A/N: Oh. My. God. It has been such a long wait for all of us hasn't it? A few more months and it would have been a year. I'm sorry for making you all wait but I have seriously bashed into a bit of writer's block concerning this story. Don't fear though dear readers. I fully intend on finishing this even though I have to scrap a few ideas for this story and probably bring down the chapter count. I guess I'm not all that cut out for multi-chapter stories ^^;
Moving on, I want to thank those who submitted ideas. You're all the big help, seriously, especially to Sarah Eustacia Eve Rosalie who gave me some inspiration for this chapter. You're all so supportive and I hope you'll continue giving me inspiration!
This chapter is an interlude, only because I thought it would be a good break from the plot and the next chapter, which I'm still having quite a difficult time to write. This interlude isn't finished though because I'm tired of seeing it sitting unfinished in my hard drive and the story not being updated. Next interlude will continued this mini-plot though. I hope you don't mind :3
Now, enough of my babbling. Please enjoy a new chapter! 8D
Warning: A lot of implications like drug use, pedophilia, underage drinking, and gang violence. Dark, eh?
Chapter VIIII:
Interlude: The Smoking Bomb
It was November in New York City, just after the holiday that Americans called Thanksgiving. A young vampire with silver hair and sea-green eyes stood at the window of his room in a rather lavish-looking townhouse, looking past his reflection on the glass and watching snow drift from the sky and landing gently onto the ground. It was a quiet night, at least for this part of town, with only the stray human or car ambling past on the streets below.
Hayato, the name of the young vampire, was lost in his memories and remembering that it had been on this night, nearly four years ago, that he had run away from home in a fit of rage and betrayal that he rightfully felt yet foolishly implemented.
Home. He thought that he had stopped calling the place he grew up in by that name, but evidently not. Despite the bad things he had experienced in there, the good memories always outweighed them. He supposed that, at twelve years old, he was still too young to even start hardening his heart against what he used to know.
The thought only strengthened his resolve in hardening it.
Sometimes, he would wonder if running away had been such a good idea. He practically did it without thought and that surely wasn't a testament to his high IQ. He had just been so angry and felt so betrayed that he packed his bags and left, almost without regret. It felt right at that time, even though he had only been eight. And it felt good to throw his rebellious actions into his father's face.
But the world he had faced when he left his childhood home was far different then anything he had imagined.
He had been scared of course, when faced with other runaways like him who had to do disgusting things in order to survive the cruel streets and even crueler world. He had to join them though, when he realized that the money he had would not last long. He also had to be careful with his Thirst, since he had to Feed more frequently then the ordinary vampire due to his halfblood status. But he was careful and he succeeded.
For a while at least.
He soon caught the attention of a vampire gang that ruled the streets from the shadows. He had been blinded into following them, like a puppy would follow its master with absolute loyalty. He was promised power and glory, things that were beyond his wildest dreams.
But the price for that was to the see the suffering of others.
One would suppose that a vampire would get used to seeing suffering, considering that most of the nourishment that kept them alive (and they were alive) came from blood, the life liquid of every creature on the planet. But Hayato was young and had grown up in a sheltered environment, where blood would be handed to him in a golden goblet if he so wished it. The only kind of suffering he had seen were minor and mundane, the suffering that even ordinary humans experience.
The kind of suffering he saw while with the gang was far different.
Druggies and drunkards and those who have lost all hope in life filled his day to day activities. Darkened souls of gang members, both vampire and human, swam before his vision, showing him that they have no objections in killing those who got in their way or when their way wasn't achieved. He saw death and sin and the crushing of free will. He even experienced being in the presence of lecherous personalities that sent cold chills up his spine whenever he caught their eye or felt their gaze running over his young body, which was not a pleasant sensation.
And that was only the tip of the fucking iceberg.
Hayato pursed his lips, the memories making him feel sour, then he let out a tired sigh and leaned his head against the cool glass.
He had tried to escape that life. Multiple times even, defying the thought that he was strong and he would endure despite being only a child. But he couldn't endure, at least in his own mind. He hated what life he had made for himself, hated it as much as he hated the betrayal he still felt towards his father.
He found out quickly enough that he couldn't escape the life he had stupidly made for himself. At least not without help. And he did have that form of help more then once, but each time he had tried to escape with others, he was always caught. He was locked in a cage he made for himself and he gave away the key to someone who enjoyed seeing him locked up like some kind of animal. It was degrading, infuriating, and depressing.
And he hated it, so much.
A/N: Hands up if you think I've made Hayato-kun's past much more angsty then Ryohei's? *sees a lot of hands* Yeah, that was the point. Lololol! I hope you liked it, even though it was kind of rushed. I already had Hayato's past mapped out in my head, but writing it down was easier said than done, even with the info I got from his Wiki page.
Now, lemme see… my family and I moved into a new house (where I finally got my own room), my bro got an XBOX 360 which I took advantage of plenty of times, we have a new baby in the house (who is a cousin we sort of adopted), my relatives who I haven't seen in years have visited for two weeks (my cousins were really fun to hang out with), and I recently bought a Four-tailed Naruto plushie who I have called Naruubi. Said plushie is now my new best friend. LOL
Oh, and for any of my bilingual fans out there, this story has now been translated into Spanish by nyanko1827! Two of my oneshots have also been translated to Vietnamese, but I have no idea what site it was posted on. You know what this means? I'm moving up the ladder of fanfiction fame! *shot* LOL
Anyway, that's that. A new chapter (however short it was), a small update on my life, hooray, hallelujah, time to celebrate, all that jazz. Don't fret about the next chapter taking another year to update because I'm already halfway through writing it! It's not easy trying to make things awkward between our protagonists you know! XDDD
Thank you for putting up with me! Oh, and take a peek at my new Tumblr account. I'll be posting various little tidbits there, even things concerning this story, so don't be shy in stopping by at emotivegothika(dot)tumblr(dot)com! Can't wait to see you there! 8D
Preview (this should be renamed to teaser lol):
Hayato growled in irritation but refrained from snapping back at his fellow subordinate due to Tsuna's pointed glare. "Well what's your theory? That Juudaime's actually attracted to him?" he said sarcastically, not really serious about his statement. But that statement was like a bomb on Tsuna's mind. Him? Attracted to Kyouya? Well, yes, the prefect was a handsome fellow (even more so when he was aroused– oh God stop thinking about that Tsuna!) and, of course, Tsuna was attracted to his blood, but was he really attracted to the person behind the violence and discipline? He couldn't answer that question. Not now. It was just too confusing.
