Moriko could only watch the world outside passed them by. If she thought Amaya's running was fast, she had obviously not seen her driving. She drove at least 65 mph the whole time, drifting around turns and nearly scaring Moriko half to death.
It was so quiet, too…
Moriko had tried to talk several times but Amaya had simply ignored her, still in an indifferent mood from earlier. Moriko had been trying to figure her out, curious as to what this chick was wanting with a lowly person such as herself. As of yet, she hadn't come up with anything logical, so she decided to just give up.
Outside the car window the uniform look of trees began to thin and Moriko suddenly noticed they were entering a large field. The grass probably reached Moriko's waist but it didn't hide the rather large Tudor house just beyond. It was ominous, black with red molding and shudders. It kind of creeped Moriko out a little, reminding her of a haunted house almost.
"Where are we?" Moriko tried again, finally noticing the sun just over the horizon.
Amaya didn't answer, just pressed her foot on the break. She came to a screeching halt as the car slid into a parallel parking position just next to the staircase. Amaya jumped out of the car, opened Moriko's door and pulled her out.
"I can walk by myself." Moriko whined, but Amaya didn't let go.
Moriko was dragged through the front door with the door promptly slammed behind her. Once inside she noticed that no natural light seeped through the windows, hardly any man-made light illuminated anywhere. It was dark, too dark for her liking.
"I'm back." Amaya said in almost a whisper.
Moriko thought she was talking to herself, honestly. Because obviously she hadn't made a habit of talking to Moriko and there didn't seem to be anyone else around.
At least until the five shadows appeared out of nowhere in the room to their right.
Moriko examined the room and the shadows carefully, noticing that it looked almost like a living room, minus the flat screen TV. More like a sitting room. The shadows however were slim, some tall, some short. All, however, were fairly menacing.
"Where was she?" One of them asked, the voice masculine.
"Aokigahara." Amaya growled. "We all know what she was doing there. Yume was there. I was able to fight her off before she made a run for it."
There was a dark silence in the room and Moriko's pounding heart and heavy breaths were the only thing she heard.
"Who are you people?" Moriko whispered, the poor girl frightened beyond all measure.
"We're your friends." One of them said, walking over to the wall to flip the light switch on.
When the light filled the room, Moriko was astonished to find the five most beautiful creatures she'd ever come to lay her eyes upon. She gasped in surprise, not even noticing when Amaya released her arm.
"It's been a long time." The caramel haired man said calmly. "I'm Saga. This is Shou, Hiroto, Tora and Nao. We have a lot to discuss. Please, come have a seat."
Moriko was frozen in her place before Amaya knocked her shoulder, ushering her forward to a seat next to the short man with dusky charcoal hair who had been previously introduced as Nao. She held her own hands tightly in her lap, afraid to move out of fear of the extremely beautiful people surrounding her.
Her eyes settled on the one that had spoken before. Saga was his name, she was pretty sure. His eyes were a dark emerald color, sparkling in the limited light beautifully.
"This is going to sound strange, Moriko." Saga started. "But I need to sit still, be quiet and listen very carefully. Can you do that for me?"
Moriko nodded, responding well to Saga's naturally friendly demeanor.
"Now I'm going to tell you a story." Saga said, continuing at her agreement. "Back when earth was created, humans evolved into what they are today. But somewhere along the line several new kinds of humans were made. Among those kinds of humans came a very different kind of creature, still human but with a different appetite. This 'type' of human is now commonly called a vampire. Though vampires cannot walk in the sunlight, are virtually immortal and feed on blood, they are still human and still have emotions and needs just like everyone else. Are you following so far?"
Moriko nodded, somewhat interested in the story now.
"Just like normal humans, we have our good and evil. Some vampires choose to feed off animal blood and live an everyday life. While others drink the blood of their fellow human and vampire and strive to use their superior strength to beat down the normal human population and take everything for themselves. The good vampires are called Albens. The bad are called Nigrans. Since the beginning of time either of has fallen into one party, almost like politics but much more serious.
"Up until ten thousand years ago Albens had always been the dominant population. They had peacefully lived among the humans without being exposed. Then the Nigrans ruined everything by massacring several villages across the world, all at once. Since the attack was obviously predetermined, Albens decided to form a council against the Nigrans to make sure nothing like that ever happened again. The head of the council was known as the King, his wife the queen. Together they had two daughters and a son. The young royalty were trained in all arts of combat from weaponry to witchcraft. The three of them were the head of the Alben forces. Better known as the White Army. One princess was the head of the archers, the other the head of the magick force. And the prince was the commander over all other soldiers. Moriko-chan, have you ever noticed you have impeccable aim?"
"Me?" Moriko, who had been caught up in the story, was shocked at the question. After a few moments of thought she noticed she did. Even if it was throwing a ball of paper into the trashcan across the room, she did have good aim. She was the darts champion at the local bar in Kyoto. "I guess so… Wait. You can't be saying… Nah."
"Oh, I am." Saga grinned a little. "Moriko, you're the archer princess."
"Sounds so weird when you say it…" Amaya muttered.
"There's no way." Moriko laughed. "Why would I be…but… no. I'm human. I'm not a vampire."
"You're human now." Saga nodded. "But that's liable to change. Shall I continue with the story before you make yourself even more confused?"
Moriko sighed, slumping down in the couch. "Sure, why not?"
He smiled kindly to her, before continuing again.
"The prince, otherwise known as me-" He held a hand up to her question and she paused, letting him finish. "I was in charge of watching over my little sisters, no matter what. Though Amaya did prove to be a little difficult at times…"
Moriko looked up at Amaya with wide eyes, suddenly realizing that she was apparently related to her as well. That may or may not have frightened her a little, but she didn't say a single word. She looked back down at Saga intently.
"I did a very good job of supervising, even before we had grown into our official positions." Saga said. "It only got hard when the battles came. Due to the fact that the Nigrans copy every single thing we do, they formed a council and their own Black Army. We declared our first battle on January 12, 1214 and from there we only had more and more. We all did very well; we won every single one of them, until the Nigrans began to play dirty.
"They strategized to where their two top fighters, Yume and Kitsune, engaged in battle with both Amaya and you at the same time. Due to the fact that both of you were miles apart at the time, you couldn't combine your powers to create a stronger entity and burn them from the inside out - which I'll get to later, by the way- not to mention you were both already injured. So I examined the situation and saw that though you were without your bow, Amaya was unable to move. From what I could tell, you were doing better than she was at the time. So, I made an impulsive decision. I saved her… Which was exactly what they wanted. As soon as I was far enough away, the entire squadron behind Yume attacked you, Moriko, all at once. You were killed instantly…"
There was a quiet in the room and Moriko swallowed hard. She glanced up at Amaya who was glaring at the ground, angry at something a little different than the hardwood floors, she was sure. Saga coughed and silence was broken.
"That was the first battle we had ever lost, and it was the most important." Saga muttered. "Since that battle, Nigrans feed where they want, when they want, how they want. Only lately has it been getting worse. Not only are they feeding on humans, they're beginning to hunt Albens too. We're almost extinct as it is… Which brings me to why you're here."
Moriko leaned in, biting her lip and nodding.
"It was brought to our attention that since Amaya has been working on a way to bring you back ever since the day you died, her power has grown significantly. Recently on her trip to England she found a Wiccan who specialized in such things. The only problem is that if we brought you back, you would become human. But, thankfully, not forever."
"What do you mean, not forever?" Moriko asked, breaking her interested silence. "How long do I have to wait?"
"There's no set time limit." Saga told her. "But, since you are technically an ancestor of a vampire, there is vampire blood in your veins. It's just in remission."
"Then how do I become a vampire?" Moriko asked.
"Look who's all-too-eager to become undead." Hiroto scoffed. "Do you even know what it means to be a vampire?"
Moriko glared at him for a moment. "I know it's better than being human. Especially when you feel totally and completely worthless and out of place no matter where you go. So, yes, excuse me for wanting to become a vampire when the alternative is killing myself."
Hiroto fell silent, crossing his arms and leaning against the fireplace.
Saga sighed, shaking his head. "We have to awaken the blood with blood. Vampire blood. Once your human blood cells are infected with the vampire blood cells, the process will begin and you'll become a vampire."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Moriko snapped. "I want to be a vampire."