The Black Rose

Chapter 19

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."