Notes and Disclaimers: I own nothing from Vampire Princess Miyu, except for my own characters. Even then, no money is coming off of this. Unlike my other story, this is based off (after, actually) of the Vampire Miyu OAVs. Enjoy the story.
To Meet Again
Prologue
A Cracked Seal
Sitting in the middle of the main room of the old Japanese mansion, Miyu sat, alone, amongst a bed of thick, moth-eaten blankets. This was where she woke up at and had not moved since. The wind howled on the other side of the thin rice-paper walls, rattling them in their frames. The wind worked its way through the cracks in the walls, through the windowpanes, chilling the room to where without some means of a fire or something to heat the air, it would have been unbearable for most people. Still, Miyu ignored it with no effort. Her eyes stared at the floor before her, unseeing, unmoving, uncaring. She was really only consciously aware of one thing; she was now truly and utterly alone in the world.
It had happened so quickly that neither she nor Larva had a chance to react. She had no idea that her task would end so quickly. The way the Osa had put it when the seal was on her parents, it sounded as if it would take centuries to seal off every stray Shinma. Then…like lightning striking from a clear sky…it was done. They were all back in the darkness, every last one of them, as she had been sentenced to do.
Well…almost all of them. It was that factor that had kept her from celebrating.
There was one Shinma still left in the world of the humans, one that she had not thought of until it was too late. That Shinma was Larva, her eternally silent companion and friend. When she had learned of this, it felt as a fist of ice had struck her in the heart, knocking the wind from her making it hard to breath. But she did not want to admit it…she refused to admit it…and actually tried to forget about it until that night when the horrible shadow of the Osa once again crossed her bedroom wall. Unlike the first time he had visited her home, she knew exactly what he had come for. He had come to tell her what she already knew…that it was time to send Larva, her beloved Larva, back to the world of Darkness.
Of course, Miyu had put up an exhausting battle, using every excuse that she knew to convince Larva otherwise. It had been her duty to return all wandering Shinma to the Dark, and Larva was not a Wandering Shinma. Ever since he first set foot on the Earth Realm, on the beach that fateful night when she awoke as a vampire and took his blood, he had never once interfered with a human life (except maybe her own, but she would not admit that, either). However, the Osa stood more stubborn than she could ever be, and the ultimate decision was that he was a Shinma, and had to go back. For once in a long, long time, Miyu was rendered speechless. With tears in her eyes for the first time in years, she turned to look at Larva, begging him to tell her it wasn't true.
Larva only looked down at her, not moving, and even through the mask Miyu could sense his feelings; that he knew that it had been coming for quite some time and there was no way to get around it. With a small cry she entered his arms and held onto him with all the strength that she had, her tears falling against his cloak as he held her back. This was not supposed to be this way, she thought through her tears. They were supposed to be together for eternity…to never be separated…the Osa knew of her attachments to him, but did not care. It was then that she ultimately decided that life was cruel.
It was all too soon when Larva pulled away from her gently, looking down at her through the eyes of his mask. He gently brought up a hand to touch her face, tracing its features with his slender fingers. The action was like a stab at her heart. She had seen this type of action preformed between human couples, usually right before a separation, when they would trace the features of their lover's face, as if they were imprinting every aspect into their minds. Tears spilled from Miyu's eyes as she leaned into the warmth of his hand, savoring his touch. "Don't go." She whispered.
Once again Larva drew his hand away, gently making her look up into his mask. She wanted to say more, but no words came to mind. What was there left to say? Larva put a hand up to his mask, touching the lips with his fingers, then put it down to Miyu's face and touched the same fingers to her lips. A sob welded up in Miyu's throat but before she could do or say anything else Larva passed a hand over her eyes and everything went black.
When she awoke, she knew immediately that she was alone in the world. Larva was gone, returned to the Darkness with the Osa. Her task was now officially completed, but she did not feel like rejoicing. There was nothing left for her anymore. She began to desperately wish that she was with Larva with her mission uncompleted than having it done with nobody. And her parents…
Sudden anger boiled within. She had been lied to, deceived, by the Osa. He had promised her that when her task had been completed, the seal that held her parents would be released and they could go back to leading their normal lives before she awoke. It was a lie, a black lie. Her parents were dead, they had been for years. She could remember that if she pushed her ear to the seal they were trapped behind she could hear their heartbeats. But over the years the sound became fainter and further away, until it stopped completely. It was then that Miyu stopped caring about whether she ever completed her mission or not. What was the point? There was nothing there for her at the end. She should have stopped hunted down the stray Shinma. If she had, then she would still be with Larva now, just the two of them, as if had always been…
And now her own seal was still on her. It was supposed to be broken as well so she could finally shed this child's body and becoming a woman. And, as a woman, she would be able to live life again, to fall in love, to have children, a family of her own…to be with Larva, who was also to be released when her task was over. Neither seal had been taken off.
Lies. Deceptions. She had been nothing more than a puppet to dance on strings crafted of barbed wire. Osa was the one who made her dance for him, and she hated him for it.
Tears formed in her eyes again as the thought pierced her mind, her soul. Miyu ran to the nearest door and threw it open. Snow and freezing cold swept into the room, immediately chilling her flesh but she was more oblivious to it now than she had ever been before.
"Osa!" She yelled into the storm, but her words were lost in the howl of the wind. "You lied to me, Osa! You told me that I would be free! That my parents would be free! They're dead, Osa, you lied to me! Dammit, where are you?" Staggering, she took a step onto the porch, the snow stinging her bare feet. "Answer me! You lied! The seal's supposed to be gone, but my parents are dead!" She missed a step and fell off the porch, but she didn't stop there. She kept walking on, out into the field behind her house that bordered the forest.
The cold began to creep into her limbs rapidly, turning her fingers and toes blue, but she pressed on. So what if she died? She had nothing to live for…just a child stuck in a world of cruel hearts and souls for all eternity with no one to lean on, no one to hold her when she was lonely. She had danced to the destiny Osa set before her, and now that it was over, her life was over.
Miyu lost all feeling in her arms and legs, but she still pressed on, tears freezing to her face, crying out to the Osa. "Please, bring him back! Do you enjoy in watching me suffer? Please, let me see him again…please…" The freezing cold of the snowstorm finally made its way to her mind and, for the second time that night, darkness consumed her.
* * *
When she awoke again, Miyu was a little disappointed that she hadn't frozen to death. However, there was a slight change to her surroundings. She was back in the house that she and Larva had been staying in, but she was in a different room. It was warm in here, much warmer than it had been before, and when she pushed herself to her elbows to see that a fire was burning in the small pit just to her right. She was also laying on a soft futon, covered by several of the old, worn blankets. Her head had been resting on a pillow. Somehow, someone had found her and brought her in from the snow and had taken care of her. She rubbed at her eyes and looked around, but she was alone, and there was no trace that anyone was here with her. Whoever it was gone, and probably had been for a while. With a sigh she lied down again. For as much as she wanted to cold to take her, the warmth of everything around her did feel good. She reached her arms over her head in a stretch, her fingers brushed against something that were laying beside her.
Miyu pushed herself to her elbows and looked at what she had touched, and gasped when she saw Larva's mask laying by her pillow. She sat up rather abruptly, making her head spin, to pick up the mask and look at it intently. The mask that had covered his face and silenced him all these years was off. Finally off. A warm feeling washed over Miyu. So his seal had been released after all. It was something to be happy about. Her eyes watered again and she pressed the mask to her chest. At least he could be happy now and live a normal life…or whatever Shinma considered to be normal. Then she noticed the piece of paper that had been laying under the mask. She picked it up and skimmed over it. It had been written in a neat hand that, even though it was in Japanese, had an almost Western style too it. That meant only one person could have written it. Taking a deep breath, she read it more slowly.
My dearest Miyu,
There is so much I want to say to you, yet now I don't even know where to begin.
I suppose, to start with, it was I that brought you in from the storm. The Osa, as cruel and heartless as he may seem, allowed me back into your world one last time to perform the duty I lived for, to protect you from harm. It was after I returned to the Darkness that he released my seal, freeing me from the mask.
I want you to know, my love, that there was not a moment in my time with you that I even thought ill of you, not even when you took my blood. In fact, I cherish that very moment. I could not imagine my life without you, but now it seems that I must. I would given anything now to be with you, to see your face again, to finally be able to speak with you after so many years of silence, but it looks as if now it may be a while.
The Osa wanted me to inform you that he apologizes for the complications involving your seal, but it was in situations out of his control. However, he was able to remove a piece of it that will allow you to age in body some years before it closes again, but hopefully enough so you can lead the life you wanted.
I would give anything to be with you once again, my Miyu. I do not know where to begin to think of how much this pains you, but you must be strong in the face of it. I know you are strong, and you will survive. The winds of fate continue to blow on, and even though I am not there, I know that you can soar above it on your own wings. How I would love to see you fly.
Keep my mask close to your heart, Miyu, and remember that good-byes are not forever, nor will they ever will be. I promise that there will be the day when we will meet each other again, whether it be in this life or the next. My heart will not allow me to never see you again.
Someday, my love. It is a promise on my life.
My life, my love, my soul forever.
There was no signature, but there needn't be one.
Swallowing hard, Miyu read the note again, then clutched it to her heart to prevent her tears from smearing the ink. Then, through her tears, she smiled, and the feeling of sadness and sorrow in her breast was gone. Shakily, she rose up from her futon and walked over the window, the one that faced west.
"Someday." She whispered to the moon that had penetrated through the gray clouds. "Someday. I'll be waiting."