When You've Been Hurt, Too

Chapter 1 -- Misery, Thy Name is Dallet…

By Threshie

AN: Well, now I've gone and done it—I've started writing some big epic vampire fic! ;; I just knew I had to blend together two of my favorite fictional things—vampires and the Dragon Slayers (and Dilandau) of Escaflowne. So, let it be known that I don't own anything from Escaflowne. I think the vampire stuff has been recycled so many times it's okay to use it now… ;; This fic is alternate universe and in a contemporary setting—modern day. I seem to have this balance of drama and humor in my DS fics that works, so yes, it's actually dramatic and funny at the same time.

And no, much as it seems from all of my current Dragon Slayer fics' fuss over him, Dallet isn't my absolute favorite Dragon Slayer—just one of them that works better for serious or angsty storylines. Truthfully, I love them all, and Dilandau, too.

Oh, yeah…this fic is NON-YAOI. Period. In fact, as the fic's stats tell you, it's not particularly a romance at all. Without further ado (I think there's enough here already, eheh), please enjoy the fic and tell me what you think!


There were some things in life that would never change. Some things that seemed to repeat over and over again, no matter how one tried to avoid them. One of these such things, thought a raggedly-dressed boy with vivid lilac eyes as he wandered down the darkened streets, was that you had everything in life, or nothing at all.

Being one of the unfortunate majority that made up the latter, and having even less in life than most of that majority, he again found himself wandering listlessly through an unfamiliar city slum. He was a homeless vagrant--no family, no friends, no earthly ties at all.

It sounded nice to have nothing to worry too much about, and usually it suited his aloof nature. But sometimes, like tonight, he longed for a soft pillow to rest his head on, to not have to go hungry for days on end and perhaps...perhaps even a pair of kind eyes to gaze into, that they might know what he was feeling then.

But he didn't have any of that. He was just a vagrant, after all.

And, as if that weren't enough, a steady and icy downpour had been pounding the area for the past hour or so. Lifting an unsteady hand to swipe wet brown hair from his face, the boy sighed.

Everything or nothing, he reminded himself with a sad little smile, You've just got the rotten luck to get nothing in this life... The beating of the rain upon the pavement hummed steadily in his ears. He concentrated on it instead of the pounding of his heart. I've got to find shelter...

He stumbled a little over something in the dark, and before he could catch himself he felt the hard pavement smacking wetly against his chest and the right side of his face. He lay there for a moment, the air knocked out of his lungs and the rain pattering gently on his skin. Maybe it's not worth it, he sucked in a shallow breath, allowing his lilac eyes to drift close tiredly. Maybe, if I just lie here long enough, I'll fall asleep and wake up to find this was all a nightmare...

He smiled faintly; what a silly thought that was. As if vagrants like himself had any chance at dreaming...he'd never had a dream that hadn't quickly become a nightmare.

"Napping in places like this can get you murdered, you know." The amused voice drifted to his ears as if it were far away. Afraid of what it meant by the words, he dragged his eyes open. He could only see a pair of wavering crimson eyes peering down into his. "Or worse," the owner of the eyes added smugly as an afterthought.

The vagrant tried to sit up, but found that his limbs felt like lead. The right side of his face smarted badly, and he winced, closing his eyes again.

"Maybe...death doesn't frighten me..." He vaguely heard the laughter of the crimson-eyed stranger.

"Not afraid to die--I like that. What's your name, wanderer?"

The boy sighed. What does it matter...? He thought unhappily, but whispered, "Dallet."

"Dallet..." The stranger sounded like he was smiling. "I know your tone of voice, Dallet. You sound like I did once..."

Wincing, the brown-haired boy dragged himself into a sitting position. His face still smarted, and the chill of the rain was beginning to numb his fingertips, but he wanted to know who this stranger was. The crimson eyes gazed steadily at him when he chanced a glance. They were set in a pale, handsome face that was framed by wet silvery-white hair. He blinked in surprise--an albino?

"You don't sound hopeless," he told the pale stranger pointedly, brushing numb fingertips over his throbbing face. He winced--they felt like ice!

The albino laughed a little, "Not anymore, of course. I've found myself by now." He leaned forward, crimson eyes capturing Dallet's in a gaze that refused to end. "Would you like to find yourself, Dallet? I can help you, you know."

The vagrant laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "Listen, if you're trying to sell me something, forget it. I have no money, and no matter what you tell me, being hopelessly addicted to something that'll eventually kill me is not going to solve all my woes."

"I'm not trying to sell you anything," the albino snickered, himself. "You're rather worldly, aren't you, Dallet?"

"I just know that things that are too good to be true aren't within my reach," the brown-haired boy answered truthfully, frowning. "Just say it--what do you want with me?" The albino grinned in a predatory fashion, and for the first time Dallet saw the fangs. They glinted in the faint pre-dawn light, and all at once the vagrant found himself staring into the pale red eyes once more. Fangs...red eyes... Dallet thought, stunned, But that's impossible...they don't exist!

As with before, the gaze caught and held him, unending and deep. Before he could even think of resisting, he felt the silver-haired stranger wrapping his arms around him, and then a sudden sharp pain at his neck. He recognized this kind of pain--he'd had a bad encounter involving razors sometime before, and the sudden stinging of a deep, clean cut was present then, too.

But surely he hadn't tried all of that sweet-talking and persuading only to catch the boy and slit his throat. He could have done that any time--I was just lying there when he showed up, Dallet frowned, attempting to wriggle his way free of the albino's tight grip. He was only answered by another stinging at his neck. This time there was pressure from two sides, and at last he realized that the red-eyed stranger wasn't slitting his throat--he was biting it! ...Vampire... Dallet thought faintly.

Darkness claimed him.

--End Chapter 1


Hurt Akugi! Volume 1

Akugi #1

Dallet: "Maybe...death doesn't frighten me..."

Dilandau: (Laughs rather dementedly) "Obviously we're not acquainted with the same death, then."

Dallet: "….Um, I don't think there's more than one death."

Dilandau: (Laughs some more) "Obviously you weren't there when I killed all those people yesterday."

Akugi #2

Narrator: He was a homeless vagrant--no family, no friends, no earthly ties at all.

Dallet: (Floats up off of the planet and into outer space) "You know, they never mentioned space walking in the vagrant job description…"

Akugi #3

Dallet: "Listen, if you're trying to sell me something, forget it. I have no money, and no matter what you tell me, being hopelessly addicted to something that'll eventually kill me is not going to solve all my woes."

Dilandau: (Sweatdrop) "Darn it, they're wisening up…"


AN: Eheheh….the Akugi aren't as funny as I'd like them to be, but I guess that's because there wasn't much here to parody. Next chapter will be better, I promise. ;; Please tell me what you think—honestly, this's the first vampire fic I've ever written that I let other people read, and I'm a little nervous about it…