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Disclaimer: Blood+ is not mine.
A/n: Sorry about that last chapter. I accidentally put 'violin' instead of cello in one sentence. It only happened once though, I swear it won't happen again! And I would take more time to do longer chapters, but I don't have time. I write when I'm at home, and that isn't very long usually. But since it's the weekend, I'll make an exception. Sorry for any confusion. Please review…
Chapter Eight
"No, it's not," he said with a sigh, getting off of me and sitting at the end of my bed. "This isn't fair to you. I can't do this just because a part of me I don't understand longs for you. I need to remember you first."
I sat upright, my knees drawn up to my chest. He was right…of course. Even not really being himself, he was still always right. My voice had faded off someplace inside my head, the only sound in the room my pounding heartbeat in rhythm with Hagi's. "I'm sorry," he said finally, breaking the silence. "I think I should leave now."
As he rose from the bed I tugged at the corner of his sleeve. "Just stay here, lay with me, please?" I tried, attempting not to sound too pathetic.
He sighed and lay next to me, but didn't touch me. But at this point, I was glad simply to have him near if nothing else. I drifted off to the sound of his breathing near my back.
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When I woke up in the morning, he was gone. But I had figured as much. Kai was already calling me down for breakfast, so I climbed out of bed and headed downstairs. As I walked towards the kitchen, I glanced over at the sofa and noticed a long, lean shape sprawled across it. Hagi. My mood rose considerably, and I sat down at the table with a smile. "Sleep good?" Kai asked, setting a hot plate of food before me.
"Mmm," I replied through bites.
Soon enough Hagi was standing in the doorway, quietly observing from his position leaning against the wall. He seemed more himself at that moment than ever before. I smiled at him and he almost looked amused, instead of embarrassed. I turned back to my food. I finished quickly, a furious blush across my face. Kai just laughed and Hagi looked so confused. Everything was okay, for now. It seemed like I could actually handle living like this. But by the afternoon a sudden dread overcame me. "Kai…I need to talk to Julia and David."
"Saya, David died three years ago, after Julia's son," he said solemnly. "But why?"
"I see," I replied, a slight knot in my throat forming and beginning to constrict my voice ever so slightly. "Last night I was attacked. But it wasn't by the same creatures as before…these are something entirely different Kai."
His expression grew troubled and he went for the phone, calling Julia and asking her to come over as soon as possible. "I'm sorry Kai," I said, feeling horrible for turning the first good day into a troubled one.
"Don't be sorry, I'd rather be safe than sorry," he said with a forced smile.
I returned it as he pulled me into a brotherly hug, kissing the top of my head. I heard a low noise from across the room…was it a growl? I looked over to see Hagi glaring at Kai and I blushed. Was he jealous? Since when did the controlled, expressionless Hagi I knew show such things? Right….this wasn't the same man.
As if sensing the icy glare aimed at his back, Kai let me go and stepped back. Hagi's glare cooled and I sighed in relief. I was honestly afraid he was going to attack Kai for a moment. Then Hagi left the room and I heard the front door shut with a quick bang. I gave Kai and apologetic glance and he shrugged in response as I followed after Hagi. He was down the street a ways, leaning against a light pole and staring at the sky; his eyes closed but relaxed looking. "Are you alright?" I asked softly, letting my voice carry on the wind rather than step too close.
He remained still as he was for a few moments. "Yes, I don't understand why I did that," he admitted to the sky. "Sorry. Something inside me just roared up seeing someone else hold you like that."
"Something….inside?" I asked excitedly, daring myself a few steps closer to him.
"Yes…as I felt it rising, like a beast uncoiling in the back of my mind, it seemed to growl 'she's mine'," he replied, eyes openly briefly. "I just don't understand."
"Does it hurt?" I asked, finally standing right before him.
"What?" he asked.
"Your head, does it hurt?" I asked again.
"Oh, no," he replied distantly.
I placed my hand over his chest. "And here?"
Finally he looked down at me, an unreadable expression in his eyes. He gently reached for my hand and pulled it to his lips. "Yes," he said, but it was so quiet it could have simply been the breeze.
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"Where are they?" Julia asked, growing impatient in the kitchen with Kai, her foot tapping lightly on the tile.
"Talking? I guess…" Kai shrugged, beginning to wonder himself when they finally entered.
"It's about time," Julia snapped; cold but playful.
"Sorry…" I smiled sheepishly, walking into the kitchen with them as Hagi remained in the doorway again.
"Anyways…what did you want to ask me about?" Julia asked.
Again the seriousness and dread flooded my mind before I spoke. "It's about the twins…just who took them, exactly?"
Julia stared at me long and hard before deciding to reply. "That…I cannot say for sure," she said, pausing for a moment and taking a deep breath. "David was still trying to find that out before he died."
"I see…" I said, my gaze directed to the floor.
"Why?" she asked after a moment of silence.
"Well…I was attacked a little while ago. The creature was still destroyed by my blood, but it wasn't a chiropteran, at least I don't think it was."
"It's not," Julia replied, staring past me at nothing in particular. "I should know. That's how David was killed."
A sorrowful hush consumed the room as I finally made up my mind. "Let's find them," I replied with as much courage as I could muster. "Let's find them, avenge David, and rescue the twins."
They all looked at me with wide eyes; in shock. "Saya," Kai said, almost hurt. "I don't want you putting yourself into that sort of life again."
"It's inevitable. This is what I am for," I said, looking over at Hagi. "It's what we are for."
