Ritsu

2 Days Ago:

The catastrophe in our cramped living room irked me. The other four girls sitting in the various chairs wore angry expressions, which was to be expected. It had been my choice to keep this information a secret. I'd made a promise to Asako that I'd keep everyone safe, even if that meant keeping them in the dark. Scooting my glasses up my nose, I waited for the imminent explosion.

"How could you not tell us that you know where Asako is?" Shiro spoke up first, growling at me. She pulled at her white hair, a coping mechanism for her when she got angry and couldn't control it.

Sighing, I folded my arms and replied, "I don't know where she is. You know that when we left, the portal spit us out in this city. He could be anywhere. I only have access to the feed in her bedroom."

"That's a big secret to be keeping to yourself," Sachi said from her perch on top of the breakfast bar. Her being the tallest of us all, at 5'8, when she sat up there it made her almost look threatening. She never really cared to be part of our conversations any other time. It surprised me that she wanted to be around for this.

"I made a judgement call. It wouldn't have helped for anyone to be worrying about her." It made the most logical sense to not tell them. We had a hard enough time adjusting to the human world. Finding a small house that all of us could stay in had been more than bothersome, even with the money that Asako had stolen from Richter.

Leiko laughed from the couch, adjusting her beanie that sat on top of her wavy orange-red hair. "We left her behind, Ritsu. There's no way any of us stopped worrying about her."

Kuriko stood up. "I want to see it. I have to know…" Her voice squeaked. Out of all of us, she took leaving Asako the hardest. It took over a month for her to start speaking again. The transition without our fearless leader had been difficult. No one wanted to leave her, but she had planned it all from the beginning. I'd started to believe that she knew she wouldn't be leaving.

Knowing that they wouldn't let this go, I retrieved the laptop she'd stolen for me to keep. The camera flickered on, showing Asako in her bedroom. As far as I'd seen, she hadn't left the room in over a year. "That's not all. Asako told me about our family name, Sakamaki, and I think I've located our dads."

All eyes moved from the screen to me. Sachi kicked her legs. "Great. We're going there then?"

"I am, with Kuriko and Shiro. You and Leiko are going somewhere else. Do you remember the other four girls in the west wing. We never met them, but Richter spoke of them every now and again. From what I've gathered in this system, they come from a group of vampires who are ex-human."

Leiko stretched her arms over her head. "So basically, we're about to break some 'you're a father' news to a bunch of bachelor vampires. This'll be fun." A grin grew on her face.

"I've compiled a file on each of the girls. There isn't much, but hopefully it'll be enough to convince them to help us out," I said.

Kuriko wiped tears off her cheeks. "Let's go! Now! They can get her back! I mean, Richter always talked down about them, so he must be afraid of them." The panic had set in.

They wouldn't have enough sense to wait a few days, so I made arrangements for us to get there. Cabs were expensive and our funds were running dangerously slow. After an hour of annoying questions, we split up. Kuriko demanded to keep the laptop with her so she could watch Asako. She still stifled tears when we arrived at the massive mansion.

The cab left us stranded. My expectations for this meeting weren't high. I knocked the door, Kuriko clutched the laptop to her chest, and Shiro tried the door handle. The door swung open into an eerily quiet house. Someone was here, but it didn't smell like us.

"Don't you think Asako would be making a joke about how big this place is? Or wanting to go explore?" Shiro asked, smiling a little.

"Excuse me, young ladies. The masters of this house are currently away. If you would like to wait, I'll show you another room." The vampire bowed slightly, motioning us to follow him down the long hallway. He shut the doors back, leaving us alone.

The room was bigger than any of the rooms in the place we'd come from. Kuriko settled on the couch, opening back up the laptop. Shiro wandered around, curious about pretty much everything. The outside world still had a lot to teach us. I, on the other, contemplated how to break the news that these vampires have kids. They could reject us completely and saving Asako would be nearly impossible.

The silence was broke by a presence entering the room. "What is the meaning of this?"

This new vampire stared at us with a sharp glaze, like we were children who needed a scolding. I blocked Shiro with my arm. It was like staring into a strange mirror. I was at a loss for words. We looked so similar.

"Well, well. I thought there was someone new here." Another appeared, a fedora on his head, and a smirk that rivaled Leiko's in sassiness. He looked over all three of us and frowned. "Purebloods, but that's not possible. You smell like… us. Who are you?"

"I'm Shiro. This is Ritsu, and that's Kuriko," Shiro said, folding her arms. "Does the name Richter mean anything to you?"

"He's our uncle," A softer voice came from behind us on the second couch. A blond haired boy laid stretched out on it. He stared at us for before sitting up. "Are you his kids?"

Shiro rolled her eyes. "Do we look like it?"

"Shiro," I snapped. She could get us all killed. I collected myself and tried to explain through my nervousness. Being the calmest of the group didn't matter when meeting your real family for the first time. "From the research Asako stole for me, the only thing that makes sense is that Richter planned all of this from the start."

The first one sighed, adjusting his glasses. "I see." Three more vampires appeared, making it a total of six. "Then the logical assumption is that you are not Richter's kids, but ours."

"That's impossible, Reiji. I think we'd know if we got someone pregnant." The white haired one said, his eyes locked on Shiro. They look just alike too, same scowl and all.

Reiji sat down in the chair nearest to him. "Unlikely if Richter has been hiding all of this. He could easily have faked the death of some of the brides. Father had told him he could take the bodies for research." He folded his hands together, giving a brief introduction to each of his brothers. "Why did you come to find us?"

"Are there only three of you?" Laito asked.

Shiro was having a hard time not staring at Ayato, showing that she missed Asako just as much as the rest of us. "No, Sachi and Leiko are doing a different errand. And we…" I paused. How do I explain that we left Asako behind? Would they believe that we had no choice?

"Who is that?" Kanato asked from beside Kuriko, pointing the screen. He startled her. Again, the resemblance was shocking. His eyes met hers and tears pooled in her eyes again.

"Asako... she's still there… and I don't know how to help her. We don't even know where she is." Her worried tone made everyone silent for a moment. If they said to leave and never come back, Asako might be stuck there forever. Richter might break her, and she could be different from what we remember. These six vampires were her only way out.