It sure looked longer on Microsoft Word.
Anyway, hello all, it sure has been a long time since I've posted anything. This was actually written a while back, but I recently revisited it and made corrections.
Now, I am absolutely confident that this story will never be finsihed, I started on a whim and the spark dissapeared very quickly. Though, I am proud of the little that I did write, and I hope you enjoy it. There will be about two more chapters of the same length.
Please comment, thanks you :)
"I take dibs on that Inoue Orihime chick!" Raucous laughter came from the red head seated on the faded couch in front of me. "Yo! Buddy, how about you?" I quickly realized that this buddy of his just happened to be me, considering the fact that there was no other occupant in the room at the time. Oh, the joy.
"I really don't see what the big deal is. She's just another woman." A rather annoying woman, to be precise. Hearing my all-to-casual response, he swerved on the couch to face me; an exasperated sigh escaped his lips.
"Aw, c'mon man. Don't be like that." He jumped lithely to the back of the couch, teetering on the edge, suddenly intent on my rebuttal. I nearly rolled my eyes at the sight of him. Red braided hair, long enough to resemble that of a ditzy high school girl. A black bandana kept various flyaway strands from aggravating his eyes. He wore a black collared shirt, black trousers, and black steel-toed boots…probably black undergarments too…but I had far too much dignity to confirm my suspicions. His eyes were a curious shade of grey. Probably a similar color to my own… that is, if I actually knew their color or had the audacity to ask.
"She's another woman. Any will serve their purpose." I shrugged, uninterested with where this conversation was headed.
"Well, you've gotta admit, she must taste sweet with a body like that! I mean have you seen the size of that rack!" I involuntarily stiffened. Of course! Leave Renji to deduce that a woman's cup size would have an impact on her taste.
"If I do have a choice in the matter, I'd prefer one with a brain in her skull."
"Ah, well, guess it can't be helped. You've fallen for the smart variety. What can I say…? Unless…that is… you've reconsidered my opinion on a mental institution." He slid back onto the couch, laying his head on his arms and closing his eyes. I growled. One day, I was going to rip the moron's head off…slowly…painfully…
"Have you decided when yet?" I asked through gritted teeth, still seething.
"Hmm? Inoue? I don't think I can go much longer, so probably tonight. She walks home alone every Friday night anyway. There shouldn't be too many people around."
"I suggest you leave Inoue Orihime be, Abarai." A new being joined the party, his voice harsh. Interesting, I should have noticed him coming; Ishida was getting better at this.
"So…Ishida has feelings for the female. Always said you were going soft man." He glared in response, his glasses falling from his nose slightly. Obviously, those were for show. We all had above perfect eyesight.
I took in the little nerd. He had dark hair that shone in the dim light of the room. He wore rimless glasses, a black blouse, black pants, and black dress shoes …black…
I looked down at my own attire, black shirt, black overcoat, black jeans and black sneakers. I thought back to my wardrobe, all black.
Black: the color of death. Well, it seemed to fit. After all, this heart hadn't beaten for centuries; hence, I was dead…well, undead, technically. I wasn't a normal human being; actually I wasn't even human at all. I was something else, something much more…sinister…yes that was a good way to describe someone who preyed on innocents and killed them ruthlessly.
"So where ya been? I mean, I come home one night and no weasel comes to greet me. I was devastated!" There was a light growl from the opposing party.
"That would be none of your business, Abarai."
"What…you go harass those European women you love so much? Dude, I told ya… they don't want ya!" There was a crack as Ishida's fist collided with Renji's shoulder, narrowly missing his head.
The fight faded into the background of my mind.
This body was strong, fast and homicidal. No human could possibly stand a chance against me. In my arsenal I carried claws that could mangle titanium, fangs that could tear through steel, and venom, with enough poison in one bite to take out a good hundred people. I was the perfect weapon.
And this life, that had spanned millennia, seemed never-ending. For all the time that I had lived, I had nothing to show for it, not a single wrinkle, nor crease. And for one who lived of the death's shoulder, death was the only thing denied to me. Swords could not pierce me, gravity could not crush me and water could not drown me, there was no end, no light at the end of the tunnel, just an abyss of black that stretched on into infinity.
Although, I could deal with living…it was the craving…the insatiable thirst…the bloodlust that made me despise my very existence. Around every two weeks the others of my kind and I would need to feed, or go mad with hunger. I, personally didn't mind animal blood, but when you lived in downtown Tokyo, Japan, well…animals were scarce and humans abundant.
I would lure a human away to our apartment –our, of course meaning Abarai Renji, Ishida Uryuu and I- or down an alley where there would be no witnesses. Women mostly, who were completely hypnotized with my appearance, my voice, and what they though I could offer them…they could never have been so wrong in their short lives.
There was a name, close enough to what we were…vampire.
But there was the hitch. The others of my kind would drain one body of its blood, then leave. I could not hope to be so lucky. I would take my prey, but the moment a drop of blood spilled from the body, I would black out. I would awaken to find myself somewhere else in the city, once even, in another country, and a horrid trail of bodies; vampires and humans alike, that followed me into the belly of hell itself. I would be covered in blood, my thirst satisfied, but there would be a terrible ringing in my ears. The ringing of screams.
That's why I was here in Tokyo…there was something I wanted, and only one person in the world could indulge me.
"It is refreshing to see that your foolishness has not changed in the time I have been away, Abarai." I grimaced, only slightly vexed that my internal monologue had been interrupted.
"Ha! Man, I wish you could have been away longer! You know no nagging, no nasally voice clawing at my eardrums. It was sweet." I watched as Ishida's clenched his fists, piqued by the jabs.
"Well Abarai, I implore you that your presence was neither desired nor missed during my absence. It was congenial."
Renji and I groaned, I decided it was time to say something. "Dude, we live in the 21st century now, can you start acting like it?"
"Kurosaki, it would appear that you forget that I have lived during the 19th and 20th as well."
"Um, so did we… actually berry boy here lived through the 18th too, you and I came along later." I snarled at the mention of my given nickname. Ichigo, contrary to my situation meant 'one who protects' not berry boy.
"Hmph. Regardless, I believe that I have acquired the necessary vocabulary for this century, thank you."
But, he was right… we had lived for so long, time meant nothing.
As much as I tried to keep away from such thoughts, I couldn't help but wonder if this unnatural and ugly life would ever end. This body had not aged in the slightest, but this mind had…
These eyes, sharp and precise, had witnessed war, gruesome bloodshed, events where only I had survived. And of course, such a memory as this did not forget a single detail. Not the dampening of the red blood that soaked the earth, not a muffling of the terrified cries, or the feeling of cold, lifeless bodies of once living, happy people, all of this, despite my misery, had never faded.
Ah yes, misery, sadness, and mourning. Well, despite what was being popularized in books and movies nowadays, it was very possible for a 'vampire' to feel emotions…it was just that we preferred to ignore them and become stoic beings. We would rather sacrifice our emotions rather that our sanity…or what was left.
Another cracking sound and someone gasped.
"You weasel! I'll rip your scrawny head off!"
Thus, proving my point exactly.