Kuro carried Karma on his shoulders as they walked through the summer festival. She was being unusually quiet. Whenever he took her places, she would want to do everything and watch him play video games until she fell asleep. They were surrounded by games, food, and colorful things, but she hadn't made a single sound. He sighed, pulling her from his shoulders so he could look at her. He had hoped she had just been too overwhelmed to be expressively excited about the festival, but her crestfallen face proved otherwise.
"What's wrong, princess?" He asked, pushing her choppy bangs from her face.
"I heard Mama talk about how she was going to take me away from Papa. She said she knew some people that would be able to kill you so you couldn't stop it."
"And what did I tell you?" He asked her.
"You can't die."
He nodded as a smile started to find its way to her lips, but it faded once again, "She can still take me from Papa."
Kuro frowned. She was too young to have to deal with this. A five year old shouldn't be afraid of her mother. A five year old also wasn't old enough to be responsible for a servamp. Yet, she had all of them.
Their contract had been made earlier that day by accident. Kuro had kissed many wounds throughout Karma's life, some involving blood, some not. Only this time, she had talked about her beloved cat, Kuro and sealed the contract.
It had scared her, but when the chains disappeared, she was fine. Mahiru thought it was funny, though Kuro failed to see the amusement. At least he would be able to go to her mother's to make sure she was safe.
"I'm going to be with you from now on, princess. Either as a cat or as your babysitter, I'll be there. For a small bite, I can keep you safe from any harm."
He placed her on the ground so she could walk with him. Her excitement of the festival was starting to show as she tugged him to different vendors and activities, pointing at things she thought were interesting.
"Do you want to try to catch the fish?" Kuro asked as she stared at the fish swimming in a circle.
"I want to pet one."
"Let's catch it first," Kuro suggested as he got the small net from the lady hosting the game.
Karma tried her best at trying to catch the slippery creatures but failed. Kuro watched as she concentrated on the objective, watching other people catch the slippery creatures.
"Hello, brother," Kuro heard behind him.
Karma gave little protest as the servamp picked her up, turning to face Old Child and his eve, Tetsu. The blond haired Human was tall as a teen, but it was possible he was even taller.
Karma's eyes widened as she stared at the tall blond and small Dracula on his shoulder. "You're big!"
"Who's the squirt?" Old Child asked, his eyes narrowing as he looked over the girl that was as tall as him.
"This is Karma Shirota, Mahiru's daughter, and my eve," Kuro introduced. "Karma, this is my brother, Old Child and his eve, Tetsu Sendagaya."
"You can call me Hugh the Dark Algernon III!" Old Child told her.
"Hello," she greeted with a smile. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Hugh..." she gave a sheepish smile having forgotten the long name, "and Mr. Sendagaya."
"How old are you?" Tetsu asked curiously.
"I'm going to be six next week!" She gasped, tugging on Kuro's jacket, "Will Papa be mad if we invite Mr. Hugh and Mr. Sendagaya to the party?"
"No, but your mother will. It's at her house this year."
Her eyebrows furrowed in thought as she tried to figure out a solution. When she found none, she sighed sadly, "Okay." She grinned at the two, "Next year it will be at Papa's house and you can come then!"
Tetsu chuckled as he placed his large hand on the girl's head, "We look forward to it. I don't think we've seen Mahiru since he got married."
"He's gotten divorced since then," Kuro said as he placed the girl down so she could try to catch fish again. "The plan had been to let Karma decide if she wanted me to be her servamp, but with what's been happening recently, it's better that it happened now."
"I haven't heard anything," Old Child said with a suspicious look.
"Karma's been in the hospital twice for blood transfusions after leaving her mother's home. I've found bite marks on her. I don't know who is doing it, but I will kill them if it happens again."
"Should you say things like that in front of a five year old?" Old Child asked.
"She's heard me say worse," Kuro replied, placing his hand on the girl's head.
"Yeah, one time he told my Aunt Kayda if Eusebio didn't leave me alone then he would break the little bast-" Despite Kuro covering her mouth, she continued telling the story.
When she finished, Kuro moved his hand from her mouth, sending a slight glare at the grinning girl. Old Child and Tetsu were laughing at the muffled story. "And did you stay true to your word?" Old Child asked.
"That was before the divorce. Now I have a say in the matter again."
"Ooh! I got one!" Karma exclaimed as she held the flopping goldfish in her hands. She scrunched her nose, "It's slimy."
"Here," Kuro gently pushed the fish from her hand into the waiting cup filled with water. "Fish aren't meant to be touched, princess. They can't live out of water."
"So, he gets to live with Oucher?"
"He gets to live with Oucher," Kuro nodded.
"What is Oucher?" Old Child asked as Kuro helped the girl clean her hands off with a sanitation wipe.
"It's a crab. Stupid thing nearly clamped her toe off."
"Good name for a crab," Tetsu said. "You can come to my hot springs whenever you want to see my koi fish."
"Koi fish? Can we go?" She asked Kuro.
"Yes' but your father will want to come."
"So what's your name, now, Sleepy Ash?"
"Kuro," he answered. "Mahiru and I still had a contract when he was dating Keiko, so the name stayed, even after the contract ended."
"I see," Old Child said thoughtfully. "The fireworks are about to begin, so find a good seat."
Kuro picked the girl up, letting her sit on his shoulders as they pushed the opposite way of the crowd, Karma playing with the fish in the cup. "Be careful with him. If you shake him up, he'll die."
"I'll name it Hugh, after your brother," Karma declared.
Kuro looked up at her to see her goofy smile, "If that's what you want to do."
"Do you like your brother? I don't know if I'll like mine."
"I didn't know you were going to have a brother," Kuro said as he placed her on the railing of the bridge.
"I'm going to have five," she smiled. "Mama said she had two boys in her belly."
"Great," Kuro grumbled as the fireworks started shooting off.
He noticed from the corner of his eye how entranced Karma had become with the fireworks. What a simple child. Would she always be so easy to please or cheer up?
Once the fireworks had ended, he picked her up, letting her rest against his chest. She was asleep before they got home, but Mahiru was still awake, sitting on the couch and reading a book.
"Oucher has a friend," Kuro said as he gently placed Karma in Mahiru's lap. He pulled the gold fish from his pocket, "This is Hugh. We saw my brother and that giant at the festival and she decided to name the fish after him."
"You can't dump the fish in the water. Just put the whole thing in the water and we'll take him out tomorrow."
"Keiko's pregnant," Kuro said as he put the fish in the tank as Mahiru had directed.
Mahiru sighed, "Great."
"Twins. Karma said they're both boys."
"Do you have any good news?"
"Probably not," Kuro said with a lazy shrug.
"Did she have fun?"
"For the most part," Kuro replied, remembering the bout of sadness the girl hadhad at the beginning. "Mahiru, you need to be careful. Keiko is going to try to take Karma from you."
"She can't. She already has to have supervised visits."
"That may be, but Karma is worried she'll take her away."
"Well, she's got you now, so she can't really be hurt that badly, can she?"
Kuro frowned as he watched the fish swim in the tiny cup. "That depends. I don't know how much she'll be able to trust me if I have to bite her. She's too young for this, Mahiru."
"I know," Mahiru agreed, closing his book and standing up.
He gently picked up his daughter, taking her to her room. He was proud of Karma. She had been in a few little league sports, trying to find out where she belonged, or if she belonged to any of them. With trophies in every sport and high praise coming from the coaches, it was hard to say. Thanks to Licht, she got to touch base with music, which she did not like, but was very polite as always to the pianist.
Her dislike of piano seemed to force her mother to make her take lessons. "You could be a great pianist like Licht if you practiced."
His poor daughter wanted to please everyone. Sheets of music scattered the floor where she had gotten frustrated and just tossed the piece. After he tucked her in bed, he picked up the sheet music, frowning at the complexity of the piece. A small note at the top of the page told him why she was learning it. Licht had mastered it by the time he was seven.
"Karma shouldn't be forced to do something," Mahiru said quietly as the servamp stood next to him. "Maybe Keiko will pull her out of it."
The vampire took his cat form and jumped onto the bed, "Wouldn't count on it. Keiko will probably expect her to be tour ready in a month."
Mahiru smiled when his daughter reached down, grabbing the cat and pulled him to her chest, cuddling him.
"I told you I was cute," Kuro said as he nuzzled into the girl.
"You're not that cute."
"Night, Papa," Karma said as Mahiru started to leave.
He smiled, walking back to his daughter and kissing her on the forehead, "Night, sweetie. I love you."
"I love you, Papa."
Mahiru walked out of the room, turning on her star shaped nightlight and closing the door until it was only a crack. He had learned a lot. How was Keiko planning on taking Karma from him? If by some legal way she managed to take her, Kuro would still be there with her. That cat would go through hell to get Karma back.
The following weekend started off just as disastrous as they thought. Tsubaki's subclass, Shamrock stood next to Keiko, a smirk on his face.
"You look troubled, Sleepy Ash. There's not much you can do, though, is there? Being attached to Mahiru must really get under your skin since you can't protect Karma when she's not with you."
"You touch her, you die," Kuro promised.
Shamrock laughed, "What do you think happens in these supervised visits? You act as though-"
Kuro's black claws stuck out of the subclass's chest, causing him to gasp. "I don't answer to Mahiru." He pulled his hand from his chest, "I answer to Karma. If you don't think she would wish you dead, you are wrong. If she tells me to kill you, I will not hesitate."
Mahiru looked down at his unfazed child. Even the small river of blood on her arm didn't bother her. Her once playful eyes were like steel, glaring and watching. She had been spending time with Misono and Lily.
"Aren't you going to stop her?!" Keiko cried as she tried to stop Shamrock's bleeding.
"She knows what she's doing," Mahiru replied. "Besides, how much blood did he take from her before you stopped him?"
Keiko went quiet, watching in horror as her daughter stared her down, "Sweetie, you don't want to do this to your brothers. They should have a father."
Everyone was surprised when the chain disappeared, Karma walking to her servamp's side and tugging on his jacket, "Kuro, can we go to Mr. Hugh's koi pond?"
"Sure," he answered, picking the girl up and placing her on his shoulders.
Karma's steely gaze faltered slightly as she looked at her terrified mother, "I don't ever want to see you again. I hate you."
Kuro turned away, letting his eve's words sink in as he walked to Mahiru. She was six. She shouldn't be able to mean those words or be so willing to end someone's life. But, she could.
"Lets invite Misono and Lily," Mahiru said as he pulled out his phone. "It can be like a small reunion."
"Yay!" Karma cheered as Kuro put her in the car.
She managed to buckle herself in and Kuro hopped into her lap, laying down as she gently stroked his fur. "You're dirty."
"I took a shower this morning," Kuro replied as he stretched out and rolled onto his stomach for her to rub.
"Then why does Kitty Kuro have knots in his fur?" She asked, making Mahiru's laugh.
"You can give Kitty Kuro a bath at the bath house. I'm sure Tetsu wouldn't mind."
"You're going to put braids in my fur again," the cat grumbled as he looked up at the child.
Her brown eyes searched his, trying to find some comfort after what had just happened. Had she made the right choice? His fluffy tail lightly brushed her cheek. A sense of relief flashed over her face. He didn't hold it against her, and that was what mattered.
When they got to the bath house, Karma immediately took Kuro to a bath to wash the cat. Mahiru smiled as he watched the cat get covered in pink suds before directing his attention to Tetsu and Hugh.
"So, Shamrock is part of your family now?" Hugh asked as Tetsu gave everyone tea.
"I don't think so. Karma said she never wanted to see her again, so until she wants to see Keiko, I'm not going to make her go over there," answered Mahiru.
Old Child gave him a look, "That seems a bit extreme."
"Shamrock has been able to drink her blood, and he's nearly killed her twice. I don't think Karma is doing anything too harsh," Mahiru argued. He didn't think his daughter could be so brash, but Keiko deserved it. "And, she has Kuro. I know he's not a replacement, but he's a stability she will always have."
Karma walked in with her cat wrapped in a towel, holding him tight as her eyes started to get heavy. "I'm sleepy, Papa."
Kuro jumped from her arms, landing on his feet to catch her before she passed out on the floor. "How annoying."
"Is she alright?" Tetsu asked as he got up to get her a futon.
"She'll be fine. Standing up to her mother with the threat of a vampire took almost all of her energy and effort."
"Oh yeah, Kuro what's going on with your chain? It looks more solid than mine did."
"She's a true eve." The servamp's basic explanation made Old Child gasp.
Mahiru became frantic, "Is that bad? Is she going to get hurt?"
Old Child began explaining as Kuro placed the girl on the futon and tucked the blanket in around her. "True eves are a rare phenomenon. The bond between the servamp and true Eve is something written in destiny and cannot be changed. Karma will become a vampire. Like star crossed lovers, she will be bound to Sleepy Ash."
"Wh-what?" Mahiru's voice trembled. Would she be alright as a vampire? Would Kuro be able to take care of her?
"I don't have a say in the matter," Kuro told him. "All of us are destined to have a true eve. World's End found his, but he left him. When that happens, the true Eve dies a long and slow death."
"And, if you end the contract with her now, what would happen?"
"Our contract can't be broken. My bell can't break. The only thing that could stop it would be for another servamp to kill her."
Mahiru went silent. Why did it have to be Karma?
"There's nothing to be afraid of," Lily said as he entered the room with Misono following. "They have to be in the same country, not side by side. Karma will just be a vampire. All the benefits of a servamp but no need for an eve to reach her potential."
"So, how long does she have?"
"I was eighteen when our creator made me. That's when she'll turn."
Mahiru's was ready to yell at the cat for not telling him all this information earlier, but Kuro was already upset by the news.
"We don't know who our true eves are until the contract has been made. It just happens," Lily explained, noticing Mahiru's tension and silence.
"But, she'll be safe, right? When should we tell her?"
"She'll be fine. True eves already know after the contract is created that this will happen." Kuro gently moved a piece of her hair from her face, "The only problem is the transition will be painful, just like it was for the rest of us."