"I'm Kureto Hiragi. Lieutenant General of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. Now then, let's begin the interview's test... to see who you are... and if you're worthy of being trusted."
I have a bad feeling about this... He shouldn't be leading loyal people...
"Aoi... Take the girl to a separate room. They may be conspiring." Kureto orders as a blonde lady steps forward and offers a hand.
From what I know, her name is Aoi Sangu from the Sangu branch family, working directly under the Hiragi.
She wears a standard uniform of the JIDA with red rather than lime and has her medium-length, blonde hair tied in a ponytail with a blue ribbon on the side of her hair, leaving her bangs to cover her forehead.
I take her hand and she leads me to a white room with lots of space.
I walk in as she stands at the doorway.
'Look behind you, dumbass.'
'Yeah, I know, Hikari. She's going to attack me.'
As I thought, Aoi raises her sword and says,
"I'd like to test your swordsmanship, personally. Please do not use your curse, Gracefield."
She seems to respect me.
"I assume Yuu is being tested by Lieutenant General Hiragi?" I ask to confirm my suspicions.
"Yes." She replies, briefly.
I raise one Katana and activate my curse, allowing black smoke to create a cyclone around me as she activates her own curse.
In a split moment, our swords cross, ending in a stalemate.
"Haha, you're all very predictable."
"You didn't follow the order. I'll see what Lieutenant General has to say."
She leads me out of the room and the scene shows Yuu about to attack Kureto from behind. I smirk at his tenacious nature.
With surprise, Aoi blocks Yuu's attack however, she breaks a sweat at Yuu's strength.
"Ngh...! H-he's strong...!" She grits.
"You do realise... that if your friend hadn't jumped in the way, you'd be dead right now." Yuu grins, backing off.
Kureto glares down at him.
"What? Are you mad that I attacked you from behind? Gonna say it 'wasn't fair'?"
"Hahaha. You're a spunky one. I retract what I said. You are definitely Guren's subordinate." Kureto laughs.
"Nice, Yuu." I grin, giving him a high five.
"So, how did that one fare?" Kureto asks Aoi.
"She used her curse and we ended in a stalemate." She reports, earning a surprised face from a hidden man in the back.
His name is... Shinya Hiragi, the adopted son of the Hiragi family and profound of a similar status to Guren.
Shinya is a tall man with medium-length white hair with bangs and sky blue eyes.
He is wearing a standard JIDA uniform, but is slightly decorated to show his rank as a major general, with golden threads worn on the right shoulder and four badges. Below that is a gold badge with the Hiragi crest. He also wears an armband, and a white belt with a gold waist-plate, and black shoes instead of the knee-high boots.
"You. I want to see your fighting style. Shinya, test her." Kureto commands, making me grit my teeth.
"Do I have to? I don't like picking on powerless kids like you do." Shinya sighs, looking down on Yuu and I.
"Silence. It's the younger brother's duty to listen to the older brother."
"But we aren't really brothers, you know. The Hiragi family adopted me."
"Just do it. Or should I kill you?"
"Awh! But I don't want to."
"Haha. You joking right now? Quit underestimating me or are you scared that I'll beat you? If that's the case, it can't be helped."
"A troublemaker... I guess since it was an order... shall we have at it?"
His cursed gear flames a bright blue as he aims it at me.
"Byakkomaru, fire. 'Bang'."
I stand on guard, watching his movements, his cursed gear and his sight.
His ability is a long-ranged one since his cursed gear is gun-themed. If I can get in close, which he likely won't make it easy, I can win.
Knowing this, I charge in immediately, but as I see a blue flash fly past me, invisible to the naked eye, I turn around to slice through a blue tiger.
He doesn't shoot bullets... He shoots a form of his demon. This is Byakkomaru's form.
I feel the edge of a blade tap the back of my neck to see that Shinya Hiragi is behind me and pointing a knife attached to his gun, at my neck.
"I win."
"Hm? What determines that? I can could easily..."
I swing my katana to his neck, stopping before it reaches and smirk,
"You would be dead if this were a battlefield."
"Ooh, you two are like twins or something." Shinya smiles.
"Unlike idiot Yuu, I know how to use my brain." I joke.
"So you must know that Byakkomaru is a long-range weapon. Close up, I'd never stand a chance against melee-range monsters like Kureto or Guren. I might add you to the very, very, very bottom of that list." He smiles innocently.
"Well, I think my first move of trying to close the gap was a clear sign I realised your 'weakness', haha. I'll beat you some day, so watch out, okay?" I grin.
"Still, you received your cursed gear only recently, right? It's looks like neither of you have learnt about demon 'manifestation' or 'possession' yet, so I hardly expect more from you two. Don't feel bad about it, okay?"
"Your face is suddenly looking very punchable, haha. Wouldn't you agree on that, Yuu? That Major General, Second-In-Command, Shinya Hiragi of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, has a very punchable face?" I turn to Yuu to see him trying to hide his laughter.
"Oh? I was hoping you hadn't heard of me. I didn't want you to add my name to your list of people to punch later, but I guess it's too late now." Shinya sighs.
"Like Guren, he's originally from a junior branch family, and is detested because of it. So if you want to kill him, go ahead. Nobody will care." Kureto adds.
"It's no fun getting away with murder if everyone wants it to happen. And he's funny, no one wants to kill off the funny guy." I say.
"Awh, at least the girl likes me. You say such mean things." Shinya pats my head, giving me the urge to add someone to the very, very top of the punch list.
"But anyway, Kureto. Does this clear any suspicion you had on me?" Shinya asks, "From Yuu and (N/n)'s reaction to all of this... it seems obvious that they doesn't know me."
Did he just call Yuu by that nickname? I think he did. Oh, how I wish to ruin that pretty face of his.
"Huh? What're you guys talking about?" Yuu asks, quite confused as to what situation we are in.
"Yuu, it's simple. Because Shinya and Guren seem to get along, this 'interview' we are doing is a test for Shinya, as well as us." I explain.
"There is a growing suspicion that there may be a vampire spy inside the demon army. That sort of thing... is a problem the Hiragi family have very little tolerance for." Shinya adds in.
"Wha...? Hold on a second! There's no way I'd be some bloodsucker spy-"
"Silence. Say nothing. No one trusts the words of a spy." Kureto interrupts Yuu.
"Nothing." I say in reflex, hoping I'm not killed on the spot.
He stares at me and sighs,
"You truly are Guren's subordinate."
"I take that as a compliment." I grin.
He snaps his finger and two guards come out with...
"Kimizuki!! Yoichi!! Let them go before-"
"Before what? Because you were stupid enough to be a vampire spy... I had your 'friends' knocked around a little." Kureto responds as my blood boils.
I look to Yoichi and Kimizuki as they're covered in bruises with a gag over their mouth to prevent them from speaking... or screaming out...
"You can't be serious!! What did you do to them, you bastard?!" Yuu yells.
I reach for my Katanas, but in turn, I find a sword race across my neck, belonging to Kureto Hiragi.
"Don't try it. We know how strong you are. I won't tolerate this." He threatens.
"Tch." I remove my hand from my Katanas and to stop myself from murdering everyone here, keeping my hands in my pockets.
"Now we can finally begin the effective part of this interview. Yuuichiro Hyakuya, (Y/n) Gracefield. Resist anymore than you already have and I will have your friends killed. Tell me nothing, but the truth." He commands.
He takes a pile of documents and skims through them.
"We don't have many reports on you. Apparently, both of you are rare talents who quickly qualified for cursed gear... and managed to acquire a high-ranking black demon series weapon in a very short time frame. Ah, but so did those two. Now, usually anybody who takes the cursed gear aptitude test is given a thorough background check first. But that wasn't the case for any of you. Why is that?"
So that's how it is...
Before I knew it...
"Do it."
A knife is stabbed into Yoichi's shoulder, causing tears to streak to the corners of his eyes. A muffled scream sounds before the gag as I try to reach out, but Kureto stops me forcefully.
"Stop!! I'll tell you, okay?! I'll tell you everything I know, so don't hurt them!!" Yuu screams out.
"Of course you will. This is the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. No one goes against the wishes of the Hiragi."
Damn you... Damn you...! Damn you!! I'll kill you!!
"Now let us begin. You were raised in the Vampire Capital. However, you plotted an escape, which succeeded."
That escape couldn't succeed from the moment someone was killed...
"In the course of that, your family was killed. That instilled in you a strong and very personal desire for revenge against vampires. That applies to Yuuichiro, but for (Y/n), she has shown very little signs of this. If anyone is likely to be a spy, it would be you. That is the extent of what we have in our reports. Is this true?"
"Yeah, it is. But just because I don't show it, doesn't mean-"
"Don't speak except to answer."
I grit my teeth.
"After your escape, you were found by Guren Ichinose. Why? Why would Guren bother to save you? What are you to him?" Kureto persists.
"I-I..."
"That is something we don't know. Apologies if that's not the answer you want, but it's the truth." I manage to say with a calmed voice.
"You say your name is Yuuichiro Hyakuya. The 'Hyakuya' were once the most influential group of spellcasters in Japan. Are you a survivor of the Hyakuya Sect?"
"Huh...? N-no... That's just the name of the orphanage I grew up in." Yuu panics until Shinya steps in.
"Wait a minute, Kureto. Wasn't this interview intended to determine whether these two are vampire spies? That question seems... a little off topic."
"It's Guren you suspect. That was simple to tell from the start... so why bother hurting our comrades... when all you could've done... I see now. You wanted to set us up as your spies for Guren."
Kureto glares at me as I look straight into his eyes, hiding my hatred and blood lust.
"Heh. In other words, you say we want to promote you? Make you my direct subordinate, charged with investigating Guren? It's an idea that has merit... for you, as well." Kureto lets out a small smile.
"Ha. So you're saying both of them are worthy of serving the great Hiragi family?" Shinya asks, amused.
"I am. When you were so honoured as to be adopted into 'the great Hiragi family', didn't it bring tears to your eyes? Isn't that right, Shinya Hiragi." Kureto, now with a growing smirk.
I watch as Kureto opens his big mouth,
"You look like you're clueless. I suspect that may even be the truth. That's how Guren likes to operate. But did you know, back in the days when humanity basked in the glory of true civilisation... the Hyakuya Sect... was an even more deprived organisation than we are? In those days, all orphanages run by the Hyakuya Sect... collected orphaned children and, without fail... subjugated then to their many insane human experiments. You lot were just like another batch of guinea pigs."
"What...?" Yuu mutters, wide-eyed.
Yuu... an experiment... The one thing piece of information I wanted to be false...
"Didn't you know that? I suspect... that you are one of the few survivors. Guren knew that and whatever it is they did to you... he is trying to manipulate it to his own ends. Didn't you know?"
Shinya only watches as Yuu and I stay quiet, unable to speak a word.
"Good. The truth is starting to emerge. Yuuichiro Hyakuya and (Y/n) Gracefield. Become my subordinates. I will guide you."
I furrow my eyebrows,
"Never."
"What?"
Pointing to Kimizuki and Yoichi, I explain,
"I won't be your subordinate. If you treat people like that, I'd rather die than work with someone like you."
"Don't worry about that. Those two are cursed gear users. Their wounds will heal quickly."
"That's not the issue." Yuu steps in, "I don't really care either way, but release Kimizuki and Yoichi. Like (N/n) said, Guren would never do something like this."
"Haha! Is that so? That's precisely why he can never catch up to me. Still, I commend you both. You made the right decision. Had you merely stepped forward to take my hand... I would have killed you. You do not attempt to kiss up to me. That, I think, is because in truth, you belong to no one. In that case... you may go home."
Kimizuki and Yoichi are released as we run over to check on them.
"Yoichi!! Kimizuki!!" I yell out, placing Yoichi's arm over my shoulder.
I turn to leave, but a hand holds out to me.
"We still need to talk... (Y/n) Gracefield."
«•»
"Gracefield... Where did that name come from? You're an orphan who was experimented on in Lambda 7214." Kureto demands to know.
What does he know? He doesn't know I was transferred to Gracefield as a failed experiment.
He doesn't know about Musica's status as my biological mother.
He doesn't know what experiment I went through. Not that I remember anyway... Only the results.
He's practically clueless from that statement alone, but he may be leaving out words.
"'Gracefield' is a name I chose myself." I respond, looking directly into his eyes.
"I see. And you didn't go to an orphanage that was associated with Lamda 7214?"
"I did." I reply.
"I see. So you're different from him." Kureto mutters to himself.
Is 'him' referring to the other escapee who ended up here...?
"Is that all?"
"No. Of course not. You leave when I tell you that you can leave. Did you ever come into contact with a boy with white hair and blue eyes during your time in the Lamda facilities?"
"What... did you say...?"
White hair and blue eyes... there's no way... right? Shinoa said the boy who came died... no, no, no!
Wait... I have to keep my composure or they'll know.
"A white-haired boy. Do you know him?"
"In Lamda, I had no memory of my experiences, so I wouldn't know if there was anyone fitting your description in the orphanage. I'm sorry to disappoint."
"Then why did you ask me to repeat myself? It seemed like you knew something."
"That was because I hadn't expected for another experiment to escape."
"Kureto, I think I should speak to her alone. She'll likely tell someone with a kind face more information." Shinya adds, talking to Kureto.
"She'll tell me everything or face the consequences." He says harshly, as I glare.
"Ahah, that's not what I meant. She's smart, so she'll only tell you exactly what you ask."
So Shinya has noticed... He's smarter that he likes to lead on.
"I suppose that it undeniable... Following my exact instructions may be slightly frustrating. Fine, take her then." Kureto sighs.
"Come along, (N/n). I have a few more questions." Shinya smiles.
"Got it..." I mumble, following the light-haired Major General.
We enter a separate room with soundproof walls and no way of looking in. There is a table with two chairs, as if this were an interview room.
"Take a seat and we'll continue what Kureto started." Shinya smiles.
I sit down in a chair, opposite to Shinya as he opens his mouth,
"First question from me is where were you before you came to the vampire city?"
"...Shinjuku..." I look off to the side.
"Hmm, that is a truth I see. Thank god, it would be really mean of you to lie." He says with spite in his tone.
"Yeah, lying is quite annoying, right?"
"At least someone gets it. So my next question is what this orphanage was like? Can you describe what a normal day was like?"
"We woke up, ate, learned basic education, had some free time, lunch, free time again and dinner. We slept after that. It was all normal." I respond briefly.
"Hmm, I see. And how did you leave? Surely they wouldn't let an experiment get away so easily?"
"I escaped by myself and went into hiding in Shinjuku. I learnt how to fight to defend myself if I were found."
"I see. That would explain your skills. Well, I've got enough information, so you can leave, but I would advice avoiding Kureto. He may ask a few more questions. But this place... truly is rotten like your friend said."
"Yeah... I understand that."
"One more thing before you leave... (N/n)."
«•»
"Ah! (Y/n)." I see Shinoa in the distance, standing with Blondie, Yuu, and an unconscious Kimizuki and Yoichi.
I look behind them to see... Guren.
Unable to control myself, I take a running start and jump kick him in the face as he stumbles onto the ground with a bloody mouth.
"Hah, not bad. Take notes, Yuu." Guren licks the dripping blood from his lip as I grab him by his collar.
"What did you involve us in? You better be ready to tell me everything about him. And don't play dumb or I'll give you a pain ten times worse. And teach us how to use that curse gear properly. That's all..."
I let him go and walk away as Shinoa yells for me to come back.
"That's just what I intend to do..."
I hear Guren say as I walk towards my room.
Norman...
(3149 Words)