Paraffin Lamps

This is my first Karneval fanfiction. Pairings are still undecided so please comment/review on your thoughts about it! :)

I do not own Karneval, only my OC.

Chapter 1

The flames flickered as I stepped into the cathedral. Hundreds of candles illuminated the hall, though most of them were placed around the picture of the late priest. Light from the candles bounced off the stone walls, blending with the little moonlight shining through the stained glass. My grip on the bouquet of roses tightened as I walked towards to the left of the podium, where the photo was. Tears welled up in my eyes as I stared at the black and white photograph of the priest—the person that I looked up to so much; the person that taught me how to live again.

"Why…."

"Why did you have to die…"

"…why…?"

Tears rolled down my cheeks, but my face remained expressionless—almost cold.

People I loved and I know die all the time. So why is his death any different….?

As I laid down the flowers among the candles, I whispered a silent prayer. I never clasped my hands together as I prayed, nor have I ever knelt before the altar.

He was an understanding man and never treated me any different, despite knowing I have killed many.

He never thought of me as a murderer.

He saw me as a human being.

"So why….?" I whispered, my hand clutching the sleeve of my shirt.

"He was a good man, wasn't he?" A voice echoed through the silence.

I stood up to face a young man, dressed in robe. He looked about my age.

I nod. "I haven't seen you around here before." I said, completely ignoring his question.

Letting out a shy laugh, he said that he was new and started serving the cathedral not too long ago. I cast him a suspicious glance which he did not seem to notice.

"I'll have to lock up soon."

"Then I better leave soon." I said, giving him a bow. As I walked past him, I smirked, reaching out for my gun.
The man noticed this and his face went pale. But before he could escape, I had my arm wrapped around his neck and the barrel of the gun against his neck.

"Miss! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" His screams bounced off the walls.

"You would have me fooled if you didn't conceal that blood lust of yours, monster…."

The moment those words escaped my lips, was thrown back with an enormous force. My body crashed into the wooden benches and the gun was knocked off from my hand. He let out a loud roar, which blew off most of the candles. Darkness engulfed me and the only visible light left was the faint crimson glow of the creature's eyes.

"Damnit." I swore, as I pulled out my wakizashi. I have absolutely no idea where my handgun was, so, I would have no choice but to resort to using my sword. If l was my usual self, I would have fled.

But not this time.

The creature laughed. "The old man's flesh was sweet and savory. I wonder how will yours compare, GAZERE-CHAN?!"

"So you knew me, huh…I never bought that innocent look of yours one bit." I said out loud. There was no point in being silent. Monsters like him did not need to use its sight to track down their prey. Their sense of smell was enough.

"Hmmmm….? Well the old fart certainly bought it. All I did was to lure him away from here towards the woods and then devour him."

"You sick bastard….Weren't you once human?!"

"I was. But now I've become a god. You human beings are much inferior us. Pathetic and weak…."

With a growl, I charged at him. The tentacles shot forward and I dodged them whenever I could and slicing them off when I can't. Leaping up, I raised my blade lodged it deep into the monster's back. It let out a shrill cry as it reached for me with its claw.

I pulled out the blade from it and leapt back. Just as my feet made contact with the floor, one of the remaining tentacles wrapped around my neck. Before I could react, his claw lodged deep into my stomach. Eyes wide, blood soon trailed down from my mouth to my chin. Removing his claw, I was then lifted off the floor and was thrown into the stone wall. The wall crumbled and dust enveloped the area.

My vision was blurring and I was fading in and out of consciousness.

"Shit…!" I swore as I clutched my stomach. My lungs suddenly stop working and the next thing I knew was that I was choking my own blood. His laughter resounded throughout the area. "Still not giving up yet? I will paint these walls with your blood if I need too...or even turn you into a sack of bones~!HAHAHAhahahahahahhahhaahhahaha—

His laughter was cut short when I reappeared before him, slashing at him. Purple liquid spilled out of its wound. His claw came down at me and I parried the attack. I landed a kick on his chest and that gave me enough time to slice off his head. The same purple goo rained down on me, soaking my clothes and hair. Using my sword to prop myself up, I glared hard at the corpse.

"I never said I was human…."

I let out a groan when I felt my bones clicking back to place and my tendons mending themselves back to their place. Blood vessels swirled around the muscles which is then followed by a layer of skin over them.

My fingers ran across the bare skin of my stomach. "Not a scratch, huh? I'm becoming more and more like a monster."

If I was a normal human, I would have died from the injuries without a doubt. The only reason I came out alive is due to the regenerative abilities of the Varuga cells inside me.

"I'm no different from him, aren't I?" I said as I walked towards the priest's photograph. Thankfully in the midst of the battle, nothing much was destroyed—except a few benches and the walls.

I'm sorry…..

I'm sorry….I couldn't protect you.

Sinking to my knees, I cried silently.

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Jiiki's heart was hammering against his chest. It was his fault that he let that Varuga escape. He was so close to killing him too.

"Jikki-kun! I think I saw something at the Cathedral. Come over immediately!"

"Got it, Kiichi. Will be right over. You go ahead first."

Kiichi flew as fast as she could towards the Cathedral, with her scythe at hand. She grimaced. She could not believe Jikki of all people would let that thing escape!

But she had to admit that this Varuga was much stronger that the typical ones they fought so it was not entirely Jikki's fault. Nevertheless, she still felt annoyed. She probably would not be able to face Yogi if she failed this mission. Scrunching up her face, she flew faster. The thought of the blonde haired male left a bad taste in her mouth.

Landing in front of the steps, she was shocked to find that the whole place was quiet. Her grip on her weapon tightened. She did not let her guard down as for all she knew, there might be an ambush waiting for her. Pushing open the large wooden doors lightly, she peered inside. It was dark, but she could still make out a figure of a girl at the corner of the hall.

Silently, Kiichi made her way towards the girl and raised her scythe when—

"What do you want, Circus freaks…..?" Her voice was cold.

When did she….…..?!

Her thoughts were cut short when she felt a gun pressed against her back. Kiichi felt her heart race as she felt the cool metal against her spine. If she releases the bullet, without a doubt, an injury to the spine would leave her paralyze, if not, kill her. The girl had moved so fast that seemed almost in human. One second she was on her knees at the end of the room, and next she was behind her.

She was certain that Jikki said the Varuga they were hunting had been a male. But he could be easily mistaken of course. This girl was wearing a black coat with a hood, along with a steel mask strapped over the bottom half of her face. The only thing visible was her glowing amber eyes and her blonde hair now that her hood was down.

Kiichi was helpless. All she could do was wait for Jikki. She had never been so careless before and that fact made her feel humiliated.

"I asked you a question."

"I—I heard there was a Varuga here…" Her voice came out as a squeak. It was so unlike her to be scared of something like this.

The masked girl raised a brow before saying. "It's been taken care of—

Her hold against the gun faltered. A whip had coiled itself around her wrist, causing her to drop the gun.

"Jikki-kun!" Never had Kiichi felt so happy to see her comrade.

"Are you alright?!"

"Yes I am. Be careful of her, she's fast." Kiichi said, raising her scythe against the girl's neck.

Jiiki frowned. This was absolutely not the person he was after. He was having a mental debate whether to release her or detain her for assaulting a Circus member.

"Who are you?" He finally asked.

Her eyes narrowed at him.

"Kira Gazere."

"Why do you have a gun with you?" His eyes trailed down to her waist, where her wakizashi was strapped. "And a sword?!"

"Why can't I have it?"

Jiiki could feel his anger bubbling at the pit of his stomach. Though he could not see it, he was pretty sure she was smirking beneath that mask.

"Then let's change the question. What is your purpose here and why did you attack my comrade?"

She her glowing golden eyes dimmed to a shade of hazel. "I came to kill the bastard who killed my friend." Her gaze switched from Jikki to the portrait of a priest which was surrounded byy flowers and candles. Jikki blinked twice. He had not noticed it until now. It was the same with Kiichi. "As for your comrade, I just have a major dislike for the Circus, that's all."

"So that gives you the right to kill her…?!" Jikki growled, as he tugged the whip. The whip dug into her skin, creating trickles of blood.

"She's not dead, right?" The girl said calmly, unfazed by her bleeding wrist.

"B-But you could have if Jikki-kun didn't come in time!" Kiichi let out a high pitched scream.

"Let me go."

"I don't know what your intentions are, but….Either way, I know you're dangerous and I can't let you run free."

Her eyes glared at him with such an intensity that he thought his hair might catch on fire. Just as Jiiki loosened his whip, she took that opportunity and raise her hand towards blade against her neck. The blade cut into the whip and she was free.

"Idiots!" She laughed, as she ran away. Jikki lashed the whip at her but she had managed to dodge every one of his blows. Kiichi flew past Jiiki . "I'll catch her!"

After what Kira had done to her, she was hell-bent on capturing her and putting her behind bars forever.

Kira ran past the oak doors and skidded to a stop. Raising her gun, she aimed at the hinges and sent a few bullets on each one of them. Kiichi, having realized what she has done, soared faster, trying to get past the doors.

"Kiichi, don't!" Jiiki managed to coil the whip around her waist and pull her back before the large oak doors fell on her. Tremors shook the cathedral. Wincing, Kiichi shifted in Jikki's arms. If he had not saved her in time, those doors would have squashed her like a bug.

She let out a growl, stomping her foot. "Argh! That woman!"

"We lost her. Whoever she was…"

Just then, his eyes caught sight of a faint blue glow not far away. "Kiichi, is that…..?"

"Huh?

Jikki pressed the button on his bracelet and his whip retracted. His feet then took him to towards the blue light. Kiichi followed behind.

"I-I think these are a Varuga's remains….." He said, his eyes on the fading purple goo on the ground. Organs and bits of flesh were littered everywhere.

The smell of death filled the air.

"So this is what she was talking about—the Varuga that killed the priest. Varuga or not, nobody deserves to die this way—being torn to shreds…Just what is she?" Jikki said, looking away in disgust. "We need to talk to the Captains about this."

"Wait. You think she killed it on her own?"

"It seems that way."

"But aren't only the Circus able to kill Varuga?! Normal people can't even put a scratch on them!"

"Precisely. We need to report this immediately. But you've seen her abilities with your own eyes, didn't you? She is far from human….."

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I took of my mask as I entered the pub. It was already after midnight and almost past closing time. Nevertheless, the bartender greeted me.

"Gazere-san. Good to see you again! How have you been?"

"I'm good." I said, taking off my coat and throwing it onto the ground. "Never been better."

The bartender shook his head. "How many did you kill tonight?" He asked, eyeing the coat which was full of bloodstains and purple goo which was slowly fading off.

"Just one?"

I gave him a Cheshire grin. "I've avenged Father."

He looked away and continued polishing the wine glass in his hand. Sorrow was evident in his features. "So a monster really got the priest, huh? Poor guy. I hope he's happy up there now. He's been so good to everyone throughout his life...sometimes I wonder how someone like him would deserve a fate like this…"

"I wonder too."

"You must miss him, don't you?"

I was silent for a moment, before nodding.

"When I die, I'll be sure to tell the Lord to forgive your sins. So live, Kira…..and forget your past." Father said, as he ruffled my hair.

I silently crackled laughter. "Live huh? If only you knew how fucked up my mind was."

"Gazere-san?"

"Sorry I was just thinking….Could you get me some wine, bartender-san~?"

He grimaced at the nickname that I have given him. I grinned in response, my eyes flashing gold for a moment. Judging by his expression, I am sure he noticed that but said nothing as he poured me the rose wine which I loved so much.

"I'll have some rose wine too, please." Before I could say anything, a man had already taken a seat beside me. I eyed him, from head to toe. He wore a black suit with a top hat which hid some of his red hair. My gaze was on his face now and I did not realize that I had been staring until he cleared his throat.

"Umm…sorry, miss…is there something on my face?"

He was gorgeous. Though, he looked like he was at least 6 years older than me. He was tall and well-built too….

I let out a small laugh and lied. No way am I going to admit that I was checking him out. "Sorry…it's just that you seem, unfamiliar…."

"I'm not from around here. I just came to check on my friends."

"In the middle of the night?"

"I was worried after having heard of the recent attacks. So I'd thought I check on them to make sure they get home safe." He said, with a charming smile that caused my heart to flutter.

But I knew better than to fall for him.

"You should be more worried about yourself." I said, gazing into his eyes.

"And why is that?"

"It's nice people like you that they often prey on."

He did not seem too fazed by my words, considering most people would find it disturbing.

"What makes you think I'm a nice guy? I might be here to steal you away and you'd never know—

"I wouldn't recommend saying those things to her. She'll take it the wrong way." The bartender said, shooting the man a look.

"I have absolutely no idea what you mean, bartender-san~" Those sickeningly sweet words rolled off my tongue. The bartender shivered in response, before chuckling.

"Only kidding, Gazere-san."

The red head raised his brows. "Gazere?"

I nodded. "That's what most people call me. But you can call me Kira if you want." I said, sipping my wine. "What's your name?"

"Kira then." He said, a smile on his face as he too, drank his wine. "…..Tsukitachi."

"Ummm…..sorry?"

"My name's Tsukitachi. First Ship Captain of the Circus. Pleasure to meet you, Kira Gazere."