x.X. The Shadow.X.x

Summary: I always thought vampires were the only ones that existed, but now I seem to be fighting in a war between Hell's sins and the Archangel's shadows. My name's Kuroko Tetsuya, and before I was a shadow, I was vampire. A member of the elite Generation of Miracles, but not anymore.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Written by Jezmaiya.

Inspired by the movie: I, Frankenstein.

P.S: Slow updates...

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Sometimes I like to wonder what my life is meant to mean. I've been alive for so long, it's hard to say. For the first two hundred years of my life, I was a vampire. A creature forced to feed off humans in order to live and it disgusted me, the way my friends would feed from them sexually. I hated that life but for a long time, it was all I had until that day that everything changed at least. After that, I knew that every moment counted because if I was going to live like that, I had to make it count.

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The wind cut deep as I walked past the alleyways downtown. It was cold, and I wanted to get out before the storm raged. I froze in my steps. My senses heightened as I smelt the sickly sweet scent of fresh blood, and found myself walking towards the source in this dead cold night. It wasn't long before I stumbled upon the unfortunate victim. His flaming red hair stood out as the teen was forced on the ground. His head was bleeding as he had been hit with a blunt object, three rogues surrounding him but the most notable thing about the scene was this girl. She stood in an elementary school uniform, her hands out, blocking the man from the vampires. On her face was a determined expression, it was intriguing.

For a moment, I waited and watched in the shadows. I had wanted to see how this would all play out. That red haired teen was a hunter by the crest embedded in his coat, so I had no right to interfere in his work, yet the girl. It was odd. I couldn't smell anything off her as she stood her ground.

"Aw, isn't that cute," A rogue hissed, his tongue slipping out as he inched forward. His tongue running along the bottom of his lip as he eyed the girl like a piece of meat, it sickened me. I couldn't watch any longer before I intervened. I bit into my thumb before slipping a drop of blood onto my shadow as I watched it come to life. With a snap of my fingers, the shadow silently crawled onto the scene, taking down the rogues in a quiet battle.

The girl watched with her blue eyes wide. "Get down," The teen instructed, grabbing the girl before shielding her from the fight. My shadow reached from behind, grabbing the rogue's legs and pulling them down before slashing their necks. It was brutal but effective. When the deed was done, my shadow dispersed. It was a smart choice to shield the girl–vampire blood contained acidic properties and with the amount that the rogues had lost, it was a good thing that the hunter was there. The hunter's coat remained unharmed; it was probably blessed by the holy church. When the scene was over, I decided to leave. There was a quick breeze past my face before I felt a burning sensation at my cheek, touching it I saw blood. "Come out here you bloodsucker, I know you're there," The hunter said. His voice and aura reflecting the intensity and ferocity of a tiger as he stood up, blazing red eyes glaring right at me as I walked out of the shadows.

"You cut me... and after I saved you," I replied blankly. Coming closer, I see the symbol of the Seirin Church on his coat badge; he must have been one of theirs. "So what do you want?" I asked him.

"Your head," He replied before taking out a knife. "I'm going to bring it back with me." He grinned as he raised his arm and was prepared to throw, but a small hand grabbed it and gently plucked the knife out of his hand. It was the girl. "Hey brat, what are you…" His voice trailed off as the girl walked up to me, smiling as she slit her palm and held it before me. Both our eyes widened from the act.

I stared at the blood, it smelt so… pure. "Take some," She said, smiling at me. "It'll help," She whispered, her voice silky and soft. For a moment, I didn't do anything. It was almost as if I was frozen, but I managed to look away.

"I'm sorry but I refuse," I said, resisting the scent of her tasty blood. It was scary. Her blood was so pure, it was rare to taste, better yet smell something as delicious as it.

"Hey kid, are you crazy?" The hunter exclaimed, grabbing for her, but the girl simply dodged and placed her palm against my mouth. My eyes widened as I felt my fangs come out, biting into her palm. The hunter grabbed her back, yanking and spilling the blood onto the snow. Even though it had only been a few seconds, her blood had tasted wonderful. "What the hell kid?" The hunter said but the girl had kicked him in his shin before she ran off.

I watched her figure disappear, her light voice giggling as she ran through the storm that had begun to fall. Who was she? And why did she want me to drink her blood so desperately?

"Now, where were we?" The hunter said before turning back at me. Using my ability, I disappeared like a shadow and returned back to my apartment, leaving him to fend in the harsh winter storm for himself.

Upon entering my house, I could tell that somebody had unwelcomely entered my domain. "Kise," I said bluntly upon spotting the blonde vampire in my living room. "What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"Kurokocchi!" He exclaimed, coming to hug me but I brushed past him as I placed my coat down. "So mean!" He cried comically as I sent him a blank stare in response.

"I asked you a question," I reminded him bluntly. "Why are you here? I made it quite clear that I wanted nothing to do with the Generation of Miracles anymore," I told him as I walked into my kitchen and made a vanilla milkshake.

Kise's eyes darkened as he followed me, eying the beverage. "How has your health been Kurokocchi?" He asked me seriously. I stared at him blankly before taking a long sip of my milkshake silently. "I see," He said before reaching inside his coat and placing a bag of human blood on the table. I stared at it with disgust. "Don't worry, one of my girls donated it willingly." He told me.

"I don't want it."

"Just take it!" Kise slammed his hand on the table in an act of anger, I stared at him. "Please Kurokocchi, I know you hate the way we survive but we have to." He told me, his eyes pleaded for me to take the blood. I didn't reply. Kise grabbed my shoulders and shook me lightly. "You've gotten thinner." He said, chuckling before releasing me.

I looked at the bag before picking it up and holding it out to him. "I don't want it." Kise didn't take it.

"Keep it," He told me. "And if you ever want to come back to the mansion, it'll always be there to welcome you." He sent me a weak smile before walking towards the door. I followed him as he paused at the door, looking at me, dead in the eye. "Just remember this Kurokocchi," He said. "Not all vampires feed like Akashi does."

I closed my eyes and felt my entire body shuddered at the memories. For the past hundred and ninety years, I had lived in the place of my creation. I had been on the verge of death until a vampire named Akashi Seijuro had bitten me and turned me into one of his. For a long time, I had been a loyal follower. That is until I stumbled upon his feeding room. Fresh human corpses sprawled everywhere, all of them young girls. It was then I learnt of his sick obsession for human girls, the purer, the lovelier it was for him to feed. Of all the Generation of Miracles, it had been only me that never knew. It had been too much for me to bare, so I left. Their colourful cold eyes darkening as I walked away, I was a disgrace to them now.

"Please leave Kise," I finally said, my eyes opening. "You've overstayed your welcome." I told him before Kise sighed and left. He had been the only one that still interacted with me. My departure from the mansion had been a sign of betrayal but they didn't seem to care and neither did I, they had replaced me anyway.

Later that night, my entire body tingled from a mysterious sensation. It shocked me as I opened my eyes to find myself in a whole new place. The room was small, but the ceiling was high. Glass windows, designed with glass paintings of angels decorated each wall of the room beautifully. In the middle of the room stood the statue of a woman, in one hand she held a sword. In the other, she held a scale.

"Welcome, it's good to see that you're awake." A familiar voice said before my eyes landed on a girl. She sat on the podium of the statue, smiling as she swung her legs childishly. It was the girl from the attack. "You must be wondering where you are?" She said, smiling as she hopped off the podium.

I stood up, my eyes not leaving her. Did she bring me to a church?

"Oh don't worry," She assured me, suddenly appearing beside me. "This is a place that not even hunters know about. In fact, nobody knows who we are," She spun. I watched in stunned silence as she transformed from a young girl into a breathtaking woman. She stood taller than me, flowing white hair to the ground. Her robes the colour of fine ivory as well, her eyes, bloodshot. I looked at her, and then to the statue. There was a similarity. "My mother," She said, smiling softly at the woman. "She was the first Guardian." She told me. "Follow me." She spun on her heel as she led me away from the room.

"Where am I?" I asked her, following her out of the room.

"Angelus," She replied, ushering to the window as I paused, staring at the city beyond the glass. It was beautiful. "The home of angels." She said smiling at me. "I picked you for a reason, Tetsuya," She told me, motioning for me to follow her steps once more. "You're not like any vampire I've come across," She looked back and sent me a kind smile. "Despite your past and relation with the Generation of Miracles, your heart is still pure as gold. Although, you're not like any human either, your soul is pure and you being alive still proves that."

I stared at her. "What do you mean?"

The woman laughed. "When I forced you to drink my blood, it was a test to see if my instincts were right. You see, my blood is pure from a line of angels. My mother and I were sent by the Archangels to watch over this world and protect it from the seven deadly sins, and to guide the shadows." She explained. "This had been going on ever since the deadly sins had been released from the depths of hell, and it's the duty of the shadows to send those sins back to hell. As a Guardian, my duty is to ensure that all four corners of the globe has a Pillar. At each Pillar is a General that would lead their group of shadows to descend those sins. My job is to also collect information about sin activities and report back to my mother."

"How do I come into all of this?"

She stopped in her steps before looking at the wall beside us as her smiles dispersed; identical silver robes hung from the walls, beside it a plate and a weapon. "Do you see all these robes?" She said softly. "Each one represents a fallen shadow, and when a shadow dies; it is hard to replace them as their soul ascends to heaven." She looks at me seriously. "Our numbers have been decreasing at an incredibly fast rate; you saw how I appear before the humans." She told me. "I've been searching for soldiers but all I see is a world full of tainted souls," She said with disgust. "That is until I found you."

I stared at her. "But I'm a vampire." I told her seriously. "I can't become a shadow. I'm a being that practically belongs in hell."

"Then how are you not burning?" She asked me. "Look around you, Tetsuya, holy symbols that would burn any dark being decorate these halls but there you stand –unharmed." She told me. "You are meant to be a shadow. So what do you say?"

"Fine. I'll do it."

The process had be the most painful thing I had ever felt in my life. My body was to be submerged in a bath of holy water. Being a vampire, it had my skin boiling and bubbling for days. For a total of ten days I was submerged but when I had come out, I was no longer a vampire, yet I wasn't human either. When I asked Iri, the shadows' current Guardian, Esme's mother what shadows were, even she was not sure.

For the next two years I trained in combat, wearing the shadow's cloak and wielding their weapons proudly. I had finally understood why I, and not even other vampires had known of their existence. Being a shadow allowed us to transform into one, latching on to others, such as humans and leaving no scent behind. Stronger shadows had the ability to transform into statues, hiding their purpose but watching for sins. My first kill had been hesitant, but the moment the sin descended, I knew that I had to continue down this path. For so long, I had wanted to protect the humans and now I could. Because I was in the South-east region, I was assigned under Medea, a shadow General that took the form of the Goddess Wishing statue in Sakura Temple.

Using my ability, I transformed into a dog statue, sitting beside Medea. Humans believed that I had been a new addition to the temple's statues, making my life a shadow easier. Being a shadow, I didn't need to eat or drink. Not to mention that being in Osaka meant that I would never run into any of the Generation of Miracles, which put my soul at ease

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Or so I thought.

My name is Kuroko Tetsuya, and I am a Shadow. This is the story of how I ascended.