I had to admit that it was a fun day at the park. I always pictured bringing someone who I loved there. Not like sisterly loved, but someone who I loved as a partner.

There's one thing that still sticks in my mind. It's the fact that I have a father. All of this time I thought I was alone in the world until I was adopted by Ryo and Keiko. For my father to leave me alone and then come back to try and kill me. I don't ever want to see this guy and as a matter of fact, I wish he was dead.

The only thing I can do now is find out how to master these powers of mine; manipulating shadows. Who would have guessed that would be the ability I got stuck with. I'll just have to own it and make it truly frightening. Then, I'll find my father before he has the chance to kill me.

At the Church of Purification, the members consisting of Setsuko, Shou, Miki, Honoka, and Shiori were all lined up outside. Shiori instructed them on their mission details.

"The mission is as simple as can be. We're going to raid the Kiyomizu Manor and slaughter everyone there. Now the Kiyomizus are a mixture of strange races which include Vampires and Werewolves, but they'll be at a severe disadvantage. Our enchanted equipment will be enough to weaken them enough to kill. Any questions?"

"Yes. Are there any special abilities these guys have that we should be worried about?" Shou asked.

"The only noteworthy ones worth mentioning are Keiko with the ability to flash freeze anything and Ryo with the power to instantly combust objects."

"Sounds crucial."

"Don't worry, they'll be caught off guard by the reappearance of two of their family members."

"Sounds good."

Shiori closed his eyes before releasing a gentle sigh.

"So our fate encounter will turn out to be one drenched in bloodshed. I always knew I would return, but, I didn't expect it to be in such a way. I've given my life to God now and will rewrite my sins."

Elsewhere, Terios was out with Akira and hanging around an arcade. The two were enjoying the various games and challenged one another to a round of air hockey which Akira ended up winning.

"Dang, Akira. How are you so good at nearly everything?"

"I'm just lucky I suppose. I wouldn't say I'm good at everything."

"Lies, you're a straight A student. In all subjects."

"Well, I study a lot. I'd recommend you returning back to school, but, I don't know the situation with you."

"I don't completely understand it myself."

At that moment, Terios felt some strange aura. It was that of divine nature. Even though he was still learning how to sense other's energies, he knew what this was.

"Hey, I'll be right back. I'm going to use the restroom."

"Alright."

He wandered off, moving through the various games the dimly lit arcade had to offer. Eventually, he found a familiar face playing a racing game. It appeared to be none other than, Akari Vhaal.

"Akari, what are you doing here?"

She jumped and turned around in her seat, staring at Terios with wide eyes before she smiled softly. Hopping out from her chair she hugged him gently. From her caress and with her being so close he could feel her warmth along with that strange aura.

"H-hey. You sure are friendly for an assassin."

It's her. I can't tell what this kind of energy I'm sensing from her, it's strange.

"Of course I am, silly. I wouldn't be a big meanie. Besides, I haven't killed anyone yet. I want to keep my innocence."

"That's good to hear actually."

"How did you find me?"

"I guess it was just by chance."

"Teehee. Maybe so! I'm kind of hungry will you treat me out to lunch?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Let me just text Akira to go on ahead."

He whips out his phone and begins to text his cousin, telling him to head home without him. Akari, being nosy peaked at what he was typing.

"Let's go! I'm hungry."

Terios took her hand and led her out of the arcade. The bright sunlight was blinding after being out in the dark for so long. He carried her off and wanted to visit his favorite place.

"Hey, were you in the mood for something sweet?"

"I love sweets!"

"It's settled then."

He guided her to the nearby bakery which smelled of delicious cooked pastries. Sitting her down in a seat, Terios went over to the cashier and ordered them something sweet; two vanilla crepes. Paying the man he returned to the table to see a smiling Akari who kicked her legs to a tune she was singing in her head.

"Welcome back, Terios."

"Here you go. Just for you. Something sweet to match your personality."

"Why thank you."

She smiled brighter as he placed the snack down next to her along with a silver fork. He took a seat across from her and began to dig in with his fork.

The sweetness of this treat is so mouth watering. This truly is my favorite bakery to come to. I hope Akari enjoys it aswell. Well, judging by her smile she loves it.

"You're very nice. I don't know why my family hates yours so much."

"I guess it's an ego thing."

"If we were forced to fight... would you hurt me, Terios?"

"U-uhh. No, I wouldn't. I don't really like hurting people. Besides, as long as the treaty between our family exists then we won't have to worry about stupid fights."

"You're right."

Meanwhile.

Shiori Kiyomizu was preparing to move his troops to the Kiyomizu Manor, but with the stressful battle ahead of him he couldn't help but descend into his thoughts and how he felt about everything.

I had a huge responsibility growing up in that cursed family. We were all trained to be hunters of various supernatural creatures. Just knowing the existence of the supernatural at such a young age was torturous. I was robbed of ever having a childhood being the first ever Kiyomizu. Everything was leaning on me. I quickly grew tired of killing monsters. Even though they were monsters, I always felt guilty having to kill something. No matter how evil it was. It felt like it would never end.

Then my sister, Honoka was forced to partake in our grueling mission. I don't even remember what we hoped to gain from doing this. When things appeared hopeless I found someone to make me happy. Her name was Akane and she belonged to the Emata family. They were very mentally ill and undertook some weird ritual that involved the head of the Emata's having sex with his daughters. It was sickening and I wanted to take her away from all of that.

"Shiori. We're ready."

"It's time to begin."

Meanwhile.

Akira was on his way home, walking through the woods as he took out his cell phone to look at the text that he got from Terios. "I hope he's alright. I'm worried about him."

His nose twitched as he began to sniff at the air. An unfamiliar scent, he kept on sniffing until he got a good whiff of it.

"I don't recognize any of these scents-"

From behind him was a large chain that was preparing to snatch him up, although he quickly leapt forward and bounced off of a tree to land on a higher branch. His eyes darted around as he observed his surroundings.

"What was that?"

Soon the chain would wrap itself tightly around the tree, sneaking up until it was behind Akira whose eyes widened once he felt that it was behind him. He quickly leapt forward to avoid the attack and was now in midair.

Before he could safely land, various vines erupted from the ground and ensnared Akira, latching onto his wrists, ankles, and torso.

"Not good! I can't break out!"

"Hello little brother."

"That voice... Shiori...?"

Shiori was an alluring young man standing at six foot two who radiated with mesmerizing beauty. His hair formed of silky pink strands that had a wet sheen to it. Green eyes held back a sense of sadness. Straddling his legs was a pair of red jeans with black boots. He wore a thin black shirt with a red blazer over it. Against each side of him was his blade sheathes. On the left side of his ear was a ear ring stud.

"It's good to see you again, I just wished were on better terms. Know that I have nothing against you, but, you'll play a key role into what we hope to accomplish."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"What's that? What are you trying to do?" Akira said as he struggled desperately from the thick vines keeping him bound.

"Uubji's responsible, no not just him, the Kiyomizus all have blood on their hands."

"Is this about... her?"

"It is, but, it's also bigger than her. Things won't turn out bad for you if you leave Akira. After it's over you can return with us."

"No. My place is here. It's still your home, it's not too late to come back."

"We wouldn't want to come back, Akira." Honoka went on. "You shouldn't have to scarifice your life to dabble with things that don't involve you. You should have had the choice to be a normal boy. Instead you have to keep secrets from the others at school. How can you build bonds when you can't be open about yourself?"

Honoka has a buxom figure. Her hair was a beautiful blonde color which was wrapped in pigtails resting gently on her large sized chest. On the left side of her head she had a red flower attached. Her eyes matched her brother's and she was dressed in a blue cheongsam that revealed a slit on the right side of her leg.

"You're right. I have been keeping secrets from a lot of people, but it's for the best of everyone's benefits. I know the dangers of getting normal people involved with the supernatural and I accept my responsibilities."

"You shouldn't have to deal with that! This isn't our fight!"

"It became our fight when our blood was fused with that of our father. This is what it means to be a Kiyomizu. We have to do the job that no one is able to do. Not because we should do it, but because we can."

"I respect you, Akira. I honor your high resolve for our family. However, everyone has sins that they must atone for."

Shiori approached his brother who remained in suspended motion. The vines were too tight against his body and so he was helpless. At this rate Akira didn't know what would happen to him. How he would be used to hunt his family down, or put them at a disadvantage. It sickened him.

Gentle hands reached out for his blades, extracting them in a vibrant motion as the sound of flesh being stabbed through was heard followed by screams of pain. Shiori had impaled his brother's torso with his twin chokutos. A trail of blood travel along the cold unforgiving metal and soon smoke emitted from it.

"As you should know by now these blades were forged from pure silver. So, you can forget about healing the wound."

"Damn you! You won't get away with this!" Akira shouted. The pain in his voice was obvious and a strong burning sensation could be felt from his stab wounds. Like a beaming sun focused on a certain portion of the body.

"A Werewolf is only as good as his healing. Once that' runs dry he becomes nothing more than a fragile pup."

With Akira in their clutches how will the members of the church use this to their advantage against the Kiyomizus? Who will prevail in a battle that is nothing but personal for few members of the Purification squad?

Speaking of which, over at the Kiyomizu Manor, the members were unaware of what would transpire. Uubji was tending to the flower garden out back along with his wife Hatsumi who appeared to have yellow eyes and blonde hair.

"This used to be Honoka's favorite job. Watering these beautiful flowers." Uubji mentioned.

"Funny you mention her name. It's been forever since we last interacted with her." Hatsumi replied.

"Well, there's not much we can do about it now. I just hope that they're doing ok. I still feel guilty about how everything transpired. Sometimes it feels like it's my fault."

"I'm just as much to blame as you are. Parenting is a job for two. We put too much stress onto them. They were merely children after all. But, you've made up for it by being a good father to Maemi and Akira."

"Haha, yeah. I was way too serious back then. Plus, being a werewolf means I have to control my emotions so I won't change."

Hatsumi hovered a pail of water over the sweet scented flowers. Droplets of water sprinkled over them and embraced them with the way of life. Uubji lowered himself to gently take a whiff of them before laughing.

"Hahaha. The thing about having an enhanced sense of smell is that it stays with you longer. Lot's of things, including those involving a more naughty nature."

Hatsumi snickered and splashed him with the water from the pail. Uubji then imitated a dog's reaction as he began shaking himself to try and rid himself of the liquid. Although, it didn't work out as he planned, he was still pretty much damp.

"I'm going to get changed into something dry."

"Don't keep me waiting here too long."

"I won't."

Uubji started to walk off, pausing for a moment to sniff out his surroundings. He thought for a moment he caught something, but it must have been his imagination.

After taking his time getting dressed, Uubji headed back downstairs and back out the front entrance of the Manor. He felt something was wrong and hurried along to the garden where he witnessed an unconscious Hatsumi and Shiori standing over her.

"Nice to see you again, dad. Sucks that we couldn't meet on better terms, but our life hasn't really been a happy one now has it?" Shiori questioned him.

"Son, now look, I don't know what it is you're hoping to prove here, but it has to stop."

Shiori stared down at his mother before he bent down to scoop her frame into his arms. He'd then begin to approach Uubji and handed her off to him.

"We'll need to discuss some things in a civil manner. Regarding Akira and your family's well being."

"Just what are you getting at?" Uubji asked as he held his wife in his arms.

"I've been tasked with a mission to purify our family."

"I'm going to assume 'purify' means kill."

"Why yes, you're right. As your son you should know what kind of man I am. You know what I want and what I'm willing to do to get it."

"Revenge is something that ruins lives. Holding onto hatred is no way to live, son."

"You're right, dad. I haven't been living for a long time. I thought finding a new life and ridding myself from the family would make me happy." He closed his eyes after speaking, a gentle breeze passing by the two. When his eyes reopened it was easy to see the sadness that filled his green hues. "But, knowing that my girlfriend committed suicide because she was raped by her own father! Her face tortures me every night. Knowing that I could have done something, you could have done something! Instead you did nothing.. I did nothing. All because of the treaty."

"…"

"Soon my men will invade and rid you from this world. But, I'm going to give you a choice, dad. A choice that I was never given. If you come with me, I'll give you my brother back and we'll discuss things in private."

"Son. I'm not going to leave my family high and dry."

"I figured you'd say something like that. I have no problem forcing your hand." Shiori said while his hand reached for a single sheathe before he extracted his blade and pointed it at Uubji.

"Shiori. I never wanted any of this. Put down your weapon, I'm not going to fight you. Just take me to Akira and we'll work something out..."

"That's what I wanted to hear." Shiori placed his weapon back in its case before he led Uubji who still had his wife in his arms.

While they went off in private to discuss things the rest of the Church members were preparing to move under Shiori's orders. They all gathered outside of the Manor, staring at it with only one goal in mind. Slaughtering everyone inside.

Over the months of their formation they've killed what they deemed as evil. A certain bias was used to determine this and often races other than humans were killed. To put it simply their deeds were both evil and good, killing beings who would pose a threat to humanity along with beings who wouldn't.

In a show of disrespect, Shou was going to summon them all out in such a vulgar way. He held out his enchanted blade that was engulfed with an aura of light and fired multiple beams at the building, shattering windows and putting dents into various spots.

"Come on out you cockroaches!" Shou demanded.

Slowly but surely, the members of the family that were currently in the building came out. At the time it was merely Keiko, Setsuna and Akemi who wanted to see what all of the ruckus was about.

"What in the world is going on here?" Keiko asked and glared at the church members when she saw they were armed she moved her arms to block both Akemi and Setsuna in a show of motherly protection.

"How cute, even demons feel the need to protect their vile offspring." Shou said.

"Mother... why are all these people here? Is it ok if I eat them?" Setsuna asked as she looked over at them.

"No! Your father wouldn't want that."

Akemi remained silent and crossed his arms against his chest while scanning the group of people. "I'm concerned with how they were able to locate our oh so secret hideout.." His dark red eyes met with Honoka's and he smirked. "Oh a traitor? What's our policies on that mom?"

"We don't have one."

The Kiyomizus were outnumbered, the odds were in the church members favor and with their enchanted weapons this may just mean the end for all of their lives. The showdown was about to begin and the danger that Uubji was facing was still unknown.