i would like to thank Salt-the-catgirl for helping me on this chapter, she gave me lots of suggestions, and a proofread, which i appreciate, much gratitude, be sure to read her stuff. i'm actually working on a story with her called malpractice, a very very dark fic where ozaki gets his hands on more shiki at the end of the series and puts them all through the same(and even worse) hellish experiments he did to kyoko...not for the faint of heart, it should be up soon...i would also like to thank ChaelRi Reika for drawing me fan art, it is a pic of Sora, i plan to use it for everything! this cover, my profile pic(for every site i use) and blah bidy blah blah blah again many thanks chael
"again, my name is Muroi Sora, sorry if my introduction was a little intense…..this is definitely Tohru….i shouldn't have to worry about what he says or what I say to him….if an ass like Natsuno can win his good side then I should be a shew in…it's just kind of dull living in the temple." Sora smiled as politely as he could as he continued his faux bow. Tohru smiled back, and Sora picked up of the cue to ease up, he regained his standing stature and relaxed a little.
"This place is so peaceful, why wouldn't you like it here?" Tohru laughed.
"peaceful is good for a few hours at a time, but if its all you know every day it gets boring….i'm a young man, I need stimulation!" Tohru looked at Sora queerly for a second. "NO not like that! I meant, I need activity, something to do! I can't just sit."
"Oh, you confused me for a second there." Tohru smiled warmly at Sora.
"Yeah….i seem to have that problem, when I say something…people seem to take it the wrong way pretty often. Just trust me. I always mean well." Sora overacted his embarrassment just a little.
"You remind me of my friend Natsuno a little bit. He can't stand this place either…and people always take what he says the wrong way." Sora had to hide his disgust. Of all the people Tohru could have compared him to; Natsuno was probably the second worst.
"well….at least he didn't compare me to Masao…he sounds like a…cool guy…bleghhh, just threw up in my mouth a little bit….." Sora wanted to drink a glass of vinegar just to get the taste of complimenting Natsuno out of his mouth, there was nothing more degrading than praising someone he hated.
"That sounded difficult for him to say, do those two know each other? Once you get to know him, yeah, not bad at all." Sora continued to act politely despite his inner disgust. Natsuno wasn't a bad character per say in Sora's eyes. But it was in part thanks to him that the village was destroyed.
"Natsuno is such an insufferable prick…..so…if this village isn't as boring as you say…then what do you do around here?" Sora laughed smugly, but Tohru continued his friendly jest.
"There are lots of walking trails"
"…fascinating…" Sora said boringly.
"You can go to the library" Tohru joked.
"I can also bash my face in with a sledgehammer, jeeze no wonder Megumi hates this place so much…not really my scene" Sora joked back.
"I play lots of video games myself" that caught Sora's interest, he raised an eyebrow.
"What systems?" Sora asked with begrudged curiosity.
"I see I've piqued your interest" Tohru put on an even larger grin. Sora couldn't help but smile back. He decided to get one of the chairs, he leaned back and put his feet on the table.
"Perhaps…." Sora playfully admitted.
"I mostly play on the dreamcast now, but I used to have an Atari."
"Ah, you're a fan of the classics" Sora laughed but Tohru looked at him strangely again.
"The dreamcast is top of the line right now." Tohru said meekly. Sora's blood turned to ice.
"Shit…its 1995 isn't it…sorry I'm just a pretty serious gamer, everything seems old to me…" Sora dropped a cold sweat.
"Oh, now I understand, you should come over and play them with me sometimes. My other friends aren't really into it, so I usually just end up playing alone while they watch." Sora sipped his tea arrogantly.
"Sure, anytime. Hope you like the taste of defeat!" Sora laughed haughtily. One thing he loved was making his opponents wallow in the taste of defeat.
"Bring it on!...what was your name again?"
"Sora…..yes, the guy who fell through the old temple roof….if you mash my face, you are gonna have a bad day." Sora braced himself for the onslaught of curiosity villagers always seemed to give him. But Tohru only looked concered.
"Are you okay? I hope you aren't hurt!" Sora blushed a little bit.
"Wow…you're pathologically nice aren't you…yeah….cut my back pretty bad on an old board, but the clinic doctor Ozaki, he stitched me up. Pulled 'em out a few days ago...other than a little soreness it healed up pretty good." Tohru still looked distressed.
"So, the rumors…they say you were trying something stupid, is that true?" Tohru asked meekly. He was afraid that Sora would give him some sort of vitriol for prying. But Sora just laughed.
"Don't believe what these people say, I promise you…I just slipped." Sora said nervously.
"Tohru, let's get going. We finished the offering." His father was irritated. The offering took longer than it usually did. After they left Seshin and Sora started to sweep the room.
"You two seemed to get along well."
"Yeah, he even invited me over to his place" Seshin looked deep in thought for a moment.
"Is that so?"
"Hey, you can't hold me hostage here forever." Sora joked smugly.
"I was never holding you here; you can come and go as you please so long as you finish your errands. I just thought it would serve you better to learn a bit first."
'Yeah…I know, sorry if I sound a bit cranky. I'm just going stir crazy." Seshin stared at Sora stoically for a moment as the two swept. The dust from the broom got caught in Sora's eyes for a moment so he had to rub them. And he didn't see Seshin rub the scar on his wrist.
"There was a time when I was young that I desperately wished to leave sotoba myself…to tell the truth, I still do."…Sora turned his head and spoke knowingly to Seshin.
"I know, Seshin…trust me, I know all about it…you'll get out, trust me. Maybe even on happier terms this time." Seshin was taken aback a little. He had to tip his glasses. And Sora himself looked sad for a moment.
"How?" Seshin stuttered a little.
"Look…don't worry about it, just remember…this village. Its cursed." Sora looked at Seshin defiantly, though he himself was confused by how cryptic the young man continued to be. But just as soon as Sora's serious demeanor appeared, he started to joke again, and a big grin curled on his face.
"Chin up Seshin! Oh hey! It looks like it's time for me to hit the sack." Seshin tried to grab his shoulder but Sora slipped away too quickly. Sora continued to back up to his feigned ignorance.
"Wait Sora! What do you mean "this village is cursed?"" Sora mumbled something inaudibly to Seshin in a sarcastic manner from behind the wall.
"I wish he would just tell me what was on his mind…." Seshin brushed off the thought and finished sweeping the room.
Meanwhile
The night air in the city warehouse was stale. Sounds of large machines and vehicles were constantly ambient in the background. The atmosphere carried thick with it the stench of oil and smog and the warehouse had no electric light. Only the soft glow of the moon reflected from its decrepit machinery. A large box started to shift and scurry. It opened violently and a wave of Styrofoam chips poured across the filth ridden floor. A young little girl crawled out of the mess, brushing the lint from her dark purple hair and from her frilly dress. She stood half asleep for a moment, letting her pale skin bask in the moonlight. She yawned softly, extending a pair of long fangs that glittered in the light. She walked a few paces, her face was partialy obscured by the harshly contrasting shadows. and tapped on another box.
"Chizuru? It's time to wake up." The girl spoke softly, almost like she was cooing to her own child. The second box started to shake and shuffle like the first did. Another wave of chips fell out and another figure stepped free from the boxes confines. This woman was much taller. She was wearing an exotic looking dress that left little of her curvaceous figure to the imagination. Her long blonde hair draped down over her back in many erratic and harshly angled strands. Her skin too was pale, and her fangs even longer than the girl's. However both of their eyes were black as the night, no differentiation between the iris and pupil. She groaned loudly and yawned in turn with the girl.
"What time is it Sunako?" she said groggily.
"Just after nine" she rubbed the back of her head, scratching out the last of the Styrofoam.
"My back is sore…I'm tired of sleeping in boxes and gutters! It's so undignified, especially for someone like me! When is that house going to be ready?" Chizuru protested childishly.
"Relax. We can move in after a few days. They just need to produce the last of our belongings….then I can meet mr. Muroi, and I can make a permanent home of that little village. It'll be easy." The two vampires heard footsteps coming outside of the warehouse. A large man with blue hair ran through the door. He bowed to Sunako and spoke in a flustered manner.
"I apologize, mistress! I wasn't here to wake you up and you slept in. you and Chizuru" she looked at him fondly, he knelt down and she gave him a pat on the head, he blushed just slightly then the woman motioned for him to rise. She spoke haughtily to him.
"So, I presume Seshiro is working with the moving company as we speak? How long can we expect to stay in these rancid conditions?"
"Didn't Sunako just tell you that we are gonna be here for a few days?" tatsumi sounded slightly annoyed.
"Good, just checking to see if you were paying attention!" she laughed arrogantly and Tatsumi blew it off with bored irritance. His smile crept back as he turned to Sunako again.
"So mistress, shall we feed tonight?" Tatsumi pressed his hands together and made a begging motion towards Sunako.
"Yes, that sounds perfect. There has been an inquisitive night watchman starting to patrol the warehouse, he'll do….i think his name was Sasaki or something." Sunako bit her thumb; she had a worrisome look on her face.
"Plan to hypnotize him and tell him to buzz off after you two are done?" Tatsumi laughed.
"Oh, he won't be causing us a problem that's for sure…" Sunako said maliciously. But Tatsumi could only muster concern and confusion. "Chizuru, let's go" she said proudly.
Sasaki traipsed along the concrete walkway; the night shift never bothered him much. Especially since he was a large man with a gun. He turned on his flashlight; it made a thin beam of light that cut through the pitch dark city sky. His steps echoed across the docks, he would point his flashlight anytime he heard something mysterious. Though it was usually just an aggressive rat. He continued to walk slowly around the warehouse. He had heard far too much noise in it as of late. And his supervisors thought it would be best if he patrolled the warehouse more heavily than usual. He heard a few oil drums clang, and in one fluid motion shined a bright beam on them. The cans were shaking, but nothing was there.
"jeeze….rats are getting bigger every day." he rounded a turn, an old dilapidated crane lay in wreckage before him, he gave it a quick scan, a few rats scattered into the darkness but nothing was there. He heard more shuffling noises, panned his flashlight and saw nothing but a few shaking boxes and barrels. He walked towards the source of the larger noise. He saw a pair of eyes glint in the flashlight for a split second. But chalked it up to another animal. Though as he walked closer a creeping sense of dread started to build in his mind. He nervously put a hand on the small pistol in his belt.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" he was running a cold sweat. Suddenly a little girl walked slowly from the4 shadows. She kept her head turned to the side. Sasaki walked towards her.
"Are you alright? What are you doing in such a place as this?" she turned and started to sniffle.
"I can't find my mommy!" she said tearily. The guard felt bad for her and gave her a pat on the head.
"Don't worry little one….where did you last see her" Sunako hid a devilish grin from him before putting back on the frightened act.
"She was just over there!" Sunako pointed towards the barrels.
"There?" sasaki looked in the same place, but saw no signs of human presence…then he looked back at Sunako, who was staring at him deeply. He noticed her pale cold skin. "hey….your eyes? Whats wrong with….ah!" Sunako lowered her long fangs and made a lunge at his neck, but he shoved her down and drew his gun. He fired a shot and missed. Then the other two crept out from the shadows. Chisuru put a hand on her hip seductively.
"My, what a handsome man you are!" she said playfully as she drew her own fangs. Sasaki was paralyzed in shock. He fired another shot at the group and the bulled bounced from a barrel. Missing them all. Tatsumi took slow steps closer to him; he could feel each step drop his stomach. His eyes were still wide in shock.
"Mistress…should I hold him down?" Tatsumi asked playfully.
"Yes".
"Right away. I'm sorry about this friend but orders are orders." Tatsumi continued to step slowly towards the lone guard. Sasaki was drenched in sweat and fired a volley of shots emptying his clip. A few hit Tatsumi and his blood sprayed across the moonlit wall. One shot hit him dead between the eyes. Tatsumi fell back and sasaki let out a sigh of relief…but that was quickly replaced with fear as Tatsumi slowly lifted himself off of the ground, his injuries closing.
"Monsters! What are you?!"" sasaki screamed at the advancing group of vampires as he to get up and sprint away.
"That wasn't very nice…..it's not very responsible to play with guns you know…" Tatsumi said sarcastically. Sasaki screamed in fear and made a run for it. Tatsumi was on him in a second. With a quick tackle, sasaki was grounded. Tatsumi had him in a rough hold, all of his limbs subdued under the jinrou's otherworldly strength. All he could do was watch as the other two shiki slowly crept towards him. Tatsumi put a hand over his mouth as the two sunk their fangs into him. His muffled screams fell on deaf ears. Only the rats bore witness to his struggle. Once the two were done Tatsumi lifted his hold on the dazed guard.
"What now, mistress? Are you going to give him a command?" Tatsumi said confidently.
"Tatsumi….feed on him too." Sunako looked at Tatsumi sternly.
"But…one more feeding will kill him….are you sure? We don't need to." Tatsumi said, confused.
"We are about to take over an entire village. We will have to kill many people to forward our dreams….to have a place that we can call home….think about it like this, he didn't hesitate to kill you, so why should you care?" Sunako said with childish glee. "Besides, if he rises, then imagine how useful someone with law enforcement knowledge will be, not to mention the strength you get as a jinrou." Tatsumi begrudgingly agreed and sank his fangs into the poor man, draining the last of his blood.
'Again…sorry about that" he said to the guard apathetically.
"What…were you…..i feel so cold.." Sasaki looked through heavy eyelids at the monsters who had just attacked him, he hadn't the strength to move. He couldn't even manage to stay conscious. The last thing he felt was a growing cold before he slipped into nothingness.
"We should probably lay low for the next couple of days mistress, people might ask questions about this guy." Tatsumi said, the goofy smile reappearing on his face.
"Trust me Tatsumi….we will be long gone….i'm coming mr. Muroi"
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