AN: It's been a long time since I picked up this story. It keeps inching closer and closer to the end. I only hope that I can finish this story this year since there isn't much left to write. All the mysteries are going to be solved soon. And all of you are going to bouncing up and down on your seats just to be the first to read a new chapter. I hope. Unless you've forgotten about this one. Happy reading and I'll see everyone after another long break. Bye!

TWELVE

It was a simple costume on her; a short kimono with a pink sash around her waist to hold the material over her. The look was simple, but on her, it made her look delicate and radiant. Larva admired her at a distance. He distanced himself away from the speakers that exploded with pop and rock and thus distanced himself from the young crowd.

Miyu was talking to her brother. If not for his keen eyes he would not have recognized Tomeo and his ridiculous Dracula costume. If not for his intuition he would not have known what they were saying to each other.

'Hi, Dracula,' Miyu said with a tiny grin in her brother's direction.

'Hi,' he said half-heartedly.

'Enjoying your self?'

'I'm trying, Miyu, but it's not the same without you.'

Miyu sighed. 'I want things to always be the same between us. I want you to be the brother to me and try to understand…'

Tomeo dragged Miyu to his chest and hugged her in a brotherly fashion. 'Yes, I will.'

'Thank you, Onii-san.'

'Yeah, no problem… One condition though.'

'Shoot.'

'Tell me what you're supposed to be in that skimpy outfit?'

'I'm a vampire.'

He coughed, 'And I'm guessing this is another one of your unique interpretations of a Japanese vampire girl.'

She indicated her date in the far corner of the room with a nod of her head. 'He's my Western Vampire escort.'

'Twenty-four-seven,' he lamely finished for her.

She smiled again, white teeth and all. 'I don't mind it much anymore.'

At that moment, Larva forgot about the infernal racket and the hounding teenagers. He moved to her side and touched her elbow. His hard and cold eyes fell on Tomeo, assessing the teen carefully. After the incident in the bedroom, Larva was aware that Tomeo was as capable of emotional and bodily harm on his charge, so the look Larva would send him would never change. Absolute frigid contempt poured out of his eyes. If it were not for the mask that the bodyguard wore, Tomeo might have noticed the change in his facial features as well.

Tomeo was a jealous boy. Incredibly jealous. He continued to lurk in the shadows and corners when Larva and Miyu walked away and, in their own ways, proceeded to enjoy the party. The two were inseparable. They were like one unit.

"Can we go up to the rooftop for a moment?" Larva asked Miyu as they stood next to the refreshments table.

She nodded and led him to the stairwell. As they went to the rooftop, they could hear the pounding music ripple away. The moment they reached the middle of the roof, Miyu spun around to look at Larva with a broad grin on her face.

"You practically begged and dragged me to this dance and now you can't wait to leave. You hate being around so many people and you hate the loud music," she said, the smile never leaving her face.

"You need to live unlike me," he responded.

Miyu moved over to the railing and leaned against it. Her eyes found the orange full moon above their heads. "I suppose you missed out on teenage days. You must have already started training at an early age. You're exceptional at what you do."

She only heard the rustling of his cloak as he walked up to her. He stood just a foot behind her as he admired the night with her. Otherwise, he was silent.

"I'm not asking for you to give me your family history. I just want to know a little bit more about your personal life."

"Ever since the first day I met you, I realized what my purpose in life happens to be. I have realized who I am."

"My bodyguard," she sighed, spinning around to face him. She crossed her arms in front of her as she leaned her back against the railing. "I happen to know that you take your work seriously."

"No," he replied, sharply.

Her eyes flashed with confusion. "No, you don't take your work seriously? I find that hard to believe…"

He gently lifted his free fingers to touch her smooth cheek. "I am simply yours, Miyu. Your protector. Your friend. Your partner. Your everything."

Miyu was unaware that she was grinding her teeth together. She looked at her bodyguard skeptically while she uncrossed her arms and leaned towards him. "You are so hard to read and understand behind that mask," she said, so she reached out to remove the mask with both her hands.

After the mask fell away and clattered against the cement, Miyu gasped. It was not the first time she saw his face, but this time there was something tender radiating from every feature on his face. She took a half step back only to hit the railing. Neither of them realized that Larva had also taken a half step forward to remain close to her.

Miyu looked up at him and laughed nervously. "Truthfully, I want to know why you hide behind that mask. You're…"

"Scary." His voice was a crisp rumble.

She let out a wistful laugh and reached out to hold the side of his face with the palm of her hand. She imitated his gentle expression and gentle gestures. "No, Larva. You're beautiful."

They were in a questionable position now since they were both holding one another and looking at each other as if the other was the only one who existed in the world. Neither Larva nor Miyu knew who reached for who first, but the moment their cold lips touched they found the meaning of life. Their lips met only briefly before Larva pulled away to look at her again. Her eyes were still squeezed shut. Without removing the hand that was around her waist, he drew open his cloak and pulled her into him until all she could smell from him was iron and some European spice. All she could see was darkness, which was comforting and all Larva.

Larva carefully tipped her head back for a longer kiss and this time she had time to react and respond.

"Rawr! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Tomeo came storming out from behind the heavy door and pulled Larva to the side. Larva grimaced as he heard his own foot crunch against the porcelain mask at his feet. He expected the punch to his chin, but did nothing to try to avoid the hit. He only backed away somewhat to avoid the full blow that could have dislodged his lower jaw. Larva ended up backing into Miyu's small frame. She protectively held Larva as she ranted at her older step-brother.

"Tomeo, what do you think you're doing? Are you…"

The world seemed to stop as she saw Tomeo suddenly fall to the floor, spewing blood from his mouth. Larva reacted on instinct as he threw himself on top of Miyu. Meanwhile Miyu frantically pulled and crawled towards her brother, the weight of Larva's body pushed her closer to the floor, but it did not stop her from getting to her brother.

Miyu could not understand what was going on. When she got close enough to Tomeo, her heart suddenly lodged in her throat. Tomeo tried to speak, but only started coughing up more blood. "Tomeo! Don't speak," she cried frantically.

"He's been hit in the center of his abdomen. Apply pressure," Larva murmured against her ear. Miyu shifted to free her arms and pressed the wound where the bullet hit. Meanwhile Larva looked about them to assess the sniper's position. By judging the angle of the shot and where Tomeo had been standing, he knew exactly where the sniper had been. Also, seeing who the target had actually been, he had a suspicion he knew who the shooter had been.

There were sirens. An ambulance and a police cruiser pulled up to the front of the school building. All Miyu could hear were the sound of her own pleading voice and the sound of Tomeo's labored breathing. "Stay with me, Onii-san. Eyes open. Look at me. Don't go."

Larva stood from his position and looked below to see that everyone was being evacuated from the building. How was it possible that the authorities would know about this shooting? The sniper was silent. The only possibility for authorities to know that there had been an incident was if someone reported it. Who knew before him that something was going to go down tonight?

The heavy door that opened to the rooftop banged ajar.

"Get away from him, Miyu!" Agent X stood panting at the doorway as he frowned at Larva. He had a gun raised at Miyu's bodyguard.

Miyu, confused, refused to leave her brother's side. Seconds passed before the paramedics came to pull her away from Tomeo. Finally, she was able to comprehend the rest of the scene. All the police officers and Agent X had their guns pointed at her bodyguard. Immediately, Miyu stood from her kneeled position and threw her self at Larva. He caught her, his eyes wide with fear.

"Miyu, I said stay away from him! You don't know what that man has done. He's tricked us all into trusting him!" Agent X shouted, spittle flying from his mouth. His next words were directed to a deputy. "Do you have a clear shot?"

The man shook his head at Agent X. At the same moment the officer beside him shook his head, the officer suddenly received a bullet hole to the forehead. His body fell limply to the ground and immediately everyone started shouting orders. Another officer fell.

"Everyone get down!" Agent X ordered.

Miyu let out a wail that drew Agent X's attention. People were dying. They dropped like flies. Nothing changed.

Agent X suppressed his devastation as he watched Larva steal Miyu away. The last look he saw on Miyu's face was a distraught young girl who had just lost someone precious to her. Again.

TBC