I entered the grand ballroom of the palace. It contrasted with the rest of the palace. It was bright with light colours. Gold covered the room. The room itself was enormous. The inner square was separated from the outer area by a row of pillars. At the end of the room there was an elevated platform with the 16 demonic national flags, there was a throne in front of each flag, with the centre 2 being the Narakam and Teikoku flag and thrones. In the centre in front of the flags and thrones there was a podium with mics hooked up to it. There was an orchestra set up on the front of it. There were a row of flags sticking out on poles above the pillars, leading up to the large platform on the outer area; there were both standing and sitting tables. In the centre of the ballroom there was a large circle beautifully decorated with traditional style demonic art. The circle was what I assumed to be the seal of tradition. It was among one of the most fancy things I had ever seen. I grew up in an upper middle class family back home on earth. I hadn't seen such fanciful things ever before in my life. Dasaan told me “His Imperial Majesty had an emergency to deal with. With that, you are the host of the blood ball. His Majesty said you should be fine and that he already briefed you about what will occur.” “Yeah he texted me about every possible event. It took me god knows how long to read it all. I should be fine. Thank you Dasaan.” Just then I heard the voice of Kai behind me. “Asura!” I turned around and saw the others entering the ballroom. They came up to me all excited for the ball. It was their first time attending the blood ball. I didn't feel like dealing with their nonsense so I told them “There is food in the corner, you can help yourself.” I went to the entrance to welcome the guests who were arriving any minute. They all arrived by carriage. Teleportation was possible in the demon world but only short distance teleportation was possible as far as I knew. That was the only reason civilian vehicles existed. However they used the strong infrastructure of the demon world to their advantage and were extra quick and turned a long trip into roughly an hour or 45 minutes. Of course government carriages possessed the unique ability to fly. I found it extraordinary, without technology the demon world had developed tech much like earth, but powered by magic. It was intriguing. I made sure everything was ready, all the Narakam Guests were already there. The path from the entrance to the ballroom was a straight line. The hall was lined by Narakam Imperial Guards. They saluted as I passed.

The procedure ran where the first to arrive would be the high royalty themselves. I greeted the royals as they came. As it seemed, none of the Heads of State themselves showed up. They all were occupied with some last minute meeting or emergency of some sort. After roughly an hour the royal families of all the kingdoms and empire were present except 1. The Royal Family of the Teikoku Empire. I was about to go back inside, when their carriage came to the entrance. The carriage was white and silver in colour. The door opened and the Empress’s Husband, King Shizuka Kunshu stepped out. I bowed slightly and shook his hand. He was an average sized man, I stood at 6 foot something whereas the king stood at roughly 5’8. “It's a pleasure to meet you, your highness.” “Oh nonsense, its great to finally meet you. I heard so much about you. My wife would have loved to see you sadly something came up and she was unable to make it. But still, it's good to see you, or rather see you again. My wife and I saw you when you were a baby. You know you were born on the same day as our daughter. Speaking of which, Tamashi come on out.” I got suddenly nervous and I just blurted out, “No no it's quite alright your majesty.” “Ah nonsense, you and Tamashi were so close when you were little kids. I am sure she will be happy to see you.” “That isn't necessary to have already become acquainted at school. Now then can I show you inside your majesty? I’m sure your daughter needs time to get ready.” “She is a little shy is all.” From the carriage Tamashi stepped out.  She was wearing a beautiful white dress with silver designs all over it. The white streaks in her hair were more prominent than before in her well made hair. Her fierce eyes seemingly flashed blue for a split second. She was absolutely stunning. I was absolutely smitten with her. I felt my face become hot,I realised I was blushing. I simply bowed a bit. Then I led the King down the hall. As we walked down each of soldiers saluted the king and I as we walked by. “ Its been a while since the last time I came here. I like visiting the Narakam Empire, the food here is delicious, the best tea in the world is grown here as well. I am not too fond of how cold Talastana is though.” “That is perfectly understandable, your majesty. Not everyone is a snow person like Talastanites.” He laughed heartily. We entered the ballroom and I spoke to the king “I am sure you are aware of protocol. As it seems all current heads of state had to miss the ball. I presume you are going to take the place of the Empress?” “That would be correct” “Ok, follow me and take your seat on the stage.” We walked to the stage, where the other spouses had taken their seats. The only empty throne was my own, I had to speak to start the blood ball officially. All the officials had arrived so I began to speak. “Welcome one and all to this year’s blood ball. We are pleased to host you all here in Talastana. A toast to the Ancestors and spirits and may we all have a good year. Now, in keeping with tradition, before we commence with the opening and the rest of our evening, we must do the traditional challenge of the ball. So without further ado. (Clears throat) THE NARKAM EMPIRE AS HOST OF THE BLOOD BALL, PUTS FORWARD CROWN PRINCE ASURA KHAN. DOES ANYONE OF THE 12 KINGDOMS AND 4 EMPIRES CHOOSE TO CHALLENGE HIM?.” The challenge was part of the ball from the time when demons were  much more wild. Although a challenge had never been met, it existed to remind us of our roots and our mortality. As expected there was silence, I began again “Since there is no challe-” I was suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice shouting “I CHALLENGE HIM!” I was in disbelief. This was not supposed to happen. A challenge had never been issued during the long history of the blood ball. NEVER. But a protocol was in place if such an event happened, but it was a protocol made thousands of years ago. I ordered,  “All please step out of the ceremonial circle.” Everyone moved around and left the large circle in the centre of the ballroom. “Challenger please step into the circle.” I teleported into the circle.  The one who stepped into the circle was Kanshai Prince Khina Vansh. He and I did not get along. I did better than he did in school, and he did not like that very much. He did much better than I did in things like mathematics and he used that to boast as much as possible. He attempted to undermine me at every chance he got, it was a school but everything is politics. I presumed he wanted to show the Kanshai Empire’s dominance over the Narakam Empire. But this was bold, even for him.  I spoke a spell and cast the ring of protection around the boundary so nobody outside got hurt. Khina stood in front of me. “Please draw your weapon” He drew his sword and I drew mine. “Let the duel commence” “Time to knock you down a few pegs Khan.” By the tradition of duels, the challenger is allowed the first attack. Khina jumped up and brought down his sword, I blocked it. I paid back with a quick strike that he parried. He swung his sword again, he put considerable force behind the blow but I managed to block it. I was pushing back his sword when he suddenly said “Lets see how good you are now”. He moved his other hand and threw something at my face. It was dust or powder of some sort, and he threw it in my eyes. I turned away. My eyes stung. It were as if a thousand needles were piercing them with the force of a truck. I couldn't see, it hurt to even blink or try to see. He said behind me “Nobody said I had to fight fair like you, lets see you beat me now Khan. Ha-Ha!” I heard the voice of my ancestor in my head. “ Blindness powder, how pathetic. On this night, all shall know your true identity! Now your true form shall truly begin to bloom! Finish the challenger!” The pain disappeared and I was able to see, I blinked and suddenly my vision changed. I opened my eyes, and my vision was better than ever before. I looked back at Khina. I was seething with anger at this point. Khina looked shocked and so did everyone else. Khina got over it and thrust his sword forward, at that moment the world around me seemed to slow down. I moved to the side, and hit his sword out of his hand. I then kicked him over and when he was on the floor on his back. I put a foot on his chest and I put my sword to his neck. The world came back to normal speed. Khina took a second to process what had happened and it appeared when he realised the current situation he was in he began panicking. “P-P-Please dont hurt me. I was just playing around. The powder was an accident I swear.” I pressed my sword a bit more against his neck. “ I concede. Just let me go” He conceded and by the rules of the duel I had to let him live. I lifted the spell on the circle and flew back to the podium. I spoke again, “Prince Khina Vansh has been spared, and is thus forever indebted to his opponent.” The circle where the duel occurred suddenly burst into flames. However above the circle there was a symbol floating in the air. It appeared to be a white wolf with a crown lying down. Around the wolf was a large black serpentine dragon who was surrounding the wolf in a sort of protective circle. The dragon was holding in its front 2 legs, a large red 5 point star with a gold outline. Around the dragon there were words, they were in a strange script that looked like nothing I had ever seen before.. As I looked at them more words appeared in my head as an apparent translation. Then I saw those words on the symbol. The words said; Hail to the Union that shalt stand the test of time. Bound by Honour, Duty, Blood and Love to forever protect and rule over Demon-kind.

It was quite strange, It made no sense and just as suddenly as it appeared, the symbol shot up into the ceiling and disappeared.  The crowd was murmuring. I began to speak. “Apologies about that, I am sure that was a simple celebratory spell someone cast as a joke. Now without further ado I, Crown Prince Asura Khan of the Narakam Empire announce the beginning of the Blood Ball!” The orchestra began playing music. People were still staring at me. I was a little weirded out so I said “Please all enjoy your evening.” Then I walked back. I faced the royals in the thrones and apologised. “I am sorry about all of that, the duel and the fire thing were not anticipated. I hope you all have a nice time.” They all still looked at me in what looked to be disbelief. I ignored it and walked off stage. I didn't want to interact with people so I just got a drink and left the room. I walked up to the balcony upstairs. I felt I had been there many times before, I felt a strong pull to go there. I didn't know why. As I looked out upon the empire, I saw the symbol from before in the night sky. I enjoyed the peace and quiet. The cold air met my face. The outskirts of Talastana where the palace was located were quiet. I looked upon the beautiful mountain landscape. I smiled to myself. I felt at home here. I was a stranger to the demon world but it felt as if I had returned to my true home. Something was missing though, it felt as though there was a large something that wasn't there. I couldn't place my finger on it, so I just looked out to the mountains and thought.

Tamashi Kunshu:

Asura was at the podium on top of the platform with the thrones. He had greeted my father and I when we arrived but he seemed to avoid talking to me. It was only fair, when I first saw him after I got out of the carriage I couldn't help but blush. His sharp eyes, his lovely smile, his pretty hair and the way he looked in uniform. Oftentimes he looks cute without realising it. It made my heart race. I met up with some of my friends at the ball. They were all also in the royal class. There was my best friend Princess Kedo Dratha of Karagatan, then there was also my other 2 friend  Princess Flora Bênção of Darkhan and Princess Tobera Lanuras of Pannai. Of course because Asura was speaking and they teased me about me liking him etc. I was listening to him speak and it was going well until someone yelled they would challenge him to duel. I moved to get a good view. I hoped he wouldn't get hurt, I saw that the challenger was Khina. In general Khina was hostile to most people in our class. He always said “You are beneath me, do not even try to come to my level”. He would only seem to hang out with the other Kanshai nobles.  I looked at Asura, he mainly appeared to be irritated more than anything else. The price of a duel was either Death or eternal debt/servitude to the victor. When the duel started Khina started strong with a heavy hit. They went back and forth and didn't actually manage to hit the other. Suddenly Khina threw something into Asura’s face and he turned away and yelled. I was on the same side as Khina so I couldn't see Asura’s face. I wanted to rush over and help him but the protective seal spell prevented me from entering. Khina made some awful remarks “Nobody said I had to fight fair like you, lets see you beat me now Khan. Ha-Ha!” such comments made Khina lose his honour in my opinion. Suddenly Asura moved. He turned back around and faced Khina. Everybody was taken aback. Asura had changed. His canines had become sharper and larger. His eye colour went from brown to a sharp red colour and the pupil went from a normal circle to thin vertical slit. Most noticeable and concerning His right eye was completely on fire, the flames were an angry orange. The fire covered up his eye so it was unclear weather it too had changed colour. They didn't hurt it as it appeared, and he didn't seem to notice it. Khina thrust his sword forward, but then in a blur of motion, Asura suddenly had his foot on Khina’s chest and his sword to Khina’s neck. Khina ceded the match and Asura won. He went and spoke again at the podium, but the entire crowd was uneasy. His right eye wasn't on fire anymore, it instead matched his left eye with the red iris and slit pupils. Suddenly the duelling circle was on fire, then it disappeared just as quickly, above us there was a symbol. It was a wolf with a crown surrounded by a long dragon holding a star. Around it were mysterious words, a translation appeared in my mind. Asura bagan talking again and trying to take control and get the opening over with. Kedo pulled me to a corner. “Oh my god, did you see that? That was so freaky. Look at Asura. His eye was on fire! I think that guy is scary more than anything else. I thought he looked kind of hot before, but now I think we should be careful of him before he kills us.” “Stop being so dramatic Kedo, I’m sure that was all for show.” “Uh-huh. Yeah so you think Asura got Khina to cooperate with him in a show in which Khina loses. As if. Don't make excuses just because you have a thing for Asura.” “I do not. How many times do I have to tell you to get in into your thick head?” “You so do. Don't act as if I haven't caught you looking at him from across the classroom, and of course you just staring at him during gym.” “Shut up Shut up Shut up”. “Hehe, yeah. Just be careful before you ask him out.” “I don't have a crush on him! God.” I walked off. It was apparently hard to hide the fact I did indeed like him. Although he and I were about a sentence away from dating anyways. I was a bit worried about him so I went to go find him. He had disappeared from the stage. I looked around the room for him. He was nowhere to be found. I was still worried, then I got a sudden gut feeling. I followed it around the palace until it led me up some stairs and then into an observatory chamber, there was a tall figure standing in the balcony.  At first I thought I was in the wrong room. Until I saw the tassel epaulette, and a head and red and black hair. I realized it was Asura. As I walked closer, I didn’t say anything. Out of nowhere Asura spun around, with his sword drawn. The tip of the curved blade was about an inch away from in between my eyes. The look of aggression on Asura’s face scared me. It was as if his eyes were staring directly into my soul. “Its just me Asura. Relax” His pupils dilated and became circular again. The expression on his face softened. He sheathed his weapon. He looked down, his voice was quiet and low “Sorry about that Tamashi, I am a bit on edge after what happened.” He turned around and walked to the balcony railing and looked out. He was a very affectionate person but only to those he knew. His nickname for me was bunny. I liked the nickname a lot and it made me warm inside. I didn't know what came over me and I suddenly walked up behind him and hugged him from the side. “Its alright. I forgive you Asura.” He was taller than me but I liked that. He looked at me. He buffered for a second, before smiling and hugging me back. My heart started beating faster. I was feeling cold on the balcony with the cold air of the Narakam capital hitting my skin and me not wearing layers. As I hugged Asura I could feel heat emanating off of his body. I shivered a bit, then I felt something large and soft surround me. I looked down and saw Asura wrapping his wings around me. I felt myself blush. I looked up at him again. He was looking out to the mountains. “The mountains are beautiful, I love looking out and seeing the forests and the snow on top of the mountains. Mountains always remind me of home, no matter where I was, mountains always give me a feeling of home. I never knew why it happened. In my mind, they are one of the most beautiful things in this world. “What do you think is the most beautiful?” without skipping a beat he immediately replied  “Tamashi, my little bunny” My face felt hot and I began blushing immensely. “Wait a second… You are Tamashi, oops. I'm sorry Tamashi, it was just an impulse, think nothing of it.” The way he called me made me 100% sure he liked me just as much as I liked him. The fact he stopped using the nickname was very indicative that he used it with great affection and stopped when the affection became embarrassing. I decided to take charge, it felt right when I was with him. I wanted to be his little bunny and his darling and I wanted him to be my darling and my kitten. He is too awkward to make the first move and i didnt think my heart could take any more. So I took initiative and moved first. “Asura” he looked at me “Hmm?” “Why don't we start going out?” he sounded confused “where do you want to go? I don't see a need for me to accompany you to go anywhere. If you want to use the Narakam coach I can write you a letter of approval.” He was intelligent but blithering oblivious with this stuff as it seemed. “No, I meant dates.” “Ooooh” He conjured a plate of date fruits. “Dates from the desert regions are the best. I hear the Narakam desert dates are some of the best but I have yet to try. I like chocolate covered dates. They are quite nice. Especially the ones from the gulf. My regiment Sergeant gave me a box of amazing chocolate dates and sweets as a gift for Eid once. I loved them.” He was grinning away as he was talking. It was adorable, but out of frustration I spoke “Gosh darn it, Asura you dummy. I have feelings for you. Do you want to go out on a romantic date, and you know become a couple.” His eyes widened. He went silent for a bit. I got worried. He finally spoke after about 5 minutes. “I-I-I- I don't know what to say apart from, yes that would be amazing.” He blushed then smiled. I smiled. I was filled with joy. “So, we are now officially together. That's nice. Asura, bend down, I have a gift for you.” He was confused but he complied, and bent down a bit so he was at my face level. I took his face in my hands and kissed him. He apparently took a second, then he kissed back. In that moment the world around us melted away. It was just he and I and that moment of time. We pulled away after a second. He spoke again, “So this is what love is, very interesting indeed. Now as I believe, we have somewhere to go Tamashi” He began walking off, I grabbed his hand, he looked back at me with a look of concern “Is something the matter?” “No, it's just that in general people who are together hold hands when going places.” “Oh. That's nice.” He cracked a smile, then we both began walking back to the ballroom.