Okay! Here they are, the final two chapters of Black Rose!
Chapter 19
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Jurina sat by herself, sulking about Yuki being captured. She held her knees as she sat on the ground, until she was approached by Akane.
“Mind if I sit here with you?”
Jurina just shrugged. Akane sat down and heaved out a heavy sigh.
“I understand where you’re coming from. You’re worried about Yuki. I can sympathize with that.”
“You’ve experienced your partner being captured?”
“Well… not exactly. But, I know your concern for someone you care about greatly.”
“I guess it’s because of my family situation. I was always clinging to my older sister, Rena, and I depended on her a lot, so I naturally became the type of person who relies on others.”
“So, tell me, why did you become a hunter?”
“Because… for the amount of dependence I felt for those around me, I wanted to protect them just as much. I wanted to be by my sister and become strong like her.”
“It’s okay to have weak moments, too.”
“Un… I think it’s time I start fighting for myself instead of someone else.”
It was then that the door to the base opened and they saw Sakura walked in. Akane didn’t know who she was, but Jurina recognized her immediately.
“Sakura..?”
Sakura approached her, bowing to Akane. “Takayanagi Akane-san, my name is Miyawaki Sakura. I was sent to assist Jurina-san in finding Kashiwagi Yuki-san.”
“Ah, is that so? Good, we need all the help we can get at this point.”
Jurina got up, whispering, “Sakura… you shouldn’t have come. This enemy… Whatever it is, this enemy is too tough. We--”
However, she was silenced when Sakura placed a finger on her lips.
“Come with me. We’ll start that way.”
“Eh?”
Confused, she just reluctantly followed. Akane smirked, “Good luck.”
Once they left, Jurina soon asked, “Sakura, where are we going?”
“We’re going to find Yuki-san, of course.”
“Y-you shouldn’t have come alone. You should’ve brought Takamina, or Sayaka, or my sister--”
“Rena?” Sakura interrupted. “She’s missing, too.”
“What?! Rena’s missing?!”
“I suspect she was captured, as well. Those two are quite special, after all, but you can’t have one without the other.”
“W-what are you talking about? What’s the connection between Rena and Yuki?”
“For that, I have to tell you an old story,” she simply replied. “Hundreds of years ago, in a village cursed with an eternal winter, a human girl met a vampire in the darkness of the forest. She befriended the vampire, unaware of her monstrous true form, and they would frequently meet there.”
“What..? What does this have to do with--”
“Be quiet and listen.”
Jurina flinched a bit. “Okay…”
“As the girl got older, the vampire started to fall in love with her. Knowing that her feelings were forbidden, she made a promise with the girl that they would escape the cursed village where no one could find and separate them. However, before they could reach the rendezvous point, they were both bitten by a snake and died.”
“A snake..?” Jurina soon remembered Yuki’s behavior earlier. She seemed very frightened at the mention of a snake.
“The truth is, that snake was a Shadow-walker, a demon.”
“Eh..?!”
“And the venom in his bite cursed them. Century after century, they would be reborn, meet, fall in love, and tragically die. An endless cycle of despair that repeated for hundreds of years. As if the Devil cursed them to never be together, it’s a cycle that can only be broken by a miracle.”
“So… that means…”
“Yuki and Rena are those girls, cursed centuries long ago and trapped in this endless loop of death and rebirth. The Ouroboros Curse.”
“How do you even know about this story? Who told you?”
“No one told me… I’m the one who’s been trying to break the cycle.”
Jurina’s eyes widened as Sakura turned around, seeing her irises glow purple for a moment.
“I’m a Shadow-walker, working for an organization known as Walpurgis. I was tasked with the mission of breaking them free of this curse, several hundred years ago. Each time, I watched them meet and fall in love, but each time, I failed to save them from the death curse.”
“So… you're not human… You’re centuries old…” Jurina whispered in realization. “Walpurgis… like Walpurgisnacht. The witch’s harvest.”
“It’s understandable you don’t know them. They keep themselves hidden, even from human memory. If you’ve ever met someone from Walpurgis, you would soon forget you ever met them.”
“So, how do we break the Ouroboros cycle? We just need to keep Rena and Yuki from dying, right? Is there a time limit?”
“I wish it were that simple. I’ve tried it before, but even then, the curse would take hold of them and the cycle would come to pass. No, what needs to happen is something that defies the very notion of the curse. Something that hasn’t happened in their previous lives, a drastic enough change that can free them… but what?”
They both tried to think, until Jurina came up with an idea.
“Would Rena be turned into a vampire?”
Sakura pondered on it, thinking hard in imaging the situation.
“Possibly… but I don’t think likely. Unless…”
“Unless?”
“If not Rena-san giving up her humanity… Yuki…”
Jurina’s eyes widened. “I-is that possible?! Turning a vampire human?!”
“I’m not sure myself. But it might just be enough, if we succeed.”
“How do we do it?!”
“We have to make a potion. Essentially, it’s a cure for vampirism. We just have to get the right ingredients--”
“Then let’s not waste time,” Jurina grabbed the girl’s hand, then noticing her Ouroboros ring. “Ah… this.”
“It’s what keeps me in my human form. Without it on, I revert back to my shadow form.”
“I see… So that’s why you still look human.”
“Oi, is that an insult?” Sakura asked, making them both giggle. “Alright, let’s hurry! We may not have long!”
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“Snow angel! You’re a snow angel!”
Angel…
“You look like an angel. I’ll call you snow angel from now on!”
Snow angel..? That sounds so familiar…
“Rena…”
That song… that humming… I recognize it.
“Yuki..?” Rena opened her eyes, seeing a girl who looked familiar to her. A girl with black hair and red eyes.
She looks like.. Yuki…
“Lily… my name is..!”Rena’s mind suddenly stirred awake, breaking her from her dream. At the same time, she felt a rush of memories hit her.
Snow angel… so it wasn’t a dream. Yuki was always...Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw Yuki in front of her, staring at her coldly.
“Y-Yuki..?” Rena tried to reach out, but find that she couldn’t move. When she looked down, she saw she was bound to a wooden stake, wrapped in chains. “What’s going on..? Yuki..?!”
Her throat was dry, and her muscles felt weak. It felt like she had been asleep for days, her body not having the energy to move.
“Too bad, hunter,” Clyde’s voice rose. “It looks like you lose.”
“What..? Yuki, help me out..!”
“She won’t listen to you.”
“Huh?”
“She is no longer the same Yuki you once knew. She’s now the Black Rose.”
“Black Rose?”
It was then that she heard a new voice; a woman’s laughter.
“She’s finally bloomed into the flower I intended her to be,” Yuki’s mother spoke, circling her daughter. “She will be perfect, as the next Queen of her clan.”
“Who are you? What did you do to Yuki..?!”
“Silence her.”
Yuki rose her hand, and suddenly, Rena felt vines wrap around her mouth. She tried to speak, but her voice was muffled by the tight restraint of the black vines.
“You know, I have been thinking, if I used up all your energy on just me, I could gain so much. But in the end, who needs it more than myself? Then, I realized. Why, my daughter, of course.”
Rena was simply confused. She didn’t know what the woman was talking about.
“With this powerful, pure energy residing within you, and the infinite dark energy inside of her, she will be the most powerful vampire queen to exist! All will fear her, all will bow to her! Humankind will be powerless to stop her.”
Rena shook her head, trying to break free, but found it impossible as she still felt weak.
“Uh, uh, uh,” Yuki’s mother snapped her fingers, and Rena screamed as she was shocked with black lightning. “Don’t go wasting what little energy you have left.”
Rena watched as the woman pet Yuki’s head, smiling.
“My dear rose, it’s time for your final transformation. You will become what I’ve always wanted you to be.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Please, Yuki, wake up..!”Yuki approached Rena, grabbing both her shoulders. Rena could feel the intense aura of darkness overflowing from the vampire, an aura that was weakening her more.
The rose marks on her hands glowed as she began absorbing Rena’s energy. A white aura surrounding the chained girl became absorbed into her, growing weaker and dimmer as she did so.
“No..! Yuki, stop..!” she tried to scream, but her voice was again silenced. Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at Yuki’s blank orbs.
Snow…Tears fell down her cheeks as her eyes closed, her body becoming limp as she lost nearly all her energy.
“That’s it, Black! Don’t stop until she’s completely run out of energy!” Clyde exclaimed with a smile.
Yuki grabbed tighter, gripping her shoulders.
“Snow!” A voice suddenly called to her, making her stop. She froze in her place as she stared wide eyed at Rena.
“What are you waiting for, Yuki? She’s almost dead, take all that’s left of her lifeforce!”
Yuki stared at her hands which glowed white. White light… White snow.
“Li..ly..!” She grabbed Rena’s shoulders, but this time, she restored Rena’s energy to her. The white aura grew stronger as Rena regained consciousness.
“Hm..? Mm..! Mm-hm..?!”
“What are you doing?!”
“I won’t… I won’t kill Rena!”
She grabbed the silver chains, not caring that they burnt her palms, and ripped the chains off her. She released the vines from her mouth, and Rena didn’t hesitate to hug her.
“Rena..! I’m so sorry!”
“It’s okay. I knew it wasn’t your fault.”
“Yuki, how dare you! Let that human go!” her mother commanded.
“No, mother. I won’t allow this to go on any longer.”
She raised her hand and summoned black vines to attack her mother, but was stopped when Clyde drew a sword and sliced them.
“No one shall touch our Queen. You truly are a traitor, Black.”
“My name is not Black. I’m Yuki!” she declared as she summoned more vines. “Rena, stay behind me.”
“But--”
“You don’t have your weapons with you, right. I have to protect you.”
She created a cage of vines and black roses around Rena. Yuki glared at her mother and Clyde, gripping her fists.
“I’m tired of everyone controlling my life… From now on, I say where my life goes.”
She made vines grow from under Clyde’s feet, grabbing his ankles and soon ensnaring him. Even as his sword cut the vines, they just grew back stronger than ever.
“Stop this!!!” Clyde demanded.
Yuki just gave him a dark look and started forming her hand into a fist, slowly. As she did, the vines tightened and started to crush Clyde’s body. He screamed out in pain as the thorns pierced into his skin, blood dripping down to the floor.
“Yuki, I demand that you stop this immediately!”
Yuki didn’t listen, and just continued to crush Clyde.
“Listen to me! I am your MOTHER!!!” she screamed louder.
“Yuki?!” Rena saw the marks were glowing an ominous black, and a black aura was surrounding Yuki. She called out to her again, but she didn’t hear her. As her fist tightened, Rena could hear the sound of Clyde’s bones being crushed.
“AAAAAH!!!” Clyde screamed out, his fangs growing sharp from the pain.
“YUKI!!!”
A new voice reached Yuki’s ears. When Rena turned around, she saw Jurina and Sakura standing there.
“Jurina..! And… who is that?”“Yuki-san, that’s enough! If you go on any longer, the darkness in your heart will take over your soul! That power within you is dangerous!”
“Sakura’s right! Just stop! None of this is worth it!”
“Yuki…” Rena called out again. “Let’s just… go home.”
“Home…?”
Yuki dropped her hand, un-balling the fist. Clyde was released and fell to the ground, his body weak and slowly bleeding out. The marks on her hands stopped glowing as she spoke one last time.
“Never… go near me or my friends ever again, Mother. If you do, I will…”
However, she didn’t finish her sentence. She just took a deep breath, turning around and releasing Rena from the cage.
Rena cried and hugged the vampire girl, letting her cling to her tightly.
“I’m so sorry for getting you involved with this mess,” she whispered, stroking the girl’s head to calm her. She planted a kiss on her cheek and said, “Let’s go home.”
Rena nodded, smiling while holding Yuki’s hands…
Schunk!“..!” Yuki suddenly felt something warm splatter on her face. Her tongue instinctively touched it.
“...Blood?”When she opened her eyes, she only saw Rena staring at her, with a shocked look in her eyes… and a trail of blood going down her lips.
“Eh..?”
Then, she looked down and saw it. Her mother’s long white hair, grown out and sharpened like knives, stabbing into Rena’s back and through her chest. Yuki’s eyes widened in horror as the blade-like follicles retracted and Rena collapsed in front of her.
“Rena!” she screamed, catching her as she fell.
“Nee-chan!!!” Jurina ran to her sister’s side, Sakura following after her.
“No… No! This can’t happen!” Yuki cried as Rena struggled to breathe. Her palms became stained red in her blood. “I don’t understand…”
She looked at her mother, tears in her eyes.
“Why?! Why did you have to kill her?! Whatever happened to the law of the vampires? ‘A life for a life’! I spared your life! So why did you have to do this to Rena?!”
“You’re right… A life for a life. I had to punish you as a traitor.. But I would never kill my own daughter.”
“Monster…” Jurina gripped her fists, tears falling down her face. “Queen of the vampires! You ARE a monster!”
Yuki held Rena close as she got paler and weaker, gripping onto her.
“Yu..k-ki…,” she whispered weakly. “I finally remember…”
“What..?”
“Th-the two of us… we met.. A long time ago… We promised.. t-to leave together… W-we would go somewhere… n-no one..could separate us… Just us two… Remember..? Snow..?”
“Snow..!” Yuki’s eyes widened, “Yes… Yes, I remember..! I…”
Rena coughed, more blood escaping her mouth as she started losing consciousness.
“Lily, wait!” Yuki screamed, holding Rena’s face and staring in her eyes. “I said I’d tell you my real name… Remember?”
Rena nodded slowly, tears from Yuki’s face hitting her cheeks.
“My real name… It was Krahe.”
“K-Kra..he..?”
“That’s right. The name of the raven, the bird of the darkness. The guide of the Nightshade.”
“Th-the bird of..the realm of the dead…” Rena weakly smiled. “Krahe… what a weird name.”
She chuckled softly, her eyes closing as she drew her last breath. Jurina covered her mouth, tears still falling freely.
“We’re… too late,” Sakura said lowly as Jurina hugged her crying.
Yuki sat frozen, her eyes glued on Rena’s lifeless body. Her blood, red as roses, seeping everywhere. Staining her white skin. And…
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!” After a long scream, she grabbed Rena…
And bit into her neck.
Topic: The Black Rose {YukiRena+Other pairs} Chapter 19+20 (Final) - COMPLETED (Read 56573 times)