(Okay, fair warning here. This chapter contains rape, nothing graphic, but it happens, and while I don't go into great detail if you don't like that kinda thing, then you might wanna read something else. If you're OK with that, then by all means go ahead. Leave a review if you feel so inclined.)
Chapter 3 Failure…
Standing there across from Alex, his inhuman eyes staring at me, I can't help but look away. He takes a step toward me, and I shut my eyes, thrusting my hands out with my fingers wrapped around his cross. Standing there I hear his footsteps, and suddenly the cross is pulled from my fingers. I open my eyes to see Alex holding the cross in his right hand, his own hands hovering just centimeters from mine. I blink in surprise, and his gaze once again finds my eyes, and I can't help but look away, truly afraid of the creature standing right in front of me.
"Afraid of me now?" He asks in that condescending tone.
I quickly nod, afraid to even speak.
CLINK.
That sounds like metal meeting metal…
I open my eyes at the familiar sound to see the cross now once again somehow reattached to the chain on the choker. I watch as the yellow bleeds back into his hair, and he closes his eyes, the strange feeling of dread that I felt disappearing, his body returning to what it looked like when I first saw him. The second after all the changes stop he sways to the left and the right, like a tree in the wind, and then he rights himself, standing up straight he opens his eyes.
"Are you all right?" He asks calmly, the condescending tone gone from his voice.
"I'm fine." I speak with terror in my voice. "What about you? What happened to you?"
"What you just saw was my true form." He says matter of factly. "This thing around my neck is called a Rosario, and it seals my true nature away so I can blend in."
"Does it also seal away your personality? You spoke so differently when you were like that."
"No." He says, shaking his head. "What you saw was me, it's just in that form I am reminded of everything that separates me from other monsters. I speak like I do because it's how I was raised."
"You were raised to speak like you're superior to everyone?"
"Except other vampires." He says matter of factly.
"So, you think I'm an inferior creature?"
"Of course." He says without hesitation.
I blink and look away, scowling at his blatantly elitist attitude.
"So, that's all I am to you? Just an inferior creature?"
I look to see him blink in surprise, and he quickly looks away.
"It's…complicated." He searches for the words.
"How is it complicated? I'm just an inferior creature. Surely a vampire wouldn't want to burden himself with an inferior creature."
He shakes his head slowly.
"Listen, I don't care if you're human, werewolf, succubus, elf or orc. I told you that I reserve judgment until I learn about a person."
"So? You still think I'm inferior."
"A part of me does, yes." He answers.
I look up, meeting his now blue gaze.
"A part of you?" I ask incredulously. "It didn't sound like a part of you when I asked you five seconds ago."
"I was raised by my vampire mother. I was taught that all other creatures are inferior, no matter what they are. It isn't as though I hate you or anything."
"Then why would you help me?"
"I told you…it's complicated. Up until now I went to school in the human world and I was the outcast. All through elementary school and most of middle school I never had any friends. It was only during my last year of middle school that I made some friends. I know what it's like to be the outcast, and in this school you're effectively the outcast. You're the only human here, and I don't think you deserve to die, so I'll protect you."
"Will you be my friend? Will you tell your mother that we're friends even though I'm a lower creature?"
"Of course." He says without hesitation.
I can't help but blink in surprise, at the fact that he agreed to say I'm his friend and that he said it without any kind of hesitation or argument.
"You mean that?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I want to be friends with you? You're a good person and you just wanna be a good student."
"Thank you…" I smile at him.
"Let's go Sadamoto-san." He says formally, motioning with his hand toward the school.
Walking back onto the campus proper Yuki follows me like an obedient dog. I take her on a quick tour of the school, showing her all the important places on campus. Word has already spread amongst the student body, and I can hear the other students whispering amongst themselves at seeing Yuki and I walking through the school.
"I heard he's a vampire, she must be his woman." One boy whispers.
"She must be one of his servants. I hear that they make all kinds of special exceptions for vampires."
Glancing back at Yuki, she has her hands on her lap, her eyes down in front of her. She does look like a servant. Sighing in frustration I stop walking, and Yuki stops on a dime. She looks up at the sudden stop, and I walk back, turning around when I'm on her right, I put my hand on her right shoulder, giving her a gentle push.
"You aren't my servant, so walk with me rather than behind me." I insist, and Yuki blinks in surprise.
"But I thought…"
"Walk with me." I say again, calm and insistent.
She hesitantly starts walking beside me, and the two of us find a covered hallway connecting two buildings. There are benches lining the hallway, and even a pair of vending machines at one end. Yuki sits down on the bench, and I go to the vending machines, buying a can of tomato juice for me and a cola for her. Walking back to the bench I hand her the can of soda, and she looks at the can of tomato juice as I sit down next to her.
"Tomato juice?" She asks inquisitively, and I nod.
"Yeah." I pop the top on the can. "It's actually really good and other then blood it's my favorite drink."
She takes a drink from the can, and I take a swallow from the tomato juice, the juice sweet, but not nearly as sweet as the taste of blood flowing down my throat…
"So, you drink blood. What else is true about vampires? I've seen you walking around in sunlight, so it's obvious that you don't burn when you go outside during the day."
"That's true." I affirm for her, taking another drink from the tomato juice. "We do get sunburned if we spend a prolonged time out in the sun, and pure water saps our strength."
"Water?" She asks curiously, the can on her lips. "That's a new one… How do you bathe if you can't touch water?"
"As long as the water is diluted with something it won't harm me." I explain for her. "More often then not we use herbs to dilute the water to protect ourselves."
"Oh…"
"Any other questions?"
"Do you think I'm an inferior creature?"
She's still hung up on that?
"No." I answer without hesitation.
"I guess I can believe that." She says with resignation in her voice. "At least this part of you doesn't think I'm inferior, but I get the feeling that if took that Rosario off and I asked you you'd say I am."
I shake my head slowly.
"Do you really think I'd offer to protect you and go out of my way for you if I thought you were inferior? Do you think I'd risk my life against another monster if I thought you were inferior?"
She blinks in surprise.
"I…uh…" She mumbles.
A new scent wafts into my nose, and I raise my hand to her, telling her to be silent. It's then that a girl emerges from one of the school buildings. She's dressed in a black uniform with a long coat.
A member of the Student Police?
The girl has dark black hair and dark eyes. An air of depression seems to hang over her, and I can't imagine why a member of the Student Police Committee, the elite monsters who control the student body could possibly look like they're depressed about anything.
She stops in front of the bench, her eyes darting toward us. Her eyes flicker the sockets, and the air of depression vanishes, replaced by a look of shocked surprise.
"Can I help you?" I ask the girl calmly, and she quickly shakes her head.
"Please excuse me!" She yelps, and then starts walking, practically running toward the other end of the hall.
She disappears around a corner at the far end of the hall, and both Yuki and I look after the strange girl.
"Who was that? Why was she wearing that black uniform?"
"I don't know who she is." I tell her with a shrug. "However that uniform means she's a member of the Student Police Committee."
"Student Police Committee?" She asks curiously.
"They're the student police." I say matter of factly. "They enforce the school's rules and keep what would be nothing but a pack of rowdy monsters in line. If a student suddenly disappears or there's a public torture session, then they're the ones responsible."
"They torture people?" She asks incredulously.
"Monster society is different from human society." I tell her matter of factly. "Violence isn't that big a deal, so even if it gets out that I beat the crap out of that ogre I doubt anything will come of it other than the other students will give me a wide berth because I'm a vampire."
"Is being a vampire that big a deal those other monsters will avoid you because of it?"
I nod solemnly, taking another drink of the tomato juice. Looking out the archway in front of me at the dirt in the courtyard, I can't look at the human girl sitting next to me.
"Monsters are ranked according to our destructive ability. Vampires are ranked in the highest class, S-Class, and we're feared by other monster due to our massive strength. The only reason that the majority of the students here will even speak to me without a pressing reason is the seal. If I were to walk around in my unsealed form they'd treat me like a monster."
"A monster among monsters." She says with a smirk. "Who'd have ever thought something like that could exist?"
Sitting back in the bench, I take a long drink from the can, drinking the remainder of the tomato juice.
"That's the reason I wear this seal, all to try and fit in."
"Heh…I'm a human pretending to be a monster, and you're a monster pretending to be a human…" She says with irony in her voice.
"Let's go." I say as I stand up. "I'll show you the school's campus, and we can set up a time for us to meet so I can walk you to school."
"You're going to walk me to school?" She asks incredulously, standing up and drinking the rest of the soda. "I don't really think that's necessary…"
FLICK.
"OW!" She scowls in pain, her hand slapping against her forehead, covering the spot where my finger hit her. "Why did you flick me in the forehead!?"
"You're a human." I remind her in a low voice. "You can't fight off another student if they attack you."
"That's true…"
A week passes, and then two weeks pass without incident. No monster comes after me, trying to garner a reputation by taking down a vampire. I get into a routine with Yuki, meeting her early in the morning outside the girl's dorm and the two of us walk to class together. We normally eat lunch together, and I'll walk her back to the dorm at the end of the day. So, after two weeks I'm into a routine.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
I reach out and slap at the alarm clock, my hand finding the alarm clock even with my eyes closed. I open my eyes and look at the clock, groaning tiredly.
Just five more minutes…
Lying there on the bed I close my eyes, drifting off into a doze. Time seems to flash by, and when I open my eyes and look at the clock, fifteen minutes has passed since my alarm went off.
"Shit!" I curse in English, temporarily forgetting to use Japanese.
Throwing off the blankets I fly through my morning routine, cursing myself in my thoughts for trying to sleep in. Once I'm dressed I grab a blood packet from the mini fridge in my room, taking off out of my room and heading for the stairs. I rip into the blood transfusion pack and suck it down as I leave the dorm, jogging toward the girl's dorm.
By now most of the students are up and about, and with the seal on no one pays me much mind. Stopping in front of the girl's dorm I look around for Yuki, searching for some sign of my human friend. Looking around I can't find her, and even thought the smells of various other monsters races hang in the air, I can clearly identify the smell of a human scent.
She was here. Maybe she got tired of waiting and just went to class?
Thinking that I head for homeroom at a quick walk. Walking into my homeroom five minutes later I look toward Yuki's seat and it's empty. What's worse, there isn't even a trace of her scent in the room. Looking silently I mutter a curse under my breath.
Yuki, where are you?
It's then that I start to panic. With Yuki missing I can only imagine what horrible things could happen to her. Running back to our normal meeting point I deeply inhale, catching her scent in my nose. I start following it, the scent leading me toward what looks like a warehouse style building behind the school and away from all the other buildings on campus.
There's a door in clear view, and I head for it, Yuki's scent coming from inside. Stopping at the door, I strain my ears, trying to get a general idea of what's going on inside. Taking a deep breath I can smell two other distinctly male scents inside.
What is she doing inside with two other male students?
"Damn…talk about a weak bitch. After her initial resistance she calmed down real quick." A male voice speaks from beyond the door.
"Yeah, it was a good fuck, too bad we gotta kill her, with a little work she'd become a perfect fuck toy." A second voice says from beyond the door.
Thinking that the two of them are talking about Yuki, my hand grabs at the Rosario, ripping it off the chain I throw it aside, the Rosario sticking into the ground with a barely audible thunk. The transformation is nearly instantaneous, and I kick the door in, the door slamming open.
Inside the small warehouse is mostly empty. Chains are looped over the rafters and hang down, and I see Yuki's arms bound by these chains. She hangs from the ceiling, her clothing ripped to tatters, the front of her body in full view. Standing there I can see a white liquid flowing down her legs, and then I notice the two male students standing around her. Both of the students aren't wearing shirts, and I get the feeling that they're both getting dressed after having their way with Yuki…
"Hey…you're that vampire!" One of them yelps. "Listen, this isn't…"
He doesn't have time to say anything more, because in the next instant my hand is thrust through his chest, his beating heart held in my hand. Ripping my hand from his chest I look down at his heart in my hand, at his blood covering my hand from the wrist on down. I quickly throw the heart aside, the body falling face first as my gaze travels toward the other student, his lips quivering in fear as his friend's blood spreads around his body.
"Look, we didn't mean to steal your woman, we didn't know she was-"
I'm next to him in a moment, and grab him by the throat, squeezing with all the strength in my hand. I feel his flesh ripping beneath my hand. I feel his spine in my fingers, and I pull, ripping his head and spinal cord out of his neck with a wet ripping sound. Blood sprays from the wound, splattering against my face as I fling his head and spine aside, letting the body fall to the ground. Standing there I feel vindicated, and then I quickly push the feeling aside, looking toward Yuki, her body hanging there by the chains with a lifeless blank expression in her eyes.
"Yuki, just hold still, I'll get you down."
I move to Yuki's side, and my hands grasp ahold of the chains and I rip them apart like tissue paper. With the chains no longer holding her up she falls and I catch her in my arms, holding her as her head lulls down, her chin against my shoulder.
"Yuki, I've got you, can you hear me?"
She doesn't move, doesn't blink, and doesn't even flinch.
The infirmary…
Forgetting the Rosario I take off my jacket and wrap it around Yuki's body. Taking her into my arms 'bridal' style and carry her out of the warehouse, going into a full on sprint as I head for the main building. Without the seal I'm like a walking neon sign, my demonic aura detectable by nearly every student and faculty member in the school. As I run past classrooms the doors open and heads poke out, wondering just what the tremendous demonic aura they all feel is and why is it heading toward the infirmary.
By the time I reach the infirmary the door has opened and a woman with short brunette hair and hazel eyes wearing a long doctor's coat is standing in the hallway.
"Sensei!" I jerk to a stop, holding Yuki in my arms. "Something terrible has happened…"
The woman nods, motioning for me to go inside.
"Take her inside, set her on bed one, it's the first one on the right."
I nod, slipping inside with Yuki still in my arms. I see the room is some sort of intensive care ward with 4 beds lining both sides of the rectangular room. Against the far wall is a sink and what looks like a medicine cabinet along with a crash cart and other emergency care equipment. Fortunately all the beds are empty, and I carry Yuki to the bed closest to the door on my left, setting her down like she's made of glass.
"I'll examine her, so could you please step back?" The doctor asks.
Nodding silently I do as I'm instructed, giving the woman plenty of room as she walks to Yuki's bed side. She puts her hands together, saying a few words in a strange language, and her hands begin to glow a faint green glow. She extends her hands, holding them over a foot above Yuki's body. She slowly pans her hands across Yuki's prone and motionless form. Standing there I can do nothing but watch the doctor, and I feel an unfamiliar frustration pound through my system.
I'm used to being able to do something, but there's nothing else I can do to help the situation other than stand here and watch. I should've grabbed my Rosario, like this I'm probably more of a distraction for the nurse…
I can smell the crowd of people forming at the now closed door. The students here aren't used to vampire standing around in their unsealed form, their demonic aura flooding the area around them. Unfortunately without the Rosario, there is nothing I can do to suppress the aura or prevent the other students from feeling it. I can hear a murmur from outside, several adult voices talking to one another, judging from their tones I get the feeling that an argument has sprung up.
I turn my attention back to the doctor, her hands now hovering over Yuki's head. The glow surrounding her hands fades, and she looks from Yuki's body to me, her face set in a stern mask.
"This girl has been raped." She says matter of factly.
She can tell that just by waving her hands above Yuki's body? It must be some kind of spell…
"I didn't rape her." I growl, looking away from the woman, a wave of guilt hitting me.
She only got raped because I wasn't there…
"Her biology is very similar to a human's."
"She's one of the border races. I don't know which." I lie, and the woman doesn't question it.
"I understand. I'll treat her as best as I can and prevent pregnancy, but other then the normal damage a woman suffers from penetration, there's nothing physically wrong with her. Whatever is wrong is psychological, and I'm afraid there's very little I can do to help her. If she's shut her mind off to the outside world then the only person who can bring her out is herself."
So there's nothing that can be done… Yuki, I'm so sorry…
The door to the hall opens, and my head spins around to see Nekonome-sense standing in the doorway. She stinks of fear.
"Graham-san…it's against school rules to appear in your true form." She reminds me, clearly uncomfortable staring me down.
"I understand Nekonome-sensei. There were extenuating circumstances why I'm like this. I'll retrieve my Rosario as soon as possible."
"Unfortunately, that will have to wait." A new voice speaks up.
Nekonome-sensei steps aside, and the Chairman walks into the room, still dressed in his priestly garb. The doctor looks from Nekonome to the Chairman, her gaze lowering in supplication.
"Chairman-sama." The doctor says in greeting.
His still glowing eyes look straight into mine, and for a moment I meet his gaze, my own unwavering and unflinching, and then I break eye contact, looking away to avoid a confrontation.
"Graham Alexander, come with me." The Chairman says in a no nonsense tone.
"Yes, Chairman-sama." I readily agree.