The Strong. The Silent. The Sparkling.
All was well in Misaki, the town of many mysteries and numerous nasties. No vicious vampires plagued the innocent citizens. No shocking serial killings had taken place for months, and all the ferocious fighters had decided to take a break for the night.
As he stared at the brilliant blue beauty called the moon, Tohno Shiki reflected on how lucky he was to be able to walk the streets (and occasionally rooftops) of his home town without being attacked by any annoying aggressors. It was nights like this that made his unfortunate habit of sneaking out worthwhile.
“Ah, it doesn’t get much better than this.” The teen was normally as cool as a cucumber, but for one night Shiki decided to let himself relax and spend one of his normally restless nights staring at the most magnificent thing in the night sky, while lying on his back on top of a random rooftop. It was a rare night when the moon shone almost as bright as the sun, and the boy was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
However, like all good things, even this had to come to an extremely abrupt end.
“Ahahahaha!” The sound of high pitched laughter roused Shiki from his slumber, and he peered over the edge of the rooftop to see what all the fuss was about.
He quickly raised his hands to shield himself from the almost blinding blaze of brilliant light shining from the center of the once dark and dreary street. The laughter and light both originated from a single figure standing in the center of the road, seemingly uncaring of any traffic, or for that matter, any people who may have been trying to have some peaceful sleep.
“Ah, what a wondrous thing it is, to be alive again!” The sparkling man spoke to himself. “That boorish boy thought he could best me, but I’m back to begin anew! My 19th birth has been a breakthrough of absolutely brilliant proportions!”
The man’s gloating was pierced by the swift sound of shoes striking stone. The sparkling man turned and frowned as he saw a boy in a stylish school uniform jump down from a nearby rooftop, sliding against the wall to slow his descent.
“You should be dead, you monster.” Shiki growled. He pulled a knife from his pocket and unfurled the deadly weapon, pointing it at the brightly shining beast before him. “I killed you completely!”
“Fool!” As Shiki’s eyes adjusted to the unbearable glow, he made out its source. Although he looked much… brighter, it was definitely the body of the reincarnating vampire he’d put an end to more than a year ago. “I, Roa, will not die so easily, even if I am killed! I, who courts death as one would a lover, would never succumb to such an ignoble end!” Shiki’s eyes adjusted as he stared at the revived villain, until he could finally make out its source.
It had to be said that the last time he faced Roa it had been indoors, and the Dead Apostle had been slightly stricter with his fashion sense. But this incarnation had forgone a shirt, wearing only a black pair of pants, and it made all the difference.
The man’s skin shined. It dazzled Shiki’s perception like a million tiny diamonds packed into a soft, supple mesh. Roa’s chest and abs stood out against the dark night, bringing day back into the terrified town. As the villainous vampire flexed, the glow intensified and Shiki had to squint to keep from being blinded.
“That’s impossible.” Shiki said firmly. “There is no way to survive being killed by the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception!” The brave boy punctuated his declaration by whipping off his glasses and revealing glorious blue eyes that had only seconds before been a dull gray.
“Fool! The limits of your pathetic mind might not grasp the groundbreaking achievement which I have… achieved, but that is to be expected from a fancy little assassin such as yourself!” Roa gloated, and the glow coming from his skin intensified as if further fueled by his generous ego.
“Quit the trash talk, vampire.” Shiki growled. He may have sounded slightly intimidating in ordinary circumstances, but with one hand raised to block the bright glow from blinding him he looked more like a weary sailor battling against the ocean. “I don’t know how or why you returned, but if I have to kill you again, then so be it! You chose the wrong place to come back!”
With his other hand Shiki brandished his blade, and took slow steps forward towards Roa, aiming to close the distance without leaving himself open to attack.
“Hah! So you choose to underestimate my genius? Then I’ll show you the error of your ways, you irritating brat!” Roa brushed his stringy hair back with one hand, and raised another, pointing its palm towards Shiki.
“Take this! I’ll SNAP you in two!”
A burst of magical lightning instantly appeared in the center of Roa’s hand and shot out towards Shiki, aiming to sever the student’s soul with one strike.
But Shiki had expected this. “Your tricks are old, vampire!” He yelled as he swung his knife forward. He glared at the path of bolt, and with a swipe of his dagger the deadly blast vanished from existence. Shiki broke into a run, and Roa retaliated with a volley of magical lightning. If even a single bolt struck true, the battle would be over!
But Tohno Shiki was no weakling. He slashed through air and magic, moving like a pro and killing all of Roa’s spells with hardly a word. Unlike his opponent, the boy wasn’t a fan of chatting during combat, at least most of the time, anyway.
The distance was closed in moments, and by the time Roa had charged up another blast of lighting it was already too late. Shiki dashed forward with one burst of momentum, his knife pointed forward like a spear, aiming to pierce Roa’s Point of Death and end the battle before it had even started!
But in his rush, the assassin had forgotten one vital thing.
“Agh! My eyes!” Shiki stumbled and fell to the ground, clutching his eyes, which in a single moment had been overwhelmed by enough light to make the sun look like a 1 watt bulb. He screamed as his retinas protested the overwhelming amount of bright rays arching from Roa’s body, the same body he had stared directly at in order to target.
“Yes, that’s right boy, I’ve learned a few new tricks while I was busy not existing!” Roa kicked Shiki into the air, and then caught his opponent in a heavy hook right to the stomach. At the same time, he discharged a lightning bolt from his hand, blasting straight through Shiki’s unprotected torso.
“Gah!” The boy was blasted back by Roa’s powerful blow, and skidded backwards along the ground until he came to a halt next to his knife, which had been thrown backwards and smoked slightly from the scorching stab.
“Those eyes of your are indeed an incredible annoyances, but I have concocted a countermeasure to your tiny tools!” Roa laughed as Shiki weakly dragged himself up from the ground. “You must look at whatever you slice, but how will you be able to gaze into my Sparkling Shield without becoming blind, boy!?”
“Ugh… what a cheap comeback.” Shiki coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood. He shook his head to clear it, and faced Roa again, this time keeping one hand up to guard his eyes from more overload. “I can still fight if I don’t look at you!” The boy yelled back.
“Oh, sure, but will you be able to kill me without those eyes of yours, pathetic boy?” Roa charged up another blast of lightning and quickly threw it at Shiki, who tried to block but involuntarily closed his eyes and hesitated the moment the brightness became too much for him. He screamed again as the magically charged blast ripped through his frail body and sent him flying back again.
“Hahaha!” Roa hadn’t even taken a single step forward, but the being that had once slain him was already down for the count. “This was too easy! I honestly expected something else from you, but it seems that you’re the one trick pony after all, boy! Other than those eyes of yours, you don’t have a thing that can beat me!”
“Ugh… not quite.” Shiki rose from the ground, his eyes shut and a line of blood dripping from his mouth. His clothes were singed and his hair was even spikier than usual, but otherwise he was perfectly alive. “Even without these eyes, I have one thing you never will, Roa.”
“Oh?” The gloating god smirked. “And what would that be, boy?”
Shiki grinned. “A girlfriend.”
The ground rumbled beneath Roa, and a stone spire shot upwards beneath him, piercing his body and propelling the immortal vampire upwards. Roa roared in anger even as the sharp stone stabbed through his torso.
At the same time, a bright figure appeared in the night sky. While not as luminescent as Roa, her colourful outfit made her impossible to ignore.
The blonde girl spun in the air, her short miniskirt always just low enough to preserve her modesty (except towards Shiki, who managed to get a good 4 seconds of panty flash), and the pink rod in her hand twinkling with a warm light.
“I have come to vanquish you, creature of the night!” She said as she balanced on top of a street light. “Beware, for the magical warrior of Justice, Phantasmoon is here to set things right!”
“W-what!?” Roa’s crimson blood flowed all around him, and temporarily covered his bright skin, toning down the brightness. “Y-you can’t be!”
“I am!” Phanstasmoon raised her pink wand into the air, and a glowing orb of pink energy appeared before her. Her wand transformed into a pink bat, and as she swung, she called forth the name of her attack!
“Take this, Roa! Phantasm Home Run!” With a yell, she slammed her bat into the energy ball, sending it rocketing towards Roa!
Roa had managed to get off the stone spike, but he was too injured to block the ensuing shot. It slammed into his neck, and he choked as it blasted him off the spike and onto the ground below.
“Ack- You!” He slammed into the concrete and groaned from the pain. Although the giant hole in his chest quickly closed, the magical bruise on his throat remained. “Damn it, what’s with that stupid getup, Arcueid!?” His voice was gravelly now, without the smooth tone that it had carried earlier.
“I am not Arcueid!” Phantasmoon pouted. “I am a shining star! A super special singing sailor who came here to save the day!”
“You’re also letting him heal, Arcueid.” Shiki commented as he leaned against a wall and tried to catch his breath. “Hurry up and finish him off before he regenerates even more!”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” The perky sailor raised her wand again, and several identical balls of pink energy materialized in front of her. “I’ll finish you here! Phantasmoon Grand Slam!”
As her bat struck each ball in turn, Phantasmoon leapt off the street light and jumped backwards towards Shiki. After firing almost half a dozen pink bullets towards Roa, all of which struck the vampire and exploded into clouds of pink smoke, she turned and gave Shiki a hug, burying the boy’s face in her barely contained breasts.
“Yay! You’re alright, Shiki!” She said happily. “I was afraid I was too late!”
“Ugh… no, you came right on time.” Shiki managed to lever the girl off of him, and took a deep breath. “That was weird. I was sure I finished Roa off for good last time, but here he shows up again…”
“Don’t worry about it.” Phantasmoon said. “He’s gone again, anyway, so we can relax!”
“I DON’T THINK SO!” With a roar, a bolt of lilac lightning blasted through both Phantasmoon and Shiki at the same time, sending them tumbling to the ground.
Out of the pink smoke rose a slightly battered but definitely still alive Roa. The vampire wiped some blood from his lip and smirked. Other than a few bruises where the pink energy had struck, he was still perfectly fine, and as shiny as ever.
“Princess of the True Ancestors, you underestimate my new power!” He laughed. “While I will admit those attacks of your stung a bit, it’s nothing I can’t shake off! You’ll need more than that to beat me, especially now that I have as much prana as I’ll ever need!”
Phantasmoon frowned as she pulled herself up. “There’s something wrong here. Those attacks should’ve blown him apart, but he’s almost unharmed. And what’s that bright light supposed to be? It’s hurting my eyes!”
“Yeah, well try looking at it from my perspective.” Shiki growled, face down on the floor and too stunned to move. “That shield of his is stopping me from even getting close. It’s probably what stopped most of your attacks, too.”
“Hm.” Phantasmoon tilted her head. “Y’know, now that you mention it he does look a bit shinier, but I thought that was just his new host…”
“I WILL NOT BE IGNORED!” Roa screamed again, seemingly angered by his enemies’ blatant ignorance. “I DIDN’T COME BACK TO BE SHOVED OFF TO THE SIDE LIKE… LIKE A SIDE VILLAIN!” He punctuated his sentence with another, larger bolt of lightning, leading into another barrage.
Shiki tried to kill the attack but couldn’t even keep his eyes open as the brightness increased almost tenfold. Phantasmoon squinted and raised her wand hastily.
“Moon Shield! Reflect it!”
A shimmering pink shield appeared in front of them just in time for the lightning bolt to bounce off it, but the effort of blocking the attack strained Phantasmoon heavily.
“I… can’t keep it up.” She panted as her hand trembled. “My maximum strength is less than a tenth tonight, and he’s pretty powerful.” She winced as Roa decided to continue his barrage of bolts. “Got… any ideas… Shiki?”
“We need to get rid of that damnable light.” The ordinary high school student said as he gazed through the moonlight shield. “If we could stop that infernal glowing I’d be able to hit his point and finish him for good.”
“Well, ugh, you’ll have to hurry up!” The shield cracked, and Phantasmoon fell to one knee. “I can’t keep this up much longer!”
“I’m thinking, I’m thinking!” Shiki looked at their aggressor through the shield. It was mostly clear, if tinged with pink, and miraculously it also managed to somehow dull down the brightness as if it never existed. “Your shield’s blocking it pretty well.” He observed. “Can’t you surround him with one of those?”
“Nope.” Phantasmoon grunted. “I was talking big earlier, but I’m still recovering my energy from our last battle. I might be able to do one more big attack, but that’s it. It’s not easy to bend moonlight into something capable of stopping lightning bolts, even if it is especially bright tonight.”
“Yeah, the moon’s way too bright.” Shiki agreed. “It’s almost… blin…ding.”
His eyes lit up, and the spark of realization made its way through the wounded teen’s body, rejuvenating tired muscles and battered limbs with the sheer, certain, knowledge.
“I’ve got it.” He smiled. “So that’s how he does it!”
“Does- Gah! – what!?” Phantasmoon’s shield was webbed with cracks and on the verge of breaking. Roa’s laughter echoed through the empty streets, and the ground in front of Phantasmoon’s shield had been reduced to bits of rubble.
“Arcueid, I’ll need your help one more time.” Shiki knelt next to his struggling ally and whispered something into her ear. As the spark of realization lit up her eyes as well, her look of pain morphed into a determined visage. She’d do her job perfectly!
“C’MON! WHO’S A SIDE CHARACTER NOW, HUH!?” Roa was mad, throwing lightning bolts one after another without pause. He had already wasted more prana than an ordinary person would accumulate in years, yet he wasn’t even winded. His glowing skin became even brighter, enough to instantly blind anyone who so much as glanced in his direction. “NOT SO EASY, IS IT, PRINCESS!?”
“Shut up!” The moonlight shield shattered, and two figures dashed out from behind it in completely opposite directions, one straight towards Roa and another away at an angle. The bright flash momentarily disoriented Roa, but he blasted forward with his lightning bolt anyway, confident that it would at least hit. It had to be Phantasmoon. She was the only one capable of surviving even one bolt of his magic.
And hit it did, but when the smoke cleared, the figure charging straight at Roa wasn’t the powerful True Ancestor, but Shiki, his arms crossed in front of him and his eyes squeezed shut. A small scorch mark had burnt away his sleeves, but the teen just grit his teeth and charged forward, using all of his senses save sight and powering through any attacks.
“You? Don’t you ever get enough of being beaten beyond belief, boy!?” Roa smirked and raised another hand. “Fine, if you’re going to come at me in a suicide rush, then I’ll give you the pleasure of instant death! If this level of output isn’t enough to kill you, then I’ll just have to SQUARE it!”
The ground below Roa glowed. The image of a complex magical circle surrounded him, and its effect was obvious. Roa’s next bolt was many times larger, and Shiki only barely dodged it by rolling to the side at the last second. Even so the edge of it skimmed his arm, and it instantly fell to his side, his nerves numbed by the sudden shock.
“Ugh…” The boy almost sank to one knee, but forced himself up. He gazed at Roa with closed eyes, and even then the light of his enemy’s skin burnt the boy’s retinas. “You’ll never kill me, monster. I’ve already figured out your little trick!”
“Oh? Do tell,boy.” Roa stopped his barrage momentarily. There were only a few meters between them, but the vampire was confident that he could react in time to stop any blind attacks. “Perhaps you have more intelligence than I credited you with.”
“You’re not generating that light.” Shiki gasped. “You’re just raking in, reflecting, and redirecting the light from the moon! That’s why you’re so bright!” True enough, the bright moon shone above them like a second sun.
Roa laughed. “So? It matters not if you figured out how it works. My Sparkle Shield is unbeatable, boy! Perhaps if you brought me inside I might be at a disadvantage, but out here there’s nothing you can do to stop me! I’m invincible! This is checkmate! This is MY TIME TO SHINE!”
“You’re… right.” Shiki admitted. The boy was a mess. One hand out of commission, burn marks all over, and a uniform that was beyond saving. Just standing took all the energy he had. “But… you’re not invincible.” Yet he wouldn’t back down.
Within Tohno Shiki flowed the blood of a Nanaya. The blood of a family that was bred for the sole purpose of exterminating the inhuman from the world. A Nanaya would not rest until its enemy was dead, even if it had to destroy its own body in the process. And most importantly, a Nanaya knew that there was no such thing as an unwinnable battle, and even if it was, that made no difference!
“If I can’t kill you, then I just need to get someone who can!” Shiki roared, and charged forward, straight into a giant red bolt of magical lightning, the strongest yet.
“Too bad.” Roa chuckled. “That was almost poetic. Someone who can beat me? What was he talking… about?” As he looked at his outstretched hand, Roa realized three things.
His skin wasn’t glowing anymore.
The moon in the night sky had suddenly become extremely obscured by a large group of thick clouds that hadn't been there a second ago.
And his attack was gone from the world, erased by the boy charging at him with his knife outstretched and his bright blue eyes wide with raging fury.
“IF YOU LIKE SHINING SO MUCH…” Shiki screamed. “THEN SPARKLE IN HELL, ROA!”
“Oh, shit.” Were Roa’s last words before Shiki’s knife tore through his point of death and the resurrected vampire’s short 19th life ended before it even began.
As Roa’s body slowly faded into dust, Shiki collapsed onto his back, staring at the sky. The clouds Arcueid had gathered up slowly drifted away, revealing the bright moon once more.
Shiki sighed as Arcueid landed next to him, her Phantasmoon outfit mysteriously gone.
“That was tiring.” He admitted.
“You did good, though.” Arcueid said, as cheerful as ever. “And besides, that was awesome! I never would’ve figured his powers out so quickly!”
“It wasn’t very hard.” Shiki turned his eyes to the moon. “After all, it’s a beautiful moon, isn’t it?”
“I suppose.” The girl looked at the lunar body, but to her it meant very little. “But what’s that got to do with anything?”
“It’s a beautiful moon.” The boy repeated. “This moon is something that people can stare at for hours. Something people appreciate for its shine. Even though it can only reflect the light of the sun, that light is transformed into something greater. Something people can see without being burned.” He reached out towards the celestial body and gently closed his hand around it.
“Perhaps… perhaps Roa only wished for people to look at him the same way they look at the moon.” Shiki concluded.
Arcueid frowned. She was silent for several seconds, apparently deep in thought. She looked back and forth between Shiki, the moon, and the spot where Roa’s corpse had faded into dust several times. Finally she nodded and delivered her final conclusion.
“That’s stupid.” She said. “Wanna go to my house? I’ll let you sleep in my bed as a reward for your heroic actions!”
Shiki smiled. “Only if you’re in it with me.”
“Oh, you pervert!” Arcueid giggled, but knelt down and scooped up her smaller boyfriend. “Honestly, what am I going to do with you?” She said as she began to walk home.
“The same thing you do every night, Arcueid.” Shiki said, his eyes still on the moon.
“Just keep shining.”
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I... I dunno where this came from. Idea popped into my head, wrote it in a few hours, posted this here.
So here you go. Be wary of crack.
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Originally Posted by Kyte
