Living arrangement (Part 3)
Finally we reach the club with Thomas is out front seeing off a few guests.
"Hey what ever happened to that one lady who tried to blackmail you?" I can't help but ask being slightly reminded as I walk behind Christopher. Pocky behaves himself as I carry him in my arms.
"She doesn't come around here anymore." Christopher answers, For some reason my mind jumps to the worst outcome, "What?"
"You guys didn't…you know?"
"Heehee, don't worry we don't hurt humans; apparently she vaguely remembers what happened that night and she's been scared to come back ever since."
"Well serves her right if you ask me…"
"Mr. Christopher, Miss Miri you made it." Thomas greets us with a bright smile before he realizes her did something wrong, "Oh I mean Lady Miri…" he bows slightly,
"Lady? What are you…?" Christopher places a hand on my shoulder before leading me inside and Thomas locks the door behind us. Pocky suddenly jumps from my arms,
"Pocky hey!"
"He's fine." Thomas says,
"He's not completely house broken though; he might leave a mess."
"No he's just curious about his new surroundings but he doesn't plan on causing trouble." I raise an eyebrow at his statement,
"…and you would know that…how exactly?"
"Thomas can you go get the others please?" Christopher requests and Thomas obeys, "would you like to sit down?"
"Something tells me I better…" I say plopping down on a posh looking sofa. As soon as I sit down Pocky follows suit jumping up but just hanging off the edge and I have to help him up the rest of the way. Once on the sofa he moves back and forth having a hard time choosing between three different locations on the sofa. Christopher laughs slightly as he comes over and sits next to me trapping Pocky in between us.
"So can you tell me now what's up with my dog?"
Christopher looks down at the tiny four legged creature in between us before petting him behind the ear.
"…I guess you could say he's your familiar."
"Familiar?"
"He's still very young so he can't do much but he's a guardian, your guardian; your mother left him with you for protection."
"My…mother?" the word makes me uncomfortable causing me to bite my lower lip. "I think you're mistaken Christopher…my 'mother' hasn't been around since I was five." I say with distaste for the word.
She's never been there; she just up and left. she's part of the reason I'm on my own right now…! Why would she even care to leave me a dog…not to mention…I FOUND Pocky not that long ago. I took him in when I first moved to Tokyo…
"There's a good reason for that Miri." I look up to see the others finally come back and Morgan stands in the front of the group. My eyes narrow in question, "She didn't want to but she had no choice but to; that's why she left you with Pocky."
"And you would know that how?" I ask before noticing two others with them; I've seen them serving customers but never actually met them. one has an eye patch over an eye while the other shows a cold stare of a pool of brown. His dark hair is combed back but a few strands are separated from the rest. The other is a dark blond hair man with green eyes. He has his arms folded as he stares at me too,
"You're…Eduardo and Russell right?"
"I'm Russell and one eye here is Eduardo." Eduardo turns a cold glare to Russell for a moment before he turns his attention back to me as if inspecting.
"A bit small to be the Lady of Lycoris isn't she?" Excuse me? Did I just get insulted?
"Eduardo it's her. I've seen her use the same power that he mother used before."
"I did? When did I do that?" Christopher turns to me with a smile,
"When Raito and Yami were coming after us. you're the one who destroyed Yami." Did I? I don't remember.
"Powers or not she looks pathetic; how is it that she can be related to lady Lorilai?"
"Excuse me. I don't even know you and you don't know me so get out of my face! And who the hell is Lori…what ever you said her name was."
"how dare you even if she was your own mother you have no right to talk about her like that." He says coolly
"how many time do I have to say it: I DON'T KNOW WHO MY MOTHER IS! ok? she left me when I was little I don't even remember the SLIGHTEST detail about her."
"By the look of things she did the right thing…" his words his a raw nerve and I stand teeth gritting,
"Listen you; my life has been a living hell thanks to her because she left! I don't know what you see in her because I don't know her! however if she was anything like you brown eye; I didn't miss anything special!"
"You little-" someone grabs Eduardo by the shoulder stopping our argument; Nathan stares at him sternly,
"Whether you like it or not she IS the Lady of Lycoris…you show her some respect." Eduardo remains silent,
"Eduardo." Morgan calls, "Try to see things through her eyes…" his gaze turns to me as he looks back at me; at the moment I'm doing all that I can to hold both anger and tears back. The disgusted look from before disappears from his face as he sigh,
"I apologize miss Miri, that was very rude…" I watch as he bows to me and turn away from him sitting back down.
"That's the millionth time someone has called me Lady of the Lycoris…what does that even mean?"
"First I think it my be best to explain who she is and your bloodline."
"My bloodline? What does that have to do with anything?" I ask irritated.
"Everything actually." Eduardo says turning his head away from looking at me directly; I give him the same respect by flipping him off. He seems to sense the insult giving a "Humpf" as a reply.
"That's enough you two." Christopher says sternly.
"He is right though. your bloodline is connected to everything that's going on with you right now." I look up at Morgan, "How much do you know about the Lady of Lycoris?"
"…Not much only what they say in legends about her…she was some sort of powerful person or something like that…"
"She's more than that and I can tell you right now she's no legend." I raise an eyebrow in interest, "I'm sure you can already tell that humans aren't the only creatures walking around in this world right?" I nod without giving lip at the obvious statement. "The Lady of Lycoris is a vampire that possessed limitless power and she used that power in order to protect the creatures that wanted to live in peace with humans."
"…like you guys?"
"Right. But it wasn't just protecting them she also protected humans from the bad monsters that wanted to cause harm to the world as well. Like the two spirits that came after you the other day."
"You almost make it sound like she was a guardian deity or something." Morgan scratches his head for a moment in thought,
"In a sense I guess you could call her that. The thing is though she's so powerful that monsters who sought destruction wanted to make her power their own…"
"Hump…from what is sounds like she could just kick their asses without lifting a finger with all that power…" I say,
"You're right, which is why they bided their time and waited." I turn to Nathan who speaks now; his words cause me to narrow my eyes in question, "They waited for an opportunity to take her power fro themselves; that happened when Lorilai fell in love with a human. When that happened a child was born and left her in a weakened state."
"I don't…how would her having a kid weaken her?"
"Because that child was born very weak and close to dying; Lorilai in an act of love gave her baby her powers and that was enough to save their life. she only left herself with enough power to defend herself for a little longer. The enemies mistook this as the opportunity they wanted and went after her; to protect those close to her Lorilai fled but by the time she was already captured her powers were already gone. She sacrificed herself in order to keep not only her family but others safe." My throat feels dry as my heart thumps in my chest and I swallow hard; the air feels thick as a gloomy atmosphere sets in.
they knew here I bet…it must have been hard to know she sacrificed herself like that…damn it this has to be hard for them to tell too…
I bite my lower lip before speaking, holding back a tightening lump in the back of my throat,
"…a-and her baby…what happened to them?" Morgan open his mouth,
"Lorilai never gave us the location of her child before she went off on her own… along with the sleeping powers within them."
"…how close were you all to her?" the room goes silent at my question and it's more than enough to give away that in their own special ways they loved her very much, "I'm…sorry for your loss." Taking a deep breath I look up at them, "But…that still doesn't explain what this has to do with me. how do I fit in all this? I mean what could I possibly have that they want? I mean I know nothing about her or her kid so…where does that leave me?" he moves a bit before Christopher holds a hand out to me,
"let me see your hand for a moment Miri." trusting him I lay my hand in his and he grips gently before pulling it up to his lips, "I'm sorry about this." he says before he bites into the soft flesh and I pull away from him,
"Ow! What the hell?! Why did you-"
"Look at your blood Miri…" is all he says making me go quiet and I obey. Looking down I expect to see nothing but the ordinary but the sight causes my eyes to widen, the trail of blood slowly trickles down my hand as the small wound exposes something I haven't seen before,
"W-w-what the…is this? my blood is glittering gold…it looks like gold dust has been mixed with it or something…!" I shoot a terrified look up at Morgan, "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" he doesn't seem surprised in the slightest at the development though,
"it's proof that you're Lorilai's daughter…" I snap my head around to look at Nathan again who also doesn't seem to be surprised.
"I-I'm her…" I can't even get the sentence to form in my mouth; my voice isn't working.
"When you were born Miri you were about to die; but she saved you by passing on her powers to you. By doing so she not only gave you life but she also was able to throw the monsters off your trail before they could find out what happened with her powers." I look over at Christopher as he speaks, "Eventually they would have become your powers to begin with when you reached the appropriate age but she had to seal them away within you so they wouldn't get ahold of them and if they had found you they would have taken you too just to make sure they got their hands on her power." Suddenly I find it very hard to breathe or to focus on anything and I burry my face in my hands. "…Miri-" the second I feel Christopher's hand on my shoulder I jolt upright from my seat nearly hyperventilating; I needed some space some air so I move away from them a few feet across the room and try to process what I've heard up until now.
This lady is my mother?! No…no, no, NO! she- my-my mother she left me when I was young! But if it's true then…she…she's dead because of me! this whole thing is my fault! None of this would be happening if- no it would still be happening right no it wouldn't! My mother left though! she left her kid her kid! Where does that leave me?! just what am I…am I even human!? And these people, what do they want with me now that I know- am I their prisoner?! Am I with friends?! No…No No No I killed her! but I hated her! she hated me she left me and I- I killed her- I mean Oh my God- G-God OH GOD!
"Miri it's ok…" Christopher tries to approach me but in the state I'm in I can't even figure out if I trust him still or not,
"D-DON'T- J-just don't touch me!" I shout backing away from him; still trying to think and panic starts to set in my thoughts becoming a giant blur of many thoughts at once. Tears involuntarily start to run down my face as everything starts to set in at once causing me to grab my hair at the scalp and grip hard. "I-I killed her…!"
"No you didn't Miri."
"Yes I did! I wouldn't be standing here right now if she hadn't given me her powers or whatever; I mean this whole time I have thought she abandoned me! Now I don't know what to think! If I was so weak-if she hated me so much- she should have just let me die instead leaving me here all by my self like she did!" wind starts to pick up in the facility as they look at me alarmed.
"Do you honestly believe that?!" Christopher's voice makes me jolt, "She loved you Miri that's why she sacrificed herself for you; if she really wanted to see you suffer she wouldn't have done what she did!"
my eyes shut tightly as I thrash about,
"No you're lying; she hated me! she left me!" glowing red petals start to flow all around me as I panic in my thoughts, the others seem to notice as the petals flow around me, the same feeling from before when Christopher was hurt by Yami swells within me again and my eyes shut tightly as I try to push away the feelings and the thoughts that are raging within me. This time instead of protecting a friend I try to protect myself caught up in my emotions.
"I'm not lying Miri! She didn't sacrifice herself because she hated you; it was because she loved you!"
"How do you know?!" I scream as loud as I can at him,
"Because she wouldn't stop smiling when she looked at you…" an image of the woman in the painting comes to my mind as I see her smiling down at a bundle in her hands, I look up at Christopher who's smiling at me.
they were there when I was born too? We they always there…? I can't remember… something jumps up on my leg and I look down to see Pocky looking up at me. the feelings subside as my mind begins to calm and the petals not only lessen but dissipate in their storm like flurry. "She wouldn't have left Pocky with you if she didn't care about you…" as the last of the storm subsides a shadowy memory plays in my head,
"I will always be with you my darling Mir (Meer)." My legs feel weak and they give way prompting Pocky to try and reach me even more. I take a few deep breaths snapping back to reality,
"I-I'm sorry…"
"You don't have to apologize." Morgan says, "this is a lot to take in."
"What was that just now…?"
"Your powers were reacting you your emotions; since they've just started to awaken with you, they're a bit unpredictable." I look down ashamed and slightly embarrassed.
"Sorry…"
"stop apologizing." Christopher says as he kneels down and pets my head.
"That's another thing…" I say after a while, "I get they want the powers from me but something doesn't make that much sense…why do they need ME in particular couldn't just take the power from me?" Morgan shakes his head,
"No it's not that simple; your powers are bound to you in more ways than one. And since Lorilai passed them on to you to save you they're bound more so to your life force which means if you were to die the powers would also disappear as well."
"So…how would they get the power then?"
"There are two way: one is if you willingly give it to them like what Lorilai did for you."
"Psh, that's not happening."
"Then the only other way they'll be able to obtain that power is if they devour you." My eyes widen at Morgan's words. I replay when Yami and Raito had captured me and were talking about eating me and everything else. Now it all seems to make sense in my mind.
"So do you understand everything now?" I glare up at Eduardo standing,
"Hell. No." I say honestly, "…but I am starting to understand how serious this is…ok so what happens next?"
"For now you can continue going on as if your life is normal but you'll have to be more careful." Morgan says smiling as if everything is going to be ok, "but you can't go back to your apartment it's not safe there anymore."
"Huh?"
"Everyone who is after you now know your scent and it leads straight to your apartment not to mention your body itself gives it off and leaves a trail wherever you go." Nathan explains to me, "and since you can't protect yourself it's not a good idea to leave you by yourself."
"So from now on you'll be living with Christopher at his place." My eyes nearly pop out of my head at Morgan's words,
"SAY WHAT?!"
"You seem to be the closest to him; that means you trust him the most; so he'll be the one staying with you."
"uh- laughs- ok I don't know how it works for vampires and what other creatures but I don't really feel all that comfortable staying at a persons place; especially if I've only known them for about a MONTH! No offense!" I say looking at Christopher,
"None taken…"
"Technically you're not all human yourself since your mother was Lorilai." I snap a pointed finger at Eduardo who seems to be enjoying my reaction right now,
"Shut up you sadistic one eyed brat; I don't need the smart assed comments right now!"
"brat?" it seems he wasn't expecting that one and even Russell laughs at his reaction causing Eduardo to glare at him sideways.
"I get that it's sudden but it's the only way to make sure that you'll stay safe. Being around him will throw them off your scent."
"But-"
"AND he may not look it but he's stronger than most of the others here; it's the best choice."
"Uh yeah, on who's authority?" I snap,
"mine." he says it with confidence and a smile, "So I'm afraid even though you may not like it the decision is final Miri." He tousles my hair making it a mess and leaving me speechless, "But that doesn't mean we all won't be around to help out." He looks outside, "Well I think we've been here long enough and I'm sure you have things you need to do; feel free to ask us any questions if you have any." With that he walks away leaving the argument I had finally formed in my head to remain stuck in my throat.
"See you later Miss Miri." Thomas says as they all get ready to leave the store. I turn a confused look towards Christopher who smiles at the look on my face.
"What the HELL just happened?"
"hee hee, Morgans bag of tricks to win any argument." Somehow Pocky appears on my shoulder as he licks my cheek helping me to calm down. Christopher walks over and places a hand on my other shoulder, "It's a lot to take in…"
"You have no idea…" I say rubbing a temple.
"Lets go home and I can try to explain what I can if you need me too."
"Can I stop by my place and pick up my stuff first seeing as how I won't be able to go back?"
"Sure."
…
The train takes to Christopher's place seems to take us to a farther place than I thought. I can already tell that I'll have to get up a bit earlier in order to make it to school on time. The moon rises as a large yet thing sliver just starting its waxing cycle again. Pocky sleeps silently on my lap as I stroke a finger on his head.
"You alright?" Christopher sits next to me looking concerned; I haven't said anything really ever since this afternoon,
"…fine." I say not wanting to talk about my feelings or what else. It's silent for a long while; then, I feel a big warm hand take hold of the one not petting Pocky. Christopher squeezes gently,
"I know I haven't been honest with what's been going on and I know it's hard for you to trust me right now but I want you to be able to talk to me about anything. please." I look away unsure of what to say, however I can't help but think about the fact that he hid things from me nor that he knew about all this, everything. I'm so unsure about who to trust and what I can take a face value anymore or not I don't know what to think. Now being suddenly told I have to live with a nearly complete stranger like this my mind doesn't seem to have the mental capacity right now to determine what I want to say or if I should still trust him or not.
"…not now…" I say turning away from him and gently pull my hand away. Pocky finally responds to my strokes as he lifts his head and yawns before turning over. On his back he uses his front paws to rub at his face slightly before nestling back down and I start to stroke his belly instead. I can't help but think about my mother; the mother I thought left me all this time alone and to fend for myself, the mother I thought hated me for existing. The mother who actually saved me from dying; who sacrificed herself for me who loved me. I'm physically exhausted and mentally drained from the day's events and I feel myself about to join Pocky in sleep when someone stands in front of me. when I look up it's a thug looking at me with lust filled eyes and a crooked smile. Normally I would fight back or tell him to piss off but I don't have the will to right now; I'm not even scared of him even though I know I should be; but I lack the energy to even do that. Someone else suddenly comes into view and places their hand on the nearby pole creating a barrier with their arm between us.
"Walk away." comes Christopher's dark tone and the thug instantly can tell he's out matched and leaves. He stares down at me concern on his face; after staring at him for a few moments I look back down breaking eye contact with him. from then on the rest of the train ride is a long and silent one. As I stare out the window the train takes us to the country where there are more farmers and fields rather than being in the city. It's strangely calming as I watch the natural scenes flash by. finally Christopher gets up from his seat,
"We're here." Silently I follow him off the train the home that stands in front of us is a traditional Japanese home that you would find out here in the country. Looking back I can see the distant lights of the city; there's a sound of a wooden door sliding open and Christopher gestures for me to come in. inside there isn't much to it. space wise this people could sustain three people to live in here easily yet it lacks the decorations and personal property of even one person except for the essentials and a few other things. "The rooms are just down that hall; the first one on the left is my room you can choose which one you want to use." Pocky follows behind me silently as I make my way to the hall to choose a room. "Miri." My feet stop on command as if he told me to wait himself. "Please…talk to me. what's going through your head right now?"
"…" I bite my lower lip to keep myself from talking not wanting to seem any weaker than what I am. It remains silent for a long time before he speaks again.
"What ever we talk about won't leave this house." They were the same words he said to me the first time I went to the host club. Again I bite my lower lip until it bleeds but it's no use; it's like the words are what break open the gate to my emotions and I start to speak,
"You know what the crazy thing is…there's more scary things I should be thinking about but I can't stop thinking about my mom…all this time I've always thought that she hated me and left us. because of that my dad ended up not only hating her but me as well because I looked so much like her. he eventually remarried but things didn't get any better; I was just an existence that was allowed to live in their house. I always had to keep myself locked in my bedroom because her son was always looking at me like a piece of meat. I always had to walk on eggshells around then in fear of angering one of them; and when I was beaten by his wife my father did nothing to help me…he just laughed or said I probably deserved it. I had no one to help me back then and finally I had had enough…and so did they. They wanted me gone too; I wasn't worth their time. So they threw me out and rented the apartment I was staying father told me that if I stayed away and never came back; he would take care of me financially until I found a job of my own. But I got a full ride scholarship and told him to piss off afterwards… but even then growing up hasn't been easy…people used me to get one thing or another…whether it was other kids my age who wanted to get friends or other people my age who wanted me to do something for them…I only got real friends when I met Fuzzy and her brother and the twins…but even then it was always hard to trust anyone…all this happened though because of the fact that she left…it's her fault that I've got no one to back me up not a single person; the only person I can really trust is myself…! …that's what I've kept telling myself all these years. That it's her fault that I'm where I am right now; I am and the way I am because of HER…! but…" my vision blurs as tears start to sting my eyes, "But now…I don't know what to think…now I've suddenly learned that she left in order to protect me; that she saved me from dying…if that really is the case, what am I supposed to think of her…what am I supposed to think of myself? am I a terrible kid for hating my own mother…I don't even know what to think anymore about it…it's like I should be focusing on more important things but my mind keeps going back to mom and my life…I never even knew her and I hated her my entire life and yet you're telling me that she loved me…how am I supposed to believe that?! What about that after everything that's happened am I supposed to believe? What about myself am I supposed to believe?" I wipe my tears away with a sleeve but that keep pouring down my face. With my back still turned to him I fall to the ground sitting on my knees as I feel the weakest I've ever been in my entire life. no one, not even Fuzzy knew about how I ended up on my own and here I was telling Christopher of all people about my life about how I ended up where I am, and showing myself at my weakest and lowest point possible, with no real way of telling how or why he was able to.
I'm scared…and alone…I have no one; everything I've known has just been either taken away from me or thrown out of whack…what am I supposed to do now?
Warmth wraps around me and pulls me close; when I look up, Christopher has a stoic look on his face there's no emotions that are readable on his face but his eyes look peaceful for some reason almost as if he understands this feeling of loneliness just as much as I do, having no one to count on in this world. As he closes his eye he touches his forehead to mine and my tears seem to stop the moment we make contact.
"you can depend on me…you can trust me." his hands gently take hold of my head as if he's holding something precious, "no matter what happens as long as I'm here you don't have to face anything alone."
I don't know for how long we stayed like that but the entire time as my tears slowed more and more over time, he allowed me to cry for the first time that I had ever allowed myself to cry in a long time.
Sorry it took so long to finish this chapter; hoped you liked it and it always helps if you RXR please.