sven often dreamt about what he wanted to do, what he wanted to be and his hopes and his dreams, but this time he saw a mysterious kitsune in his dream emerging from a shuttle he had never seen before. He couldn't hear anything, but from what it looked like, the mysterious kitsune was angry at someone. When Sven looked over in his dream, he noticed that it was his father, he was absolutely confused about this. What did his father do to earn the disdain of this strange Kitsune who came from offworld. He didn't know anything about what was going on, but when he saw his father draw his sword, he became scared and woke up to find Kasimira shaking him awake, "You okay there? You were making a lot of noise. Yoshiro's probably on his way over here right this second too."

Sven nodded, "Yeah, I'm alright. I just had a dream about a mysterious kitsune." A voice that was unfamiliar to Sven spoke up, "Hey Grandmother." Kasimira nodded, "Hello, Sage." Sage looked at Sven, "Cousin, what is this unfamiliar Kitsune that you speak of." Sven closed his eyes and recalled, "He looked a lot like Uncle Takeshi, except with red hair and red fur and he had both eyes." Sage sighed, "I don't know who that is, I'm sorry cousin." Another voice spoke up, "I do, that's Hiroshi. But he's dead." Sven looked at the source of the voice, "Uncle Killian!" Sven went to go hug his uncle, but Killian shook his head, "Sorry, Sven, the hugs will have to wait." Killian looked at Kasimira, "Hey Mother." Kasimira's tail wagged, "This is the first time you've called me Mother, what's the occasion?"

Killian shrugged, "It's your birthday, figured I'd give you that as my present since I don't know what to get you." Kasimira sighed, "So long as you, Walthari and Imma are happy, I'm happy. Plus I'm glad to be working on a sword and shield for someone." Killian nodded, "Since Sven's here, I'm guessing Yoshiro is too?" Kasimira nodded, "He should still be with my mother." Sage nodded, "Dad, you can go see Uncle Yoshiro, I'll stay here with Grandmother and Sven." Sven smiled slightly, "Thanks, Sage. Hey, Kasimira, if Sage is my cousin and Killian is my uncle, what does that make you?" She sighed, "Young one, that makes us nothing. Killian is Yoshiro's brother by adoption by my friend Minako. Ranulf and I gave him and Walthari to them, not knowing which one was the berserker. It ended up being Walthari."

Killian nodded and left the room as Sven looked at the window, "Sage, it's getting harder to stay up during the day. Dad was right, my internal clock is shifting and I know this is going to be hard on whoever has to train me." Sage nodded, "To be fair, Sven. Life's not easy, it never has been, you just have to roll with the punches, you know." Sven sighed, "I know, cousin. Just the thought that I can't have kids without risking them being like me... it's... unsettling." Kasimira sighed, "It's why Walthari swore to never have kids, and partially why he ended up marrying a centauress." Sven nodded, feeling a little better, "Thanks, you two." Kasimira smiled, "Don't mention it, it'll take a while for your sword and shield to be ready still. Why don't you have a nap." Sven nodded and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep once more.

Chapter 7

Two female Kitsune walked the streets of the Mus kingdom, night had fallen and they were finding it hard to see as the thunder rolled and the rain began. They were thankful that they were wearing cloaks, which they drew over their head so that they wouldn't get wet. Spring was a bit stormy around this area of the continent, but the younger of the two kitsune had gotten used to it during her time on this world. She found the house she was looking for and knocked on the door. She waited for a response and knocked on it again when one didn't come. When another response didn't happen, the elder of the two females spoke up, "Yoshiko, there isn't anyone home." Yoshiko shook her head, she knew from the scent that Elbereth was there.

Yoshiko pounded on the door and suddenly a knife was placed against her neck, "If you or your companion move in a way I don't want you to, you'll die, are we clear?" Yoshiko struggled not to gulp, she became afraid, "Yes, ma'am." The voice spoke up, "Wait, you sound familiar." Yoshiko felt her hood be taken from her head and the knife leave her neck, "Turn around." Yoshiko turned to see Lilah standing there wearing her own cloak, "Hi Lilah..." Lilah put her knife away, "I apologize, Yoshiko and Sumiko. If I had known it was you, I wouldn't have attacked like that." The elder of the two Kitsune shook her head, "I'm not Sumiko, I'm Hikari." Lilah nodded, "I heard about you, you're the first Verbanan transgender to have kids, correct?" Hikari frowned, even though she was transgendered, she didn't like being called that, she preferred to be called a woman.

Lilah sighed, "I apologize, I'm not good with conversation." Hikari sighed, "I noticed. Can you open this door for us?" Lilah shrugged, "It's been unlocked this entire time, Elbereth's in the bath and Galina is at the park." Yoshiko turned and opened the door with a sigh, she called in, "Elbereth, don't worry, it's me, Yoshiko!" Elbereth called out, "I'll be out there in just a second! You can sit down in the living room and watch a show or something if you want." Yoshiko nodded as she and Hikari walked into the house, hanging their cloaks up on the coat rack and sitting down on the couch in the living room. Hikari turned on the holoprojector and the two of them started to watch a Mofetian sitcom, it was a bit odd watching this sort of entertainment for Yoshiko, but she honestly didn't mind.

Soon, Elbereth walked out, her belly looking slightly bigger, "Hey there, guys. How have the two of you been, I've not seen Yoshiko since Yoshiro and I moved out here and Hikari, it's been about a hundred years since I've last seen you. How are your kids?" Hikari smiled softly, "They're alright, Elbereth. I'm a grandmother now." Elbereth smiled softly, "That's wonderful! Yoshiko, have you had any kids of your own?" Yoshiko shook her head, "Elbereth, I'm only one hundred and forty-five years old, I'm still a little young to have my own child." Elbereth nodded, "When you're ready, you'll have a child. Anyhow, what brings the two of you here?" Hikari closed her eyes and yawned, "Honestly, I wanted to see how one of my best friends was doing and Yoshiko wanted to tag along. I couldn't say no to her."

Yoshiko smiled slightly and held out her hand, a small warm flame forming, she didn't seem to struggle as much most people, "I've been learning from grandmother how to use this magical energy that I have much easier and control it. Don't worry, this fire won't spread to anything if I don't let it." Elbereth nodded, "Impressive. However, there's something I want to tell you both. Lilah and Galina already know, Lilah figured it out almost immediately." Yoshiko arched a brow, "What's that?" Hikari smiled slyly, "You're pregnant, aren't you?" Elbereth nodded slightly, "I don't know if it's going to be a boy or a girl. But it's already decided that this one is going to get an elvish name rather than a Kitsune name. I'm already two months pregnant." Hikari blinked slightly, "Say, Elbereth. What do you do, now that you're not a queen anymore?"

Elbereth smiled softly, "I'm a manager at the coffee shop down the road, I still lead something. It's honestly what I was born and raised to do. I wasn't really taught many other different skills. Which is why I always taught my kids to be royalty, while my husband taught them other skills that they would need. He's even taught me how to defend myself." Hikari chuckled slightly as Elbereth sat down, "What's it like having to put up with Lilah." Elbereth laughed a bit, "Oh, she's not so bad when you get to know her. She's just really protective of us, because she sees us as her family, her kids visit from time to time, you know. They call me Auntie Elbereth, which is rather heartwarming." Before Yoshiko could say anything, the sound of the front door slamming was heard.

Yoshiko stood up and started to form a flame in her right hand, as Hikari drew her sword. However, they watched as Yoshiro who was in his Kitsune form once more stormed towards the stairwell, he moved back slightly and spoke in as calm a voice as he could muster, "Hey Yoshiko, hey Hikari. You can stay here, the night. We'll provide the guest rooms for you." Yoshiro went back to storming up the stairwell and Yoshiko looked at Hikari, "Do you think someone's in trouble?" Hikari shook her head, "If someone he cared about was in danger and he needed a weapon, he'd look just as pissed, but would be rushing up the stairs. Someone royally pissed him off and I don't want to know who." Yoshiko frowned as she walked to the stairwell, wondering if she should go up.

Chapter 9

Mamoru walked through the forests after dawn, he liked to be alone, but this time he had brought his cousin, Akira with him. Akira sighed, "Cousin, I have no idea why you decided it'd be a good idea to bring me along on this trip, but at least we're talking again." Mamoru nodded, "How's Minako?" Akira blinked, confused, "Why are you asking about my wife?" Mamoru stopped and sighed, causing Akira to turn to face him, "Well, Mamoru?" Mamoru looked at him, "It's hard to get over her, you know. I loved her very much." Akira nodded, "So long as you're not here to kill me, I don't care." Mamoru nodded and pointed towards the trail, "Shall we continue?" Akira nodded, "Let's."

The two of them continued walking down the trail for a bit, but something caught Mamoru's attention. It was a Menschilche vessel in a clearing, he couldn't see anything clearly at the moment, but he tapped Akira on the shoulder, "Cousin, there's a shuttle up there. Want to check it out?" Akira shook his head, "I want to avoid trouble." Mamoru nodded slightly, "I'm going to go check it out, alright?" Akira nodded as Mamoru rushed ahead to check out the shuttle, as he got closer, he noticed that it was Menschilche in origin, and was a Sagittarius build of shuttle. He noticed footsteps leading away from the vessel, which didn't bother him all that much, but the thing that did was as he got close enough to pick up the scent on the vessel, he noticed that it had the scent of his son's clone.

Mamoru pulled out his radio and turned it on, setting it to Yoshiro's frequency, he hoped Yoshiro would be within range, "Yoshiro, come in." Yoshiro's voice crackled to life over the radio, "What is it, Mamoru? Kind of dealing with my own problems here. My son is trying to apologize vehemently and it's honestly starting to piss me off. Whatever you have it better be good." Mamoru sighed, "There's a Sagittarius vessel within Mus territory." Yoshiro's voice sounded over the radio, "Well, I'll bring a few of the old guard over. I'm also going to be bringing weapons, whatever you do, do not touch anything until I get there. Are we perfectly clear?" Mamoru frowned, "Of course, Yoshiro. Mamoru out." Mamoru lowered the Radio and sat there waiting for Akira.

It took half an hour for the Wyvern Riders of the Old Guard to arrive, along with Julius and Yoshiro. It was only then, that Akira moved in and looked around, "Hey, son." Yoshiro nodded, "Hi, Father." Yoshiro looked at the Vessel and sniffed it, "It's not rigged with any explosives, so it's not a trap. However came here wants to get off of it. Mamoru?" Mamoru nodded, "Yeah?" Yoshiro looked at him, "I need you to enter this shuttle with me. Julius, if there are any Menschilche other than Sven around here... bite them in half." Julius nodded and Sven started to speak, but Yoshiro snapped at him, "Sven, you don't even have any qualifications! The only reason you're here is because I wanted you to see how things worked in a guard unit!" Mamoru sighed, "What'd he do to piss you off?" Yoshiro walked towards the door of the shuttle, "I'll tell you in a minute. Come on."

Mamoru nodded and followed Yoshiro into it, technology had advanced since he left the Menschilche. He looked around and noticed something didn't smell right, so he walked over to a compartment and opened it to find a strange looking device, "Yoshiro, what's this?" Yoshiro walked over to it, "I honestly haven't a clue. Can you start up the ship and run a diagnostics scan of it?" Mamoru nodded, "I just need to enter the cockpit." Yoshiro led the way into the cockpit and the two of them sat down in the seats, as Mamoru worked to start the ship, he spoke up, "So are you going to tell me what Sven did?" Yoshiro sighed, "He called me a swordmaster, that might not sound like much, but to a Kensei like myself, that's a grave insult. By the way, what's that smell?"

Mamoru sighed, "Twelve Pieces Menschilche and Hiroshi's clone." Yoshiro sighed, he had forgotten about Hiroshi's clone, but he knew the reputation that the Pieces Menschilche had, this made him worried, "We should start trying to track them down, Mamoru." Mamoru nodded and the shuttle started up, with a slight hum, he started to go to work on the computer and very soon started the diagnostic. All systems were working fine, except there was an illegal addition to this shuttle, which Yoshiro pointed out in a hurry, "Cloaking devices were banned by the Treaty of Kritha, which the Verbanans and Eltiranans had to sign upon becoming an intragalactic species. Shit! What have you told him about me!?" Mamoru looked at him, "I told him what I used to think about you, Yoshiro."

Yoshiro slammed his fists on the console and stood up angrily, "Son of a bitch! I need to get back to my wife and daughter. They won't dare attack the Kilvish kingdom, too many dragons and wyverns." Yoshiro walked out of the shuttle and pointed at Akira, "Father, I need you to go to the Kitsune Kingdom, one of my old guard will take you." Akira blinked, "Why?" Yoshiro sighed, "Mom or Reiko might be in danger." Akira nodded as Yoshiro climbed on Julius' back, "Mamoru, you come with me, climb on." Mamoru nodded and exited the shuttle so he could climb on the dragon's back. Much to his surprise, he found it easy to hold on, even when Julius took off. He felt extremely guilty about what was going on and could only hope that he could find a peaceful solution to all of this.

Chapter 11

Yoshiro was absolutely livid when he got the news, he immediately went to his personal armory and grabbed his sniper rifle as well as his biker gear. He pulled his biker gear over his normal clothing and grabbed his helmet, tossing one to Lilah, "Here. The people down at the castle are going to send satellite images to the Wyvern stables. You're coming with me until I get to the stables." Mamoru spoke up, "What about me?" Yoshiro sighed, "Only two people can ride on a bike at any one time, but you're the best shot we have at getting a peaceful resolution, I'll have Erna return and pick you up on her Wyvern." Sven's voice spoke up, "And me, Father?" Yoshiro turned and looked at Sven, "You're not qualified for this. Stay home and protect your mother and sister, understand me."

Sven was mad, but Yoshiro didn't give him a chance to protest, he walked out of the house and over to the garage where his motorcycle was at. He took a moment to appreciate the design of the beautiful motorcycle and then climbed on to it and starting it up with a DNA scan. The bike growled to life and Lilah got on back with her helmet on and wrapped her arms around Yoshiro's waist. Yoshiro kicked the accelerator and the bike sped off, he loved the feeling of speed, but knew that traffic wasn't going to let him get to his destination in time, so he activated his siren. The vehicles on the road moved out of his way as he sped through, weaving in and out of lanes in order to keep going as fast as possible, he had only one goal in mind, to save his mother's life.

After about five minutes, they arrived at the stables outside of the city for Wyverns, Julius having his own unique place to sleep. Yoshiro hit the brakes and slowed down until he could safely bring the motorcycle to a halt, Yoshiro kicking the kickstand down and allowing Lilah off the bike before he got off himself, "Lilah, we'll wait for the rest of the old guard, they should already know something's off by the fact that I screamed out of the neighborhood on that. Yoshiro turned to see some of the old guard were already arriving, Rogelio included, Yoshiro smiled at this, "We'll wait for the others before I brief you on what's going on here." A few minutes passed and the others arrived, Yoshiro nodding and leading them into the briefing room where a 3D image of the city in question was being projected.

Yoshiro pointed towards a particular building in the center, the only one yet to be touched by nature, "This is where Hiroshi's clone is." He pointed towards the figures around the city, "These are Pieces Menschilche, I'd rather they be kept alive so we can figure out what they're doing here so we can potentially avoid war. But I feel like no one's going to remotely even care if they're killed. The old guard is going to fly cover, and annoy these guys, potentially even capturing or killing them. I'm going to land on this building here." He pointed to a building with an excellent view of the building in the center of the city where Hiroshi's clone was, "I'm going to set up a sniper position, and if our negotiator can't calm the situation down, I'm going to take the shot and kill the clone."

Lilah looked at him, "What about me?" Yoshiro frowned, "There's a chance that I might not be able to take the shot... I feel immense guilt as it is already, in addition to my extreme anger. If I cannot take that shot, you will have to kill him yourself. That's why I want you to infiltrate the building, take out any Menschilche in your way and position yourself to kill the clone." Lilah nodded, but Yoshiko's voice spoke up, "I would like to help." Yoshiro turned to see Yoshiko and placed his hand on his chin, "A mage could be helpful. Alright, Dita, you take Yoshiko up with you. Yoshiko, I want you to stay in the air, no matter what happens, alright?" Yoshiko nodded, "Alright, Yoshiro." Yoshiro sighed, "Before we can head out, we're going to need to get our negotiator. Rogelio, you and Minerva go back to my home and retrieve Mamoru."

Rogelio nodded, "Aye, Lord Yoshiro." Yoshiro sighed, "Bettino?" The fairy looked at him, "Sir?" Yoshiro pointed at Lilah, "You'll be dropping her off near the building that Hiroshi's clone is at." Bettino nodded, "Sir." Yoshiro closed his eyes, "Dismissed! We'll leave when Rogelio returns." Yoshiro opened his eyes and walked out of the room and over to Julius, as he climbed on Julius' back, the Dragon turned his head to look at him, "Svabol ui lemebir wux, Yoshiro?" Yoshiro looked away, "Julius, before I met you, I had killed my older half-brother. Now it's looking to shape up for me to do the same thing again, except this time with his clone." Julius nodded, "Ehis ui seilor persvek ternesj, wer papref ui agantal thirkuir, nomagqe wux geou ti tepoha ekess svent Hiroshi nomeno tairais."

Yoshiro nodded, "I hope you're right, let's take to the air and wait for Minerva there." Yoshiro wanted to believe that Julius was right and that the future would change to allow him to avoid killing Hiroshi's clone, but for some reason, he had a horrid feeling in his gut that wouldn't go away. After reaching a proper altitude, Julius sighed, "Wux re tarvinixa, svabol ui xuut?" Yoshiro closed his eyes, "I just have a terrible feeling that something's going to go wrong, I don't know what yet, and I don't know why. Maybe I'm just being paranoid." Julius nodded as Minerva rejoined them, both Mamoru and Sven on her back. Yoshiro facepalmed at this, but he was too agitated to care at this point, he pointed forward, "Old Guard! Let's move out and go save my mother!" The old guard started their flight towards the abandoned city as Yoshiro's gut feeling became stronger.

Chapter 13

As Julius was flying away from the building, he heard an explosion and looked back to see what it was, however, he saw a rocket fly towards the building and slam into it. He felt the psychic connection between him and Yoshiro be suddenly cut off and a deep and burning hatred filled his very mind he looked at the Wyverns that were flying around the city, "Itrewic ekik di sia idol, si geou riliw astahi sari bilaes sio! Sjek wux itrewic persvek sia idol, si geou svent wux!" Immediately the Wyverns started to fly away from the battlefield, except the ones carrying Mamoru, Sven and Lilah. Julius dove straight to the ground and landed in the city, before letting out a draconic roar as a challenge to these Menschilche.

Julius started to sniff the air and he picked up the scent of one around the corner of the building he was near. He charged the building, looked around it with his long neck and bit down on the Menschilche with enough force to bisect him. Julius didn't think the Menschilche was worth being used for energy so he spat the upper half of the Menschilche out onto the ground. The Menschilche reached for a device on his arm, but Julius stomped down with his forepaw, crushing the creature to death. He knew that there were still more in the city and he felt one of them beating at his tail with a blunt object. He looked back and swiped his tail into the Menschilche and slammed both into the side of a building, fatally injuring the Menschilche.

He looked up and noticed that two of them were panicking in a nearby building. Julius didn't even give them a chance as he charged the building, knowing how unstable they were. Julius crossed the distance rather quickly and slammed into the side with incredible force, the unstable building collapsing as he did so, crushing both of the Menschilche to death inside of it. Julius scoffed, "Wux tiliw ti svent sia isthasy ehaism ekess ehaism, faessiri! Si nishka shirr wux bouv de bouv!" Julius knew that only the old guard would know what he said, but he didn't care, his only intention was killing these people that he saw as cowards for killing his brother in this manner. He charged through the streets and saw one of them with a rifle on the roof of a house, Julius closed his eyes and leaped into the air, landing on the house, crushing it and the Menschilche underneath him.

Another Menschilche decided to try their luck with a melee weapon, this time with a knife. Julius felt something scratch at his scales and he looked down to see a female Menschilche standing there, "Tira wux svent sia isthasy?" The Menschilche started backing up, "N-no, I didn't kill your brother! The one that planted the device in that building was my commander." Julius was surprised at the fact that this Menschilche spoke Draconic, "Zyak wux renthisj Vs'shtak, bensvelk. Svaklar ui dout meagear?" The Menschilche female started to speak, "He's... he's in the building to the..." Before she could finish that sentence, she started to spasm, it was obvious to Julius that this woman was fatally poisoned, a fact that annoyed him greatly as he was actually going to let her live.

Julius saw a group of four Menschilche charge at him with weapons, they thought that they stood a chance with handheld weapons against a Dragon. Julius opened his mouth at them and expelled flames, burning them alive. Once they dropped to the ground, dead, Julius stopped and sniffed the air, the scent of Menschilche was getting weaker and weaker by the minute. Julius charged through the city until he found the place where it was strongest, he knew who killed his brother now and wanted revenge. Julius noticed that it was a barely standing office building near the edge of the center of town, he wanted so dearly to bring it down, but instead he flew up to the top floor, where he noticed the Menschilche was hiding with a few guards.

Julius rammed through the wall and grabbed the hapless Menschilche commander, ramming out of the building on the other side with him in his forepaw. Julius then slammed into the building to make it collapse on top of the other Menschilche. The Menschilche commander looked at him, "You expect me to beg for my life, Dragon! I've been trained to fight your kind, I've been trained to..." Julius started squeezing his forepaw, which started to crush the Menschilche, "Thric ner vur loreat!" The Menschilche commander laughed, "I may die, but I die knowing that I killed Yoshiro!" Julius growled and crushed the last bit of life out of the Menschilche, before tossing the dead, broken body aside. He counted in his head and thought about how many Menschilche were left in the city and figured that it was zero.

Julius didn't calm down, but his anger turned to sorrow, he flew over to the building that Yoshiro's body was in and sighed slightly. He noticed that Akira was trying to move the rubble off of Yoshiro, but shook his head, "Akira, petranas shala ve ekess tir nomeno." Akira nodded, "Alright, Julius." Julius started to move the rubble off of Yoshiro with a heavy heart, not being able to feel him through their link. When Julius found the body of Yoshiro, he noticed that he was barely breathing, Akira noticed this as well, "He's alive! Julius, we need to get him to a hospital immediately! The nearest one is in the Kitsune Capitol! Let's go!" Julius nodded and started to fly off to the Kitsune Capitol city with hope in his heart that his brother's life could yet be saved.

Chapter 15

Two months later

Yoshiro awoke and felt himself suspended in a fluid that he couldn't smell, he felt a breath mask on his face. He extended his hands to feel out the material surrounding him, he was in a cylinder, that much he knew. He kept his calm, even though he thought they had lost the battle and he was a prisoner of the Menschilche Imperium, if that was indeed the case, he couldn't afford to panic. He slowly opened his eyes despite the lack of goggles and saw that he wasn't in a Menschilche facility, but rather a Kitsune Medical facility, "We... won?" A male Menschilche vampire walked over to him, he looked far more pale than he remembered, and stood a lot straighter, "We won, Dad. It was honestly thanks to Julius that we were able to attain that victory."

Yoshiro nodded, "There are electrodes on my arms and legs, what are they for, Sven." Sven chuckled, "Stimulation of muscular tissue to avoid muscular dystrophy, Father, it eliminates the need for physical therapy." Yoshiro smiled under the mask, "You look a lot more courageous, Sven." Sven smiled, "It's all thanks to you, say, I'm going to go get a doctor and we'll get you out of that tank." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Wake up your mother, will you?" Sven smirked and shook Elbereth awake, "Mama, Dad's awake." Elbereth looked at him groggily, "Sven, honey, don't play tricks like that, it's mean." Yoshiro tapped on the cylinder, "I'm awake, honey." Elbereth bolted awake and looked at him as Sven left the room, "Yoshiro! You really are awake! I've been so worried about you that I've not left this hospital for the past two months."

Yoshiro blinked, "Two months? I've really been gone that long?" Elbereth frowned, "You were in a coma for the last couple of months, dear. The doctors said that they didn't know when and if you were going to wake up, but recently your brain has been more active so we had been hopeful as of late." Elbereth turned to a Kitsune, "Minako! Akira! Yoshiro's awake!" Akira chuckled, "I already know, Elbereth. Hey, Hero, what's it like being alive?" Yoshiro sighed, "I just want out of this tank." Akira smiled, "Yoshiro, for once in your life you need to accept the title of hero, you saved my life and almost gave up your own to do it. I'm proud of you, son. I'll let your mother sleep until we get you out of that tank."

A doctor walked in and chuckled, "Well he is awake, Yoshiro can you hear me?" Yoshiro looked at the doctor, "I've been holding a conversation for the past five to ten minutes, can you please get me out of this tank. It feels incredibly gooey in here and weird to float in." The doctor nodded and pressed a few buttons on a console, the tank opened up at the top as the breath mask and electrodes retracted, allowing Yoshiro to swim to the top and climb out. Yoshiro landed on the ground in his small clothes, "Can I have a towel and the clothes I came in here with..." Elbereth pointed to a change of clothes she had, "Or my wife has a change of clothes." The doctor handed him a towel and Yoshiro started to wipe himself down, getting all of the goo off of him, when he was done, he got dressed.

Minako stirred awake, "Doctor, what time is it?" Yoshiro smiled, "It's still night time, Mama, but it's alright, I'm awake now." Minako bolted up and ran to hug Yoshiro sobbing, "I was so worried about you, my son. When I got the news, I felt so horrible." Yoshiro nodded slightly and hugged back, "When I was dreaming in my coma, I dreamt of all of you guys, except the doctor, no offense." The doctor chuckled, "None taken, I'll let you guys have some privacy." The doctor left as Sven walked back into the room as Yoshiro continued, "I dreamt of us living together as a family and of my future son." Elbereth blinked, she was confused about how Yoshiro was so certain her child was a boy when she just found out a few days ago, "How do you know that?"

Yoshiro turned to her with a smile, "When my brain activity rose, I started hearing you guys talk. You told Mom that you were going to have a baby boy, and at that time, I saw him, my son." Yoshiro let go of Minako and walked over to Elbereth and knelt before her, placing his hand on her swollen belly, "Hey there kiddo, I'm your father. I won't be the one naming you, it's going to be your mother, but I promise you that I won't do anything to get myself killed. You deserve to come into this world with both parents." Yoshiro smiled softly and hugged his wife, "Elbereth, I'm sorry about this, if I had known I was going to get hurt, I wouldn't have taken a sniper's position." Elbereth looked him in the eyes, "You're not psychic Yoshiro, and sometimes you can be wrong." Yoshiro frowned, "That's the thing, I was right, I had a gut feeling that something bad was going to happen, but I thought it would be to Mom or one of the old guard."

Sven spoke up, "Dad, you do know that you're going to receive two medals for what you did back there. A medal for being wounded in the line of duty and a medal for outstanding bravery and willingness to sacrifice yourself to protect others." Yoshiro looked at Sven, "Son, you can tell whoever wants to give me those medals to shove them right up their..." Yoshiro didn't get a chance to finish that as Elbereth turned his head and kissed him on the lips, she was absolutely happy that he was alive and well and Yoshiro returned the kiss. Elbereth broke the kiss and smiled, "Yoshiro, just take the medals and the title of Hero, alright?" Yoshiro chuckled, "For you, anything, my love." Elbereth smiled as Yoshiro broke the hug and looked out the window, "We got a long day ahead of us, get some rest people. As for me, I've slept enough these past two months, I'm going to grab a bite to eat."

Epilogue- 6 Months Later

Yoshiro stood in the delivery room of the hospital, it had been fifteen hours since his wife had gone into labor and he had been by her side the entire time. As she continued to give birth to their new child, Elbereth managed to speak through the pain, "Thank you for being here for me." Yoshiro held onto her hand, despite the fact that his hand hurt like nothing he had ever experienced before, "You were there for me when I was in a coma for two months, Elbereth, it's the least I can do for you, my love. Now one more push, give it all you got!" The doctor looked at Yoshiro, "That's my job. Alright, Mrs. Miyamae, one final push!" Elbereth pushed as she did, she screamed at the top of her lungs and started to squeeze the everloving shit out of Yoshiro's hand.

Suddenly the doctor held up a baby kilf, who was crying, Yoshiro was thankful that Elbereth let go of his hand as the doctor walked over to the cleaning station to clean off the baby and wrap him in a towel, "Mr. Miyamae, you have a son, what are you going to name him?" Yoshiro took his newborn baby into his arms, the infant was still crying, and Yoshiro felt absolutely proud of being a father once again, "Elbereth, what are we going to name him." Elbereth looked over, "Balthoron." Yoshiro smiled and cradled Balthoron in his arms, "You hear that big guy, your name's Balthoron. You're going to get to ride home with your mommy later, as for Daddy, he needs to spread the good news." Yoshiro gently handed Balthoron to Elbereth, who looked absolutely ragged, Yoshiro kissed her on the cheek and kissed his newborn son on the forehead, "I'll be back."

Yoshiro left the delivery room and walked down the hallway to the maternity ward waiting room. He looked down as he walked into the waiting room, as he was trying to hide his tears, however this caused Reiko to speak up, "I'm sorry, Yoshiro..." Yoshiro looked at her, tears streaming down his face, "I'm not crying because of sadness, I'm crying because I'm happy. Balthoron joined our family today, and I'm a proud father." Luthien smiled, "I think the grandparents have the right to see him, as well as the rest of the family." Yoshiro nodded, "Be quiet though, Elbereth's tired and sore." Yoshiro led them to the delivery room where Elbereth was, the doctor holding Balthoron at the moment to measure him, "He's a healthy weight, Mr. Miyamae as well as a healthy size."

Yoshiro laughed slightly through his tears of joy, "Can I see my son?" The doctor handed Balthoron to him, "Of course." He noticed that Balthoron's ears were still closed and his tail lacked any fur, "I wonder if you're going to get my arctic fur or my forest fur, little one." Yoshiro turned to the others, "Guys, meet Balthoron." Luthien looked at him, "You really did name him after an Elvish hero." Yoshiro smirked, "I didn't name him after anyone, Luthien, your daughter did. He'll grow up to be a great man some day, I just know it in my heart." Minako smiled, "May I hold him?" Yoshiro gently handed Balthoron to Minako, who cradled the little life in her arms, gently rocking him back and forth, "It's been far too long since I held a baby in my arms, Yoshiro." Yoshiro nodded, "It feels great being able to raise another child."

Lilah snuck into the room, which didn't surprise anyone, she wasn't wearing her usual armor and came completely unarmed, "Minako, may I hold him for a moment?" Minako looked at Yoshiro, who nodded, and then gave him to Lilah. Lilah held Balthoron almost protectively, "Hey there little guy, I'm sorry that I missed you being born, I'm your daddy's bodyguard and by extension, I'm going to be protecting you as well. Your daddy's other guard is a dragon, but don't worry, he's really nice and won't let you get hurt." Yoshiro chuckled internally, he knew that despite her outwardly cold appearance, Lilah was a great mother and knew how to handle children, "Alright, we're all going to have turns holding my son, but for right now, I think it should be the mother that holds him."

Lilah nodded and handed Balthoron to a weakened looking Elbereth, who smiled, "Thank you, Lilah." Elbereth smiled and held her son in her arms, "I'm glad that you're part of our family, Balthoron. Your father is really happy too and he promises that he'll never put himself in danger like he did all those months ago. He can be a little reckless, but he's a really good guy at heart." Elbereth looked up, "Hey, guys, can you all leave, except for Yoshiro, I need to get a little bit of sleep." The others left the room, leaving Yoshiro, Elbereth and Balthoron alone. Elbereth handed Balthoron to Yoshiro, "Take care of our son, while I get a little bit of sleep, will you?" Yoshiro took the newborn child and nodded, "I will Elbereth. This I swear to you on my honor as a Kensei." Elbereth nodded and closed her eyes, going to sleep.