A Two-Sided Coin – Chapter 1

Juuri

The soft sounds of heels against the polished wooden floor reverberated throughout the hallway, click clack. Juuri screwed up her face each time her shoes made the incessant noise before intelligently deciding she could face her mother's wrath and slipped off her bright red heels. She would much rather wear something more comfortable but her mother would have none of it for the cocktail party. Since Juuri was already going to be seriously reprimanded for leaving without permission, she reached up with one pale arm to undo the ribbon holding her hair in a tight bun. The matching red ribbon fell to the floor as her russet hair came down through a river of silky ringlets to rest on her straight, pale back. Juuri couldn't help but chuckle lightheartedly when she thought of the grueling hours her mother had put into styling her locks that morning.

A jungle, she had called it, not wavy but not completely curly either, but all in all, a complete chaos to fashion.

During her musings, Juuri took a strand, twirled the piece around her finger as she walked aimlessly down the hallway of her bedroom trying to find the solace she could not around strangers. Even after the many lectures and classes her mother had made her attend, she still didn't understand the significance in putting on a good front while talking to people she had never met. Her delicate fingers trailed over the walls, running over paintings of vampires centuries before her generation, dust flying in the air from decades of poor housekeeping. Each painting hung on the wall stared down with their formidable gazes as she grazed the texture with her ashen fingertips. Each person depicted in the artworks peculiarly bore a resemblance to her, all of them having inherited the basic Kuran traits: dark auburn hair, milky brown eyes with long sweeping eyelashes, and fair pallor skin. In the decades she had been alive, Juuri had never met a single person hung in this hallway, they were already long forgotten, a name that had merely been blown away by the sands of time. However, the position these vampires held was something not so easily effaced and one day Juuri would have to assimilate such a position. With that piece of information in mind, she found certain solitude within the paintings knowing that they too had once shared the apprehension she was now feeling. They had too felt the intense burden of the world upon their broad shoulders and hundreds of thousand of lives that could be obliterated at their will. It gave a chilling feeling, a mental struggle between power beyond the wildest imaginations and the fear of being tainted by hunger. Sometimes Juuri had often wondered where she would be if she had not been born as a Kuran. But she had been and there was no way to change it.

It was the fate of all Kurans, she would just have to learn to accept it: The leader of the entire vampire race.

The faint sounds of footsteps made Juuri stop cold. If it was her mother, she would most definitely be dragged back into that pit of hell, and Juuri was not going back to talk to a man twice her age about topics she could care less about. In an act to save her own behind, Juuri swiftly picked up her red heels and scurried to turn into another hallway with a nearly unworldly speed natural to vampires. The lighting made her shadow cast behind her, and for that she was grateful. One less thing to give herself away.

Since breathing was optional to those of her kind anyway, Juuri immediately held her breath, not wanting something as simple as air passing to her lungs to be the reason that she would be forced to awkwardly smile again.

Juuri heard her pursuer's footsteps amble closer. A rough click clack reached her ears, but it sounded nothing like her mother's heels. Strangely enough, Juuri identified the sound to be…men's shoes. There was a small break in the continuity of steps before it picked up again, walking ever closer to her hiding place. When her pursuer was but a foot away from turning into the corridor, she (or perhaps he) turned and left, the footsteps growing fainter until that too faded into oblivion. The air she had been holding in her chest cavity came out in one large exhale. Juuri was about to do a small victory dance when her body went rigid, all senses on high alert. Somebody was behind her. Even with her immediate realization, she didn't have time to turn around before an icy breath blew across her bare neck.

Juuri let out an involuntary shudder when a smooth voice whispered in her ear, "Not a big advocate of parties are you baby sis?" It was if each word had been licked by the rays of the golden sun, making Juuri blush involuntarily. She shook off the reaction, refusing to give in to the tempting bait dangling in front of her.

Instead of answering, Juuri replied icily, "You have three seconds to back off before I kick you in the shin."

Her trailer made no attempt to move out of the path of her wrath. "Cranky today baby sis?"

Baby sis. At that, the calm, rational part of Juuri's conscience snapped. She spun around, creating a flurry of red from her matching dress to face her older brother, Haruka. Mother had always commented how the two of them looked like a mirror image of the other. Gazing now at Haruka's identical murky brown eyes, Juuri could only grudgingly admit it to be true. Besides the blatant gender difference, the only visible discrepancy was her long wavy-curly hair and his short stick-straight hair. Visible being the key word. Juuri could think of infinite disparities just beneath the surface of his perfectly sculpted face. In short, Haruka was an arrogant, self-indulgent, pighead of a brother, which was why Juuri needed to kick him. Hard.

She swung her bare foot in the air, hoping to connect it to something that would hurt real badly. In mid-swing however, two strong pale hands clasped onto her ankle, hindering it from reaching its pinpointed destination.

A cocky grin spread across his face, which only made Juuri more irate. "Now, now sis, violence is never the answer," came the silky voice.

Juuri ground her teeth, trying to wring her foot out her brother's grasp. No such luck. "Let go of my foot Haruka."

"I really wish you'd call me onii-san, like other little sisters do to their big brothers," Haruka said exasperated, "It really makes me depressed baby sis." His lips curved downward, lower lip pulled forward into a puppy dog face.

Juuri managed to stick her finger in her mouth while standing only on one leg, obviously repulsed. "You don't deserve the respect. Pigbutt."

Again she jerked her foot, this time the force being strong enough to pry it out of his grip. Unfortunately, it resulted in Juuri losing the balance she had carefully maintained and sent her toppling to the cold marble floor.

She heard a soft chuckle above her as a milky-white hand appeared in front of her face. "Always the clumsy one aren't you baby sis?" Haruka said, leaning down so they were eye to eye. At close examination, Haruka truly had a certain ethereal beauty. They both did, even to the vampire world where exquisiteness was as effortless as breathing. She knew for a fact that Haruka was courted nonstop to the point where it seemed as if he had a new piece of arm candy every week. Juuri couldn't say she was any different. It was truly an oversimplification to say that she was never without a dance partner at parties.

"You're staring," Haruka stated.

Juuri turned away, blushing, a faint tinge of pink adorning her otherwise white cheeks. "Says who? I was only contemplating on how you found me."

Again, he chuckled and reached into his pocket and produced a monochromatic red ribbon, the same one that Juuri had dropped when she had let her hair down earlier. Haruka dangled the strip in front of her, silently mocking. She glared at Haruka but reluctantly knew how dense it was of her to be so inattentive to her surroundings. She swatted his hand away, making an effort to stand up without Haruka's help but halted abruptly when he leaned in next to her ear.

"And besides, baby sis, we're vampires. I could sense you as soon as I turned the corner," Haruka whispered into her ear, his voice holding an unmistakable smile as he talked. "Like I said, always the clumsy one."

If she could have, Juuri would have blushed a deeper red, something closer to crimson than her rose-colored cheeks that were partly (or mostly) due to the amount of blush her mother had put on her before the party.

Juuri had only one word for him. It described everything. "Pigbutt." She raised he hand, intending to slap him hard across the face but a whiny, high-pitched voice stopped her.

"Oh Haruka, I know you're there babe…"

Almost immediately, Haruka straightened himself, pulling Juuri up along with him, too much of her own protesting. He patted himself down and took a step away from Juuri, anguish visibly displayed on his flawless features. He pulled his own annoyance off his expression, and rounded the corner, his lips pulled upwards into an award-winning smile. Juuri followed dutifully behind, not wanting Haruka to divulge any fallacious information. Because he would do just that.

"Haruka!" The girl pulled Haruka into a feeble embrace, her thin arms wrapping possessively around his neck. Looking up, the girl glared at Juuri, throwing poisonous daggers in her direction but not daring to speak out of place to a Kuran.

There was a certain smug satisfaction in knowing that being a Kuran had some useful benefits.

"Why are you here…?" Haruka said, pulling away gently. Juuri choked on her own saliva, bemused at the fact that Haruka didn't even respect the girl enough to remember her name.

The girl scrunched up her face and pouted, the shiny lip-gloss making her lips far too full. "I was looking for you babe, you left me all alone and I didn't have a dance partner."

Juuri snorted quietly. Didn't have a dance partner? More like couldn't find one. She didn't understand what Haruka saw in girls like this. Each one was always the same, wearing extensive makeup when vampires were naturally graced with flawless skin and dresses that hung dangerously low. When she thought about it, the only way Juuri ever noticed a difference was their hair and eye color. This one had straight platinum blonde hair with blue-gray eyes.

Haruka reached up with one hand and stroked the girl's cheek, tentatively and what appeared lovingly. Juuri knew what was coming up next; she had seen it herself over a dozen times. He would first fabricate an excuse with a tacky pickup line incorporated into it.

"I'm sorry, I was going back to my room to pick up something." Haruka started, "But then I got lost in your eyes." Bingo.

Then he would present the girl with a usually expensive gift.

"Here, my sincerest apologies." He reached into his suit pocket and handed the girl a handkerchief. On the left hand corner, monogrammed in small letters, were Haruka's initials. Juuri unmistakably knew that the handkerchief was worth a hefty sum and no doubt the girl understood that too. Bingo.

Finally, the girl would squeal and melt in Haruka's arms, anger long forgotten.

Right on cue, the girl squeaked, a sound so high-pitched it should have broken windows. Haruka held her in his arms. And yet another's taken the bait.

"I feel like the luckiest girl ever Haruka, thank you so much," she breathed into his chest.

Juuri scoffed, if only the girl knew how many before her had said the same thing.

.

The chilling autumn wind wrapped its shaky arms around Juuri's petite form, pushing her another step outside. She wrapped her arms around her body, wishing she had worn something more season appropriate than the tiered bright red satin sleeveless dress her mother insisted on, but continued to walk out onto the balcony. Braving the weather was better than returning to the dance floor, she decided. Naturally, Haruka blackmailed her into returning to the party so Juuri had no choice but to oblige. But it wasn't as if she was totally going to get off the hook either. Juuri swore that her mother had shot her plenty dirty looks since she came back. An incredibly long bathroom break, Juuri determined, was the best way to escape her mother's wrath. Even her mother wouldn't be so cruel as to lecture her on not having a bladder made of steel. Juuri chuckled at this, her laughter carried away with the ever-strengthening wind.

Without warning, an expensive black blazer was thrown over Juuri slim shoulders. She recognized the jacket immediately, identifying the Kuran family insignia visibly sewn on the breast pocket.

"Mother would scold you if you got a cold Juuri," a soothing masculine voice said beside her. Each word came drifting out with a small puff of cold air, tinting the phrase with a husky undertone.

The edges of Juuri's lips twitched into a small smile. "Vampires don't get colds Rido-niisan," she replied matter-of-factly.

"You mean it is highly improbable, but it's still possible."

"But even if I got a cold, Mother wouldn't notice. Looking imperfect isn't our thing."

Rido raised his hands in defeat. "All right, all right, you win Juuri."

Juuri looked up at her older brother, Rido, and beamed at him. Even after being with him for all of her life, Juuri still couldn't help but be amazed every time she saw him. His shoulder length curly hair was currently pulled back into a low ponytail, exposing his strong flawless jaw line and high cheekbones. Long sweeping bangs partially covered his complete heterochromia, which was by far his most unique trait. Whilst most, if not all, Kurans had brown eyes, Rido possessed eyes of different color, one crimson and the other sapphire. It was rather intriguing; obtaining something that was so rare in the Kuran bloodline that it hadn't been seen for over 10,000 years. Juuri, like many others of her kind, couldn't help but stare in amazement and wonder.

"Juuri, Juuri. If you're going to stare at my heterochromia, could you not make it so blatantly obvious?" Rido stated, a smile hidden in his voice as he ruffled her hair.

There was something about the way he worded his jokes that didn't make Juuri want to punch Rido in the gut. Maybe it was the gentle glint in his eyes that girls fell head-over-heels for. Perhaps it could have also been how Rido's jokes never crossed the line of playfulness into downright humiliation. Or it could have just been the way that Rido just always seemed to care for her well being, no matter the case. Juuri had always wondered how her brothers, two people who shared with same blood, could be so different. They were literally two sides of the same coin, polar opposites.

Juuri half-smiled. "I'll try not to Rido-niisan."

"Always the sarcastic one aren't you Juuri?" Rido stepped forward, furthering his exploitation to the increasing turbulence. He appeared to disregard the bitter cold completely, even when he wore nothing but a dress shirt. Juuri tugged the blazer tighter around her shoulders and proceeded after him.

"I try," she replied, keeping her light-hearted tone even when she sensed that the conversation was taking on a more serious note. Vaguely, Juuri was aware of the song transition on the dance floor behind them. The calm, almost eerie waltzing music floated onto the balcony.

Distracted by the uncanny music, Juuri nearly tripped over her heels when Rido suddenly whipped around and crushed her into a tight embrace. Juuri stood, frozen, not daring to breathe. She could distinctly smell the blood flowing beneath his ashen skin and the pungent scent was driving her senses insane. He rested his chin on the top of her hair, breathing deeply. Undoubtedly, the scent of her blood was pushing his limits as well. Fortunately, they both had many years to control their thirst, so the simple embrace was nothing to lose restrain over.

Finally, Rido was the one who broke the silence. "If it were anybody else, I would have refused."

His voice was barely above a whisper, but Juuri heard every word as if he were shouting it. Instantly, she knew what Rido was referring to and it made her stiffen visibly. Marriage. Being one of the few pureblood families left, Kurans almost always intermarried. Having none of the complications of the human race, brothers and sisters could marry freely. Whatever it took to keep a line pure. Since birth, Juuri had always been taught that she would someday have to marry one of her brothers. At the time, she thought the idea was absolutely absurd, but now, she understood the significance of keeping the pureblood line. Nevertheless, it was still a touchy topic to mention.

Noticing her inability to speak, Rido broke the embrace, just as the music was changing yet again. It was now upbeat and perky.

"I promised a young lady that I would dance with her, please excuse me Juuri," he said, a sad smile playing his lips as he turned to leave. Soon, he was gone, blended in with the crowd of vampires doing the foxtrot.

Juuri let out a breath she realized she had been holding as relief flowed through her system. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed two brown orbs staring at her. In a blink, those eyes disappeared, but Juuri unmistakably knew who had been spying on her. Haruka had watched the entire scene and Juuri wasn't sure, but there had been a look in his eyes. A look of jealousy.

Hello, hello! Back from the grave :) Summer has officially started, yay! For you guys, that means that I'll have more time to write, so expect sooner updates (I hope...)

This is my new story, something I've been thinking about doing for quite awhile. I promise this time that there will be no OC's :) Everything will be VK characters :) I hope you guys don't kill me for making Rido nice but I thought that he couldn't have been born evil, so he must have been a good guy at one part of his life. Well, enough small talk, I sincerely hope you guys enjoy Eternal and keep on reading! :)

Review please! Feedback is always welcome!