The secret side of me, I'll never let you see.
I keep it caged but I can't control it.
So keep away, The beast is ugly.
"Monster" Sung by Skillet
Chapter Two
Ashiro groaned in pain, his eyes sliding open to look around again. It was morning, he could tell this by the sound of feet on the floors above him. But still he was left alone in the dark basement, something he strongly disagreed with, light was good, light meant you could see better. Irritated with himself, the halfbreed shifted, and moved his eyes over the area, seeing the same thing he'd seen three hours ago when the sun had risen to for about thirty minutes, create a faint crimson glow beneath a distant door. He wondered when they would come get him, he had a feeling his ribs were badly bruised, maybe fractured and he knew his collar bone was snapped, at least from what he could feel it was a clean break, the calm red clad vampire could have shattered the bone instead of merely snapping it.
Finally, a scent hit his nose and he sighed. Footsteps reached his ears and he was grateful for the awkward wriggling he'd done to get his hood back over his face. Looking up he found himself looking at the butler from before. He didn't so much as hiss in pain as his ribs hit the man's shoulder, the action confirming they were just bruised. The butler began walking, and soon enough the sun washed over the halfbreed, sending hazy heat through out him. Ashiro's lips twitched in a slight smile, before he gritted his teeth, the ends of his collarbone grinding against each other.
Silence was broken only by the soles of the butler's shoes and the noises Ashiro could hear in the rest of the mansion. They stopped and Ashiro was placed on the ground. Immediately, his dark eyes scanned the room, finding nothing except a pale haired woman smoking a cigar to catch his interest, he simply watched.
"Do you know who it is you tried to steal from?" She finally spoke, her blue eyes narrowed on his hooded face. Ashiro simply shrugged, opting to let her do all the talking. Her eyes narrowed angrily, but she kept herself controlled. This brought a rather large amount of relief from him, he knew just how dangerous an unhappy woman could get.
"Walter was on an errand for me when you decided to take what isn't yours." She continued, watching him closely. Still, he remained silent for another moment, choosing his words. Then, he let out a soft laugh.
"And what exactly does your errand have to do with vampires?" His voice was sharp, untrusting, and clipped, the way it was with everyone, unless he was being sarcastic. The blond tensed and Ashiro felt Walter tug his hood off, allowing the rays of sun, spilling in the rather ornate window, to shine on his face. He didn't do anything but close his eyes, unlike most full blooded vampires, he wasn't harmed by the sunlight. Once Ashiro's eyes adjusted, he opened them and saw the woman's brows furrow.
"I know, I know. My eyes are strange." And they were; a rich dark color that was all too easily compared to blood drenched chocolate, or now, in the light,bloody mud. His eye color was strange. She nodded slowly, relief evident in her face, and Walter suddenly spoke.
"If it weren't for the brown in them, they would look exactly like the eyes of a vampire." Ashiro resisted the urge to roll his eyes, choosing instead to level a glare at the smoking cigar in the ashtray on the desk.
"They would, wouldn't they?" The blond's comment had him tensing unhappily. The way she said it was as though she were thinking. People who thought about things around him usually weren't involved in anything that went well for him. Uneasy, he shrugged, turning his gaze to the floor. If these two were to attack him, he really didn't want to see it. He had seen enough to last him three lifetimes.
It was then that he heard laughter, and it made him sick. The vampire from before was awake and Ashiro had the sinking feeling that he was in the room. At least, his scent was, but it didn't seem to be in one particular place just all over the room. Dazed, he jerked his head up, eyes large and slightly panicked. However, the blond and Walter didn't seem fazed, if anything they were amused by his reaction.
A dark form began to take shape behind the blond and Ashiro's breath caught for a moment before he started to hyperventilate. But a narrowing of the vampire's eyes made him go still and stare silently at the red clad figure. Upon seeing the control that he had over Ashiro's very body, the blond scowled and spun around.
"Alucard, what do you know about this?" she demanded. The dark haired vampire merely smirked, but eventually replied.
"Just snippy's name. Funny name for a mix like that. More funny that he even has a name." It seemed that the blond was used to Alucard's attitude, as she merely narrowed her eyes and began speaking.
"What kind of mixture?" she asked, looking suspiciously at Ashiro. Alucard smirked widely and Ashiro flinched. His secret was about to be blown out of water right into his face.
"He's a dhampire." Puzzled the blond blinked then frowned, irritation obvious in her eyes. It was then that Ashiro realized that he was baiting her, worse, it was working. He squirmed, earning a warning glare from both humans.
"And what's that?" she asked angrily.
"To be exact, snippy is only half human, the rest of his blood is vampiric. Whelps like him don't usually happen unless a vampire's been the subject of experimentation." The grin on Alucard's face seemed more like the look a wolf has right before it bites the head off the rabbit it caught. The halfbreed sighed, his eyes closing. He tensed, better to be prepared for the strike when it came.
"Alucard...take him down to the basement and put him in the room closest to yours. Keep an eye on him until he proves himself either a danger or a liability." The woman's voice was low and carefully empty of emotion.
"If he's just a liability, no threat?" This was Walter's voice. There came a sigh.
"I'll leave him for Alucard to handle."