Note :
- Single full stop is used as a replacement for line breaks because ff net is a butt sometimes and the line won't show.
- Beta-less, and I can't grammar well. Q_Q)
Title : Vampirism Tends To Keep One Remarkably Fresh
Chapter 1 : Memories Of The Past
A boy with gravity-defying brown hair stood paralyzed under the powerful hypnotism of the hooded stranger.
One moment, the boy was on his way to visit his brother. The next, he was spellbound by a creature he wasn't even sure was human. With wings of skin and bone, and a face hollowed like a skeleton, the stranger looked a bit too deformed to be called human, maybe not even alive.
Those glowing orange eyes had a bad hunger in them. The way it glistered in controlled bloodlust reminded him of demons adults made up to scare badly behaved children.
But this was different.
This was real.
The fear was real.
"I travelled across and beyond Aetherius in search of a guardian to a weapon which may bring life or destruction to my world. You are deemed worthy as a protector."
No matter how hard the boy struggled, his body refused to listen to him. He was at the complete mercy of the stranger.
"Even without a sun for one day, life of this world goes on without the risk of bloodshed. This 'weapon' is safe here."
The boy snarled, refusing to submit to whatever bullshit the stranger tried to force upon him. Fear slowly seeped into his heart, but he will not yield.
"If it is so dangerous for your world, why not destroy it?"
"Our world may one day need it back to stop another apocalypse. Until then, you will guard Auriel's bow."
"The weapon is not of my world. Why should I concern myself to such matters? Why me…?"
"We will not set this fate upon you if you are unwilling. But…"
But… what…?
Is there really no other candidate to deal with this nonsense?
"… … Will your world really be destroyed if your weapon falls into the wrong hands…?"
"Unfortunately so, young one."
"If I accept, who else will be dragged into this… affair?"
"No one else but you. By your sacrifice, you will save a foreign world of destruction."
"… I see no reason to agree when your affair does not affect my world."
"…"
"But… I only need to hold on to this weapon of yours, yes? My world will not get affected by this mess, and I don't have to fight anyone from your side?"
"Fear not. You will not require to fight, and none from our world will be able to touch you."
"… Is there any other thing I should be aware of?"
"In order to be the keeper of the bow for quite possibly an infinity to come, we will grant you-"
"Wait. Infinity? I will be bound to it forever?"
"Either that, or you decide to pass it on to a willing guardian as long as the bow is not destroyed."
The boy didn't like what he was hearing. By accepting an almost one-sided request, he might be biting off more than he could chew, even if he had nothing to lose…
… right…?
"For you to be a lasting guardian, we will make you a vampire. You will be granted access to powers your world can never offer. To utilize such gifts, small pieces of memories will be given to you. Rush not. You have an entire eternity to adapt and learn."
… Well shit.
"What if I no longer want to be immortal?"
"If sustained with enough wounds, you will die like any other. You are free to release yourself from immortality as long as the bow remains hidden and protected."
No doubt, life will never be the same again, at least not for the boy.
No. Say no. This has nothing to do with you.
Then why the hell did it felt so right for his heart to offer a 'yes'?
"How you live your life from now on depends entirely on yourself. Create or destroy is up to you."
"Then I accept."
The stranger smiled in relief. He unwrapped the bow from thin linen and handed it over to the boy. He then placed a clawed hand on the boy's forehead, bestowing a rush of dark power to the smaller male, tainting the sky inside with blood red eclipse.
"By my arrival in this world, and upon your consent, a ritual binds. You will rise as the first son of Coldharbour."
.
When the boy woke up, the first thing he noticed was the lack of heat from his own body.
He wasn't sure where he was. Meadows of flowers surrounded him like they were made for him, no one else.
Then he noticed another thing which made his stomach twist in impossible dread.
He wasn't breathing.
"W-What…?"
The boy checked for a pulse, breath, anything-
Nothing.
"No. No no no no no no no no."
He didn't think becoming a vampire literally meant being dead.
Dead.
He was dead.
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
He could no longer return to his previous life.
Dead.
Dead.
"Okay… Calm down… At least I'm awake, and I can still live. I'm alive. I'm alive."
The boy stood up and dusted his clothes with the back of his hand. The bow laid innocently near his feet. True to his promise, the boy picked the weapon up and held it protectively to his chest.
Now all he had to do was to explain how he died and revived to his brother.
.
"Giotto- I can explain!"
"No, fratellino! Oh god. How can you let this happen to you?!"
"I-It's fine! One life is a small price to pay to save countless!"
"But this is YOU! It's YOU! Why YOU?!" Giotto fell down to his knees, hugging the brunet with all his might as he sobbed into the boy's shoulder. "I'm sorry, mio fratellino. I'm sorry I wasn't there when it happened… I'm-"
"Gio. I'm still me. I'm okay."
"I… I know you will be…"
"But I fear that me being a vampire will put you and the rest in danger."
"No… Fratellino, please. Don't even think about leaving!"
The brunet laughed. Giotto really knew him too well.
"You know I love you, Giotto. You're the best brother I can ask for."
"Then stay."
"I will. Just not where anyone can see me."
"What-"
Giotto's eyes lost their light as he fell limp into the smaller brunet's arms. Using his newly received gift and knowledge, the brunet seek deep into Giotto's mind and destroyed every memory of his precious fratellino.
"Forgive me, Giotto. And forget."
For the next few days, the vampire made it his mission to remove every trace of his own existence from the world, including the tiniest memory of him.
.
"Monster!"
"Demon! It's a demon!"
"Kill the witch!"
"Burn it! Burn IT!"
Forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me.
.
Alone in the woods, the boy rested under the shade of an old tree.
Sunlight made his blood boil. When dawn came, fatigue took over.
The hunger for blood made him isolate himself from humans. He could still eat regular food, but it never satisfy the bloodlust within.
"Hello."
The woman's voice immediately woke the boy up. The vampire automatically entering defense mode. He tried to hide his fangs by lowering his face, hoping that the shadow was enough to cloak his unusual traits.
Unfortunately, his darkened sclera and glowing orange eyes gave away his attempt to appear normal.
Instead of shunning away like the rest or calling him a witch, the woman smiled and patted the boy's fluffy hair.
"You have very beautiful eyes."
The boy looked up, shock evident on his deathly pale face. It had been months since someone addressed him with any tint of kindness, months since he first turned.
"T-Thank you."
The woman smiled. In the boy's eyes, she looked like an angel.
"My name is Sepira. What's yours?"
"… I don't have one anymore."
Sepira frowned. "Now, we can't have that, can we?" She kneeled in front of the boy to get a better look at those glowing orange eyes. "Very beautiful…" Sepira whispered.
The woman reached out to hold the boy's hand, but the boy jerked away as if one touch could burn him.
He wasn't quick enough to get away when the woman's hand brushed against his own.
Sepira felt her life force drained from the touch. Her skin felt icy and numb. Poor woman yelped as pain and exhaustion overthrew her senses.
"I'm sorry!" The boy shoved her as hard as he could, accidentally making the woman fall on her back. "I'll- I'll control my powers better! I promise!"
Sepira slowly sat back up and looked at the by with a sheepish smile. "I-I should be the one apologizing, Tsuna."
"Tsuna?"
"Ah. Well… Since you don't have a name, I… um… We can change it, if you like." Sepira fidgets nervously under the stare of the vampire.
"Tsuna." The boy repeated. The name rolled nicely on his tongue. It felt… right.
"I like it…!" Tsuna finally said with a beaming smile.
Yes. He liked it very much.
Sepira smiled back, a flash of sadness whirled in her eyes.
"Your future will be filled with endless trials, Tsuna." Sepira closed her eyes. The brief contact shown her so much of the kind boy's lonely fate.
Someone who paid the price to protect a world he never saw deserved better.
"But there will be a time when the elements accept you as you are regardless of your vampirism."
Tsuna blinked. Sepira was the first to stay by his side even after knowing what he was.
"You knew, yet you're okay with me being a…" Tsuna asked.
"Of course! To be honest, I'm not really human myself…" Sepira scooted a bit closer to Tsuna, remembering to keep a distance from the vampire's draining touch. "Let me tell you a secret."
That day marked the friendship between a vampire and an ancient earthling.
.
10 years passed since they last spoke. Tsuna hadn't aged since, but his heart for everything Giotto stood for grew. He never met the members of Vongola personally, yet he loved each and every one of them very much.
Tsuna sat on a tree branch as he observed the 24 year old Giotto who was smiling and laughing with his famiglia. Giotto and 7 others were about to take a group photo together. Elena insisted on a picture with all of them together since everyone rarely got together with all the mafia business going on.
From the creation of a vigilante group, to Sepira's entrustment of 7 rings, to the mafia's involvement which turned Vongola's vigilante sanctuary into a war zone. The vampire had seen it all.
Watching over them from the shadows was enough for Tsuna. He learned to cope with solitude and the ups and downs of being a vampire. He was also getting better with his control over magic drawn from another world.
He found out that he could live without feeding on blood, though he was severely weakened by the deprivation.
Not that he minded.
"Primo should sit in the middle!" G said as he pressed Giotto's shoulder down and forced the blond to sit.
"Maa maa~ Tone down the strength, G! We don't want Primo getting shorter than he already is~"
Giotto pouted. Sometimes, his best friends could be so mean.
G ruffled Giotto's hair. "All the more reason for him to sit. It'll hide how short he is."
Very, very mean.
"If I'm sitting, you two must sit with me too." argued the blond. It would feel weird if he was the only one sitting.
"Nufufu. If Asari is sitting, he needs to take off his weird hat for the sake of us here at the back."
"E-Eh? But it feels off without my kazaori eboshi."
"Then the next shorty should sit." G grunted. "Lampo. Sit. Now."
"I don't want to sit on that wooden junk."
"What did you say, brat?"
"Ore-sama said NO!"
"Maa maa, G. Lampo-kun already said no."
"Don't you 'maa maa' me, Asari!"
"EXTREMEEE DAY! WE ARE BLESSED WITH AN EXTREMELY BRIGHT AND SUNNY DAY!"
"Nufufufu. Of course~ Our dear Elena picked this day for us."
"You flatter me too much, Daemon~"
"I'm the boss… Why am I the shortest here…?"
G smacked the back of Giotto's head. "Get over it, Primo. And get your ass together." Despite the scowl on the storm's face, Giotto knew G was being playful.
The Vongola boss really should thank Elena for gathering them all together that day. He couldn't remember the last time he spent time with all of his guardians without worrying about missions or threats.
"Knuckle…"
All heads turned to look at the man who hadn't said a single word all day. They gulped an obvious murderous aura choked the air around.
"W-What is it, Alaude?" The priest felt a chill down his spine.
"Sit."
'And be the sacrifice so the rest would shut up and get this picture thing over with' was left unsaid.
Knuckle nodded. He was probably the only one who could understand ( and tolerate ) Alaude and his quiet nature. The same could be said for Alaude who surprisingly coped well with Knuckle's endless streaks of 'extremes'.
From Tsuna's hiding spot, the vampire giggled. Seeing Giotto and his guardians always made him happy inside. The smiles on their faces and happy voices… He would do anything to protect them.
Not to mention, Tsuna had a thing for Alaude. Sepira was the one who pointed it out, and to Tsuna's horror, actually realized that it was the painful truth.
Tsuna shook his head and lightly slapped his bloodless cheeks.
"Bad Tsuna. Baaaaaad Tsuna!"
The vampire heard a loud click. He smiled at the sight.
'Aaah. I wish I can be in that picture too.'
.
Tsuna was sure Vongola would remain a family forever; together no matter what.
They were made for each other and no could tell him otherwise.
Happy and together as they should be.
Tsuna didn't mind spending an eternity being a silent guardian as long as they were happy.
Yes.
He was perfectly content.
His own little fairy tale story.
He wished everything would be the same forever.
For a moment there, he really did believed nothing would change...
… until he witnessed the betrayal.
.
Tsuna was furious.
How he wished he could burn the whole world as Giotto passed on the sin to the newly appointed Vongola Secondo.
No no no no no…
The glint of wrath in Secondo's eyes promised bloodshed and chaos.
Tsuna understood Giotto's actions, but he didn't approve of the choice. Ricardo was their only blood relative alive. The Sky ring would only accept those with Vongola blood in their veins.
For all Tsuna cared, Ricardo could have that damn ring and its powers.
What he couldn't accept was Giotto's retirement.
No. It wasn't retirement.
Giotto was forced to step down from the family he himself founded.
At that moment, Tsuna decided that he really really loathed the mafia.
.
Giotto along with 4 of his remaining guardians took the next ship to Japan. Alaude stayed in Italy to run CEDEF after Giotto made him promise to take care of whatever Vongola changed into.
Tsuna wanted to follow the family he grew to love, but fate had other plans.
The mafia wouldn't let the ex-boss go just like that. It was too risky to let Vongola Primo live.
Risk of breaking Omerta, secrets shared between alliances, a chance for Primo to reign in power once again… Reasons were too many to be named.
Naturally, many sent hired pro assassins and even their own men to kill Giotto.
While Giotto sailed to Japan, Tsuna stayed back to stop anyone who tried laying a single finger on the first generation.
The attempt to simply stop enemies from advancing further soon turned to bloodshed.
All executed by one person with a bloody bow strapped behind his back.
They remembered the day as 'Blood Eclipse'…
A day when dark red blocked the sun, shrouding everything in total darkness.
.
Tsuna couldn't remember how many people died by his hands. With every life he destroyed, the power and hunger in him grew.
'Why couldn't they just leave me alone…?'
.
How long had it been since Blood Eclipse?
How long had it been since he last saw Giotto?
What was his name again…?
Right… Tsuna. His name was Tsuna.
.
After god-knows-how-long, Tsuna finally set foot in Japan.
It took him weeks to adapt into the new environment, and months to find his first clue as to where Giotto and the rest could be.
Months of searching turned to years.
When he finally found Giotto, it was already too late…
Tsuna dug himself a grave beside Giotto's.
What better place for a vampire to sleep than a coffin?
.
"Tsu-… Ts-…"
'Who?'
"Tsuna-kun. Please wake up."
'Leave me alone…'
"I can't do that, Tsunayoshi. I have a promise to fulfill."
'Tsunayoshi?'
"There's a reason why Sepira gave you that name."
Tsuna felt something warm touching his forehead. He felt the familiar rush of heat from when he was still human.
"Your sky flame is one of the strongest and purest flame yet, but overpowered by something given to you by that man from the faraway universe. I wouldn't be surprised if your flame doesn't awaken." The warmth soon disappeared. Tsuna whimpered at the loss of something he dearly missed.
"The tainted blood in you is strong, Tsunayoshi. Even I have no power to remove it."
'It's okay. I agreed to be who I am now. I would see through my end of the bargain.'
"A bargain works two ways. What do you get in return?"
'It doesn't matter. What happens to me will not make a difference as long as the other world is safe.'
"… Sepira told me a lot about you, young vampire. You who held the power to destroy this world with powers from another realm, yet you are more selfless than any saint.
Maybe, just maybe, you don't mind carrying the burden to keep this world alive as well…"
'Who are you…?'
"Open your eyes and find out."
Tsuna slowly opened his eyes to find himself in a white room. Beside him stood a man with hair just as white. The man wore a pair of round framed spectacles, perfect for his sharp features.
"Hello, Tsunayoshi. I hold many names, but for you, you may call me Kawahira."
.
7 decades went by in a blink. Living with Kawahira in his antique shop was fun.
Kawahira gave Tsuna a ring that would shroud his eyes with mist flames. His orange eyes with thin black slits would appear normal in the eyes of norm. He couldn't do much about his unusually white skin. He best he could do was to wear long sleeved hoodie. The sun hurt less that way.
"Tsuna-kun!" Kawahira called out. "If you're heading out, please get me-"
"Ramen. I know, I know."
"Oh my, Tsuna-kun… I didn't know you have powers to see into the future!" came the sarcastic reply of one Kawahira.
Tsuna rolled his eyes, a tiny smile ever so present on his face. "I'm not a sky arcobaleno, Kawahira-san. And ramen is the only thing you asked for over the past… how many years?"
"32 years, my dear. I tell you, ramen is the best thing Japan has ever invented since forever."
'Kawahira-san sure is passionate about his ramen…' Tsuna sweatdropped. He didn't want to remember the last time he brought soggy noodles back home.
The vampire pulled down his hoodie and took an umbrella with him out the chop doors. "Well, I'm off!"
Being a vampire had its perks. Fast reflex and demonic instincts made 'predicting' easy. The same hyper intuition he shared with Giotto made predictions all the more accurate.
But he could never predict what happened that evening.
.
"Please, don't tell mama or papa. Please don't tell them I died."
.
It was almost midnight. Kawahira was getting worried of his friend's lateness. Tsuna always came back home before 6.
He gave it another 15 minutes. If the vampire still wasn't home by then, Kawahira would go out and look for him. Said man started having very dangerous scenarios playing in his mind in fear for his little overpowered friend. He would swallow the whole town with his mist flames if it meant finding Tsuna.
"Maybe I shouldn't give him full independence of what he does with his time…" muttered the man to himself.
Kawahira jumped out of his seat when he heard the shop door open with a loud bang. He was welcomed with relief when a surge of energy from tainted blood filled the air.
"Welcome back, Tsun-"
Kawahira didn't dare finish his sentence. Never before had he seen such a pained expression on another person's face.
Tsuna looked as if he was about to cry. His lips quivered, eyes filled with uncertainty and despair.
"I met a child today… He is… was Giotto's descendant."
"Is that so…? Do you want to talk about it?" Kawahira threaded carefully.
The vampire had always been one with stable emotions, but once the control is broken, all hell breaks loose. Like Sepira, Kawahira was a person Tsuna knew he could turn to. It would be a miracle if two of his closest friends would mend the friendship that broke off more than a decade ago.
Tsuna nodded. He needed to get some of the pain off his chest.
"I'm sorry, Kawahira-san… I can't stay with you anymore…"
.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Tsuna-kun, or is it Tsunayoshi-kun now?"
"Mmm. The real Tsunayoshi's dying wish is for his memory to live on. I want to live in his place, for him."
"…Then it's time for me to let you go." Kawahira placed one final gift in Tsuna's hand. It was a silver ring endowed with powerful mist flames. "Live well, my friend. Live gloriously."
.
With his new shrunken body, Tsuna rang the doorbell of the Sawada household. He was greeted with a puffy-eyed woman who seemed to have been crying for hours before.
"Tsu-kun… Tsu-kun! Where have you been?!" The woman lifted the boy up, squeezing him in a crushing hug, afraid to let go. "Oh, god. Please don't ever disappear like that ever again."
Sawada Nana was his new mother now. Tsuna had to put up a good act for Tsunayoshi's sake, though part of him did it for himself.
Tsuna lifted his tiny arms up to return the hug. The warmth felt almost painful against his icy skin.
"I'm sorry, mama. I'm home."
.
The '13 year old' vampire woke up from one of the most dreadful sleep he had in a century. Of all the things he could dream of, his mind just HAD to flash him memories of the life he left behind.
Pretending that his vampirism doesn't exist, Tsuna casually readied himself for school.
He hated school, but it would be too suspicious if a 'kid' his age didn't attend the damn compulsory education institute. How he wished he could take out his cursed/blessed bow and reign havoc to the people who never failed to bully him in school.
But that would bring dishonor to the Sawada name. For now, he would finish school, find a job… get married and have kids…?
Tsuna didn't want to go that far.
Getting back into human society was difficult. He actually missed the time when he had been a vampire and laze around in Kawahira's shop for most of the day. Back then, he didn't have to go out or talk to people as often.
Yep. He was living a perfectly normal human life as Sawada Tsunayoshi. It wasn't much, but he was happy.
'Auriel's Bow is safe. The other world won't come and hurt anyone. Absolutely nothing can go wrong.'
… right?
A/N : So in the game Skyrim, I get to choose between siding with the vampires or the Dawnguards ( basically vampire slayers ). I chose Dawnguards in my previous profile, so now I'm siding with the vampire with my current character because why the hell not.
But then some of the vampire missions require me to kill people in towns/villages and plant incriminating letters on the dead body. It pains me to do this because sometimes, the people from those places are all kind and nice and the compassionate side of me didn't have the heart to kill them.
But it has to be done.
So that inspires the idea of how Tsuna is a vampire but really hated being a vampire sometimes, like having to drink blood or use vampiric powers, especially hurting other people just because he's a vampire.
Yeah. Something like that.
"Live well, my friend. Live gloriously." - Morrigan, Dragon Age Origin, 2009.
"Vampirism tends to keep one remarkably fresh." - Babette, Skyrim, 2011.
[ author is actually a Skyrim and Dragon Age trash ]
I'm still learning punctuations. OTL It would be nice if you guys can point out my mistakes. Q_Q)