Mukami Fuyuki
Dull eyes.
What do they tell you?
"Maeki!"
The seemingly gloomy girl turned around to face a boy of her age, with the same hair and eye colour as her. He happily ran towards her, excited.
"I got a new name!"
"So, it's not Ruki anymore?" she asked curiously.
"No, but... a new surname!He said enthusiastically. "It's Ruki! Mukami Ruki!"
"Hey, I got a whole new name, y'know," a brown-haired boy steps up towards them, along with another two.
"Mukami Yuma…" the girl recited. "So, I assume it's the same for the rest of you."
"That's right! You too!" Kou exclaimed.
"Me…?" she mumbled.
"Your surname's Mukami now. We're family!" Kou continued.
"Hm, sounds nice," she giggled. "I assume we have our own roles as a family."
"Roles?" Yuma scratched his head.
"Boss will tell you soon," she answered.
"That reminds me…" Azusa said. "You're not vampires like us, right?"
"Ah, correct. I was made...something else," the girl replied, a shadow casted upon her face. "You'll find out during the full moon."
Opening her eyes to the moonlight, a teenage girl wakes up to a dream, one that reflected her past. The Mukami household was quiet today, too. The moon looked down upon her through the clear glass windows.
"Sinister." She mumbled while rubbing her eyes.
Her room was of a modest size, with wooden flooring and furniture, giving it a very homely feel. It was kept neat and simple, not with many things laying around. The single sized bed had a wooden frame with white covers, at the far corner of the room. Opposite it was her study table with neatly stacked music sheets beside a laptop. A guitar was sitting by the table, along with an amplifier and recording equipment.
It got dark quickly today. It was raining, after all. Looking at her clock, she got up and changed into her school uniform. She was clearly late for definitely screamed at her face to wake up but she probably didn't budge at all. Not that she heard him, though. The girl, known as Fuyuki, dragged her feet out of her apartment esque room. Outside her door revealed the long gloomy hallways of the mansion, with a rather modern design compared to her warm, comfy room. She headed down the sadly long stairs, taking her own time walking to the dining table. The male who looked like her, Ruki, frowned at her absolutely late arrival.
"Fuyuki! You're late! I even shouted in your ear and shook you hard but you didn't react at all!" He reprimanded.
Though he did just scold her, he and the rest of his brothers grew a bit concerned.
"It's almost the full moon. I hope it'll be better this time…" Kou's eyed the sleepy girl with concern. "Maeki, maybe you should ask 'him' to halt your jobs for the time being."
The rest except her agree.
"Not this time." She said, a faint smile on her face.
Her brothers become bothered by her response but leaves her to her eat their breakfast- though it should be dinner for the normal people out there.
"Full moon, eh," Fuyuki mumbled. "Yuma, I'm a bit more concerned about you…"
"Eh? I'm fine! Much more fine than you are, at least!" Yuma exclaimed while stuffing a tart into his mouth.
"Yuma, you'll choke if you do that." Ruki reminded Yuma of his behaviour.
"Righhhtttt." Yuma replies along with sticking out his tongue.
"But last time you kind of went crazy…" Azusa recalls. "You just went berserk."
"Ugh, I'll be fine." Yuma scoffs.
"Not so sure about that," Maeki commented, a little amused at his annoyance.
"Says you!" He proceeded to pull her cheeks.
"Warghh…!"
"Ahem." Ruki clears his throat, getting his siblings attention. "Anyway, 'that person' has told us about his plan."
"I don't really get it though…" Kou scratched his head in confusion.
"Fuyuki, you're not involved in it, so please concentrate on taking care of yourself," Ruki advised as he look at the bored girl's way. Her half-closed eyes widen a little.
"Eh? Boss said my jobs from now on are related to plan though," she said to the extremely surprised Ruki.
"What is he thinking…" Ruki mutters.
After their breakfast, the Mukami siblings head towards school.
In school, Fuyuki, goes by her original name- Maeno Fuyuki instead of the surname Mukami, to avoid suspicion and curiosity from outsiders. They bump into Reiji, who greets them. The men start talking, leaving the lone girl to do her own activities. With a guitar on her back, she headed for the music room where supposedly no one should be at now. Not her band members, at least. She opened the door and closed it behind her, only to find a sleeping figure on the piano.
"Shuu." She called out to the resting Sakamaki, who peeks through an open eye at the familiar monotonous voice.
"Oh, it's just you…" he mumbled, rubbing his tired eyes. "You're early for practice today."
"My brothers had something to do this morning and I wanted to practice by myself a little earlier, so I came with them." She answered truthfully, but not revealing their names.
"I see. Then, can you play something for me?" The classic music lover asks.
"I thought you weren't really fond of rock music."
"Just today,"he says. "I'm bored."
The young guitarist obliges, picking her guitar after removing it's case, connecting it to the amplifier.
Can you remember,
That moment where everything faded in flames
Clouding those eyes forever?
Can you remember,
The time when we would laugh
Genuinely together?
...
"Nanimo oboete nai yo,
Kimi ni gomenasai ne"
Sono kotoba kiteta toki,
Kokoro ga gucha gucha ni na te ta
...
Iitai yo, tsurai yo.
Doshite kimi ga ikiteru no?
Sono hono oboeru no?
Boku tachi no zenbu,
Koroshita
...
Kawaritai, kawashitai
Sono zankoku no kako
"Kawaranai, sono monogatari"
Sore wa genjitsu, sono mama de iku
Mitomete yo, uketome yo
Kore wa bokura no
Archive of Life
"How was it? I made that song." Maeki swayed her pick back and forth.
"...great." Shuu's clearly astounded face was facing the still expressionless face of the guitarist.
The door then opened up with a loud bang.
"Maeno-san, it was fantastic!" A green-headed male student exclaimed.
With a proud, gleaming smile on his face, the junior marched towards the side of the room, taking his bass guitar out for practice.
"The others are at the hallway. The concert is soon after all, can't help but be excited!" He jumped up and down, obviously unable to wait for the day to come.
"Takano-kun, calm down," With a bored tone, Fuyuki settled him down.
"We're here, let's start practice," a brown headed girl informed them of her and another student's arrival.
Shuu sneaked away during their conversation, seeing that he had finished his business in the music room.
At another place, involving only one side of another family. Komori Yui, an unfortunate girl, was being double-teamed by two of her housemates at the currently deserted stairway.
"Mfu. Bitch-chan as flustered and cute as always~" Raito hummed, licking her ear.
Yui trembled at the feeling, her eyes watering up in fear. She wanted to run and escape to somewhere far away from the Sakamaki mansion. Mistreated and disrespected. There were no ends to their torture and harassing. But she wasn't powerful enough to do anything much. All she could manage was to tolerate them and survive, to look at the positive things in life- a teaching of her religion she keeps. Once human and now reduced to a vampire. Yui held herself to stop shaking and to keep her composure- it didn't work out well for her though. Ayato glared at his brother, a glint of anger in his eyes.
"She's mine. Go away." He demanded.
Raito giggled at Ayato's possessiveness, understanding Yui's place in him.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just wanted to have my fun~" He took a step back and suddenly moved forward, planting a kiss on Yui's cheek.
"Bye bye, Bitch-chan~"
Yui's face turned totally red as she rubbed her right cheek where Raito had kissed her. She looked up to unfortunately see an enraged looking Ayato, who immediately pinned her to the wall.
"How dare you pay more attention to him, Chichinashi!" He growled.
He opened his mouth to reveal his sharp, vampiric fangs and set it on her neck.
"You'll learn that ore-sama is the superior one."
Yui, sick of the ways that her current boyfriend had been treating her, unleashed her rage. She violently pushed him away, causing his fangs to graze a part of her skin. Her previously frightful eyes turn into ones that are full of fury.
"Why can't you show at least a little concern for me?!" She yelled at the surprised vampire, who was still frozen from shock. "I'm sick of it! Where's my freedom? Where's my rights? Don't just treat me like an object! Just...just… leave me alone already!"
The blonde girl took her chance to run and escape from him, though in tears. Ayato watched her disappear from the hallway, leaving him thudding on the floor, alone. He sat down, looking at his feet. His mind was boggling with questions.
"Just how do I treat her right, then?" He asked to no one in particular.
It's still rather early in the evening, just slightly past six, when classes haven't started and club members gather for their practices and events. It's a rather peaceful one at that, which fits Maeki's mood during her music practice. Her band consists of herself the guitarist, Minami Takano the bassist, Inui Momoka the drummer and Rito Kouji the second guitarist. They all can do vocals, each of them having their own showtime in the concert.
"Break time, five minutes," Kouji requested.
The rest agree, placing down their instruments and plopped themselves on the cooling couch.
"Ahh, summer is so hot..." Takano grumbled as he wiped away his sweat.
"You don't say," Momoka gulped an entire bottle of water instantly, proving her point.
"Hey, why don't I feel the fan blowing?" Kouji asked as he brings out a pack of ice from the fridge.
Looking behind, he saw a dark figure, whose hair blew along with the wind. He frowned at the sight of Fuyuki hogging the fan to herself.
"Fuyuki! Don't sit in front of the fan!" He exclaimed.
"Iiiiitsss soooo hoooottt," her voice was choppy from being cut off by the fan.
"Just get out of there!" He yelled in annoyance. "We're all burning too!"
"Fine, fine. Geez, you sound like my eldest brother." Fuyuki complained as she rolled away from her previous spot, as lazy sounding as always.
Just then, a familiar figure barged into the room.
"Komori-senpai?" Momoka's eyes brightened at the sight of the ever popular senior.
"Yui, you don't look good. Have seat." Fuyuki eyed her classmate's face. "I'll make some tea for you."
"Fuyuki, you're unexpectedly sharp." Kouji comments, a little hopeful of his lazy team mate.
"Maeno-san, why not leave the tea to Kouji?" Takano stared at Fuyuki with distrust. "I fear she will mess up, that super laid back woman."
"Surprising fun fact for you: She's great at making tea!" Momoka shifted to make space for Yui.
"EH!? Super surprising!" Takano gasped like a fish. "Maeno-san has something other than musical talent!"
"Are you mocking me?" Maeki gave him a sharp stare, although she didn't sound offended at all.
Yui started laughing at their conversation, making her heart feel a little lighter. She kindly accepted Maeki's tea, a classic Earl Grey. It makes her feel more relaxed, along with the sight she sees outside the window. The sunset can clearly be seen, painting the school's garden in shades of orange. It's summer and is pretty hot but the evening wind is still cooling. It gushes through the open window, blowing in the leaves from outside. A white petal lands on Yui's lap and she smiles. She knew it was for the best that she came here for comfort. Though for a moment, Yui doubted the contents of the tea that was given to her. Reiji drugged her quite a few times, after all.
"Feeling better, senpai?" Momoka held Yui's soft warm hands with concern.
"We'll hear what you have to say. You don't have to if you want," Kouji kindly set a plate of tea cookies in front of her. "Fuyuki made it yesterday, so it's taste-approved."
"She makes cookies too!?" Takano jumped up from his seat.
"Another fun fact: Fuyuki and her eldest brother take turns each week to cook. Or so I've heard from her." Momoka took a cookie and pops it in her mouth. "Yum!"
"Sure is good, isn't it," Yui took a bite of it. "It's just a personal problem with me and a particular someone else."
"Geh geh. Your boyfriend?" Momoka nudged Yui playfully. "Got one eh, wew!"
"Inui-san, it's embarrassing if you say it that way…" Yui blushed.
"It's just that… he's got a temper, you see. He's also rather possessive… I just want to get him to understand that I'd want my own private space too."
"Hmm...why don't you ignore him? Make it less obvious so that he gets that you want to leave him alone for while." Kouji suggested.
"Ah, I'll try that then...I may get in trouble, though." Yui finished her tea and got up from the couch. "Thank you for your hospitality and advice. See you later!"
Yui left and headed for the classroom to get a headstart on the classes later. Fuyuki wass clearly aware the next person who would come to her for a similar advice.
"Let's finish this one song before we leave."
Band practice was over for the evening. Fuyuki headed to class and settled down on her seat, dropping her head on the table. She was about to fall asleep when a certain someone kicked her seat.
"Ack, what?" She turned her head to see Ayato, who seats beside her.
As she expected, he doesn't seem pretty upbeat today. Instead of the usual playfulness, his eyes are serious.
"Say...how do I er...treat a girl properly?" He asked, looking at the disinterested girl.
"Girlfriend problem? You're too possessive." Maeki pointed out rather harshly of his traits. "Give the lady some space man."
"She'll get touched by some other men!" He exclaimed, agitated.
"You don't trust her enough that she'll push them away?" Maeki processed the insecurities of both sides and noded her head.
"No...it's just that she's just too weak to push them away, so I must monitor her!" He answered.
Maeki threw her head on her desk again.
"You monitor too much, idiot." She grumbled at her classmate's lack of logic.
"Then, what do I do?" He continued, still not understanding Maeki's advice.
"You did something, didn't you?" Maeki menacingly pointed a finger at Ayato. "That means she'll avoid you for a while."
"Seriously?!"
"Yeah. You should just comply with that avoidance for awhile."
"Then?"
"Aha, just kiss her after that to make it clear that you understand. Just don't hurt her as much as you do." She gave the self-centered vampire a sharp gaze. "Watch your violence, sir."
Although in this situation Ayato would've probably dragged the presumably human girl away and drained her of blood, he doesn't do anything but ponders over her words. Ayato squinted his eyes and observed Maeki. She releases a dangerous aura- one of the reasons why he doesn't do anything to her. He doesn't know why, though. His stoic seatmate remains mysterious as always. She smells human but something isn't right, leaving him to shake these thoughts away. The teacher enters the classroom and start homeroom. Maeki shuts her eyes and lulls herself asleep until lessons begin.
"...uki…"
"Fuyuki-chan."
The young girl swirls around to face her smiling father.
"Yes?" She asks innocently.
"Your birthday is soon, right?" He lightly pats her head.
"Is that a hint that you'll give me a present?" Young Fuyuki immediately skips to the fun part.
"Ahaha! Smart as usual. You're correct. So, what do you want?"
"Hmm...a watch pendant!"
"Oh, you like those? C'mon, let's go buy one, you choose."
"After that let's take a picture with mom and slot it inside!"
"Right, right."
*Whack*
"Ouch." Maeki's dream is abruptly interrupted by Kouji, who had just hit her head with a rolled up assignment in his hand.
"I can't believe the teachers let you sleep through this whole time! It's break time right now!" Kouji angrily exclaims at their mentors' lenient ways on her. "Your studies aren't that good for you to fall asleep!"
"Huh…? I'm pretty sure I do fine in studies."
"What was your rank the last time we got exams, then?"
"I forgot."
"It was fine, Rito-kun. She's managing very well, if you ask me. " Yui walks up to them with her trademark gentle smile.
Mesmerized students look at her as if enchanted by a spell, while some start gossiping about when or whether she would get into a relationship. Yui, more widely known as Komori-senpai (despite being her senior or peer) or Onee-san, was popular for her gentle demeanour, her equal respect for people and showing compassion.
"Eh, if Komori-san says so…"
He then notices the watch pendant hanging from Maeki's neck.
"...Let me see what's inside." He commands, suspicious of her and at the same time curious, for she never mentions anything about herself other than what Momoka had mentioned in her "fun facts" earlier. Maeki obliges, revealing an old picture with her original family in it- her father, mother and herself.
"Nothing fun in here." She tells him as she takes out her lunch box. "What are you waiting for? Grab a table."
Maeki blindly eats her food while pondering over the memory.
I sure was blind to the truth, huh.
Authors Notes: Sorry for the terrible first chapter, I suck at beginning stories.
Original Characters- Maeno Fuyuki
Rito Kouji
Inui Momoka
Minami Takano
Exciting things don't start from the get-go, do they?