hai errybuddy! i'm starting to get back into the swing of writing more often so the uploads should be more frequent now, rn is still on hiatus for another week or two but i hope you enjoy the new chapter. be sure to check out the version of this story at arcive of our own, it had lots of fan art ive had drawn in it
"Hmp….it seems like there was more damage than the investigator led us to believe." Sunako slowly and angrily paced around the wreckage of the Kanemasa manor. The moonlight pierced deeply into every corner of the area, with no windows to block light and mere piles of rubble to stand in its way, the entire foyer room was glowing in pale blue light. Sunako walked up to a wall. Hanging on it was a broken portrait of her, along with chizuru, seshiro, and her other employees. She bent down and picked up a jagged piece of glass, letting it reflect brightly in the light. "Whoever did this is going to suffer, this was my favorite picture." Sunako gritted her teeth as her black eyes narrowed into slits.
"ma'am, once we start turning the villagers, is there anything you want us to do? You mentioned finding the one responsible, I was just wondering how that would play out." Sunako turned to Tatsumi, fire still brewing in her black soulless eyes.
"I want you to make him suffer. Beat him within an inch of his life, turn him, and once he's risen we'll give him the worst position we can find, or leave him to rot in the sun. But make sure the other shiki bear witness, let no one defy us." She crushed the glass in her bare hands, letting the fragments fall down, glittering in their descent. Tatsumi stared back at her with a perplexed look.
"Doesn't that seem a bit harsh? It's not like whoever did this knew what we we're up to, it was probably just some delinquent teenager, the beating would be my pleasure, but letting him turn to ash…that just seems like a waste." Tatsumi bit his thumb as he recoiled from sunako's harsh reprimand.
"Are you defying an order?" she said coldly.
"No….just voicing a concern….sorry. I won't speak out of turn…." Sunako's icy stare softened.
"Well….you're still young….I've been in this position for over a hundred years, fear and destruction are the only messages people receive. We will have to sacrifice one to keep the rest of them in line. You'll learn. I have faith in you." she smiled sweetly. Tatsumi just looked back tepidly. Suddenly Seshin and chizuru walked in, her arm was over his shoulder, and Sunako could see the fresh bite marks on seshiro's neck.
"You really should give him more time to rest, at least a week between bites. At this rate seshiro might expire." Sunako stared at them boredly.
"mistress…any way I can serve you is more than enough, if it meant my death to fulfill your oals then by all means, it was a life worth lived." Seshiro smiled fondly at Sunako.
"I appreciate your fanaticism….but remember that you are worth more to us as a human…and I can't risk the odds of you turning into a jinrou like Tatsumi…sure you're giving your blood willingly, but you still have a high chance of simply dying, or even rising as a garden variety vampire like Chizuru and i." Sunako walked around a pile of broken furniture to a disheveled bookcase.
"Excellent, all of Mr. muroi's novels survived….it's not long now, I think I might try to meet him tomorrow night. It would be wonderful to add someone like him to our ranks."
The next morning
Megumi ran through the clothes in her closet. Pulling out all manner of eccentric fashion, some dresses were rather tame. Others left little to the imagination.
"Now….what's a good statement to make today….i want to make a fantastic impression on everybody, they'll all admire my astonishing beauty, maybe I'll be so pretty the villagers won't even make fun of me anymore." Megumi chuckled haughtily to herself. "I wonder what color Sora likes…..WAIT I mean Natsuno! What color does Natsuno like?!" Megumi had to catch her breath as her thoughts trailed off. She rooted through her clothing until she found something she considered acceptable. A yellow dress with skulls lining the lower cutoff. And a pair of gothic spiked boots. She smiled to herself as she slipped out of the door.
Meanwhile
"WHAT?! What do you mean the new family moved in? I thought I leveled that place!" Seshin sighed as Sora started to lose his mind.
"They decided to move in anyway….apparently a certain vandal didn't destroy everything." Sora was utterly flabbergasted. He stumbled back and fell into a chair. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was agape.
"I…I….I….forgot something?" Sora's hands were trembling. Suddenly he felt himself grow ill. "that means…no…NO! Megumi!" Sora felt numb, the whole world crumbled beneath him. As he was left processing the information he was given. "Sei, I have to go….like right now!" Seshin sipped his tea curiously.
"Why, you still have work today." Sora glared at him, sending a chill down the monk's spine.
"I need the keys to your moped! I HAVE TO LEAVE NOW!" Seshin was taken aback.
"Sora? You look so concerned, what's wrong?" Seshin was starting to work up a sweat.
"Something very very bad is going to happen today if I don't intervene….ughh…I'll explain everything once I've made sure she's safe." Sora said as he yanked the keys form Seshin's hand. Sora ran out of the door as fast as he could, almost leaping down the temple steps into the seat of the mini bike below. With as much force as possible he rammed the key into the ignition and sped off, leaving Seshin standing in the threshold, mouth agape.
"Something bad?...That's the final straw, once he gets back, he had better explain all of the cryptic behavior, it still shocks me that he isn't of this world….but I have no other explanation.".
Sora was a man possessed, speeding as fast as he could along the Sotoba roads, he didn't even notice the people as he blazed by. The wind was swirling in his hair, he had to move it out of his eyes every few moments, and the sun was shining so brightly. He didn't know if he would even be able to see Megumi's home in the distance, but he was still going as fast as the bike would take him. Finally after what seemed like hours, he arrived on the Shimizu's doorstep. Without a second thought he walked up to it and rang the bell, every moment seemed to stretch into hours as Sora impatiently waited for someone to answer the door. Finally a man with a slight gut, and a bland looking woman came up to the door.
'hello, this is the shimizu home, how can we help you?" Sora stood thinking for a moment.
"wait…I've never really thought about it before…but how on earth do you get someone like Megumi….from…..people like….this…." Sora studied their faces, unable to put the puzzle together "wait…gotta think of a convincing lie"
"So…will you tell us why you are here?" the man said impatiently.
"Oh, yeah…where's Megumi?" the man gave him an icy stare.
"And just what do you want with my daughter?" Sora could feel the tension thickening.
"*gulp* we had a school project together, I just wanted to ask her about her half" he put his face closer to Sora's.
"Hmm…couldn't you have just called?"
"I don't have her number….i'm the new villager, Sora….the one everybody accuses of every slight misfortune in the village?" the man's stare softened.
"Yeah, we can be a bit quick to assume, ….anyway, Megumi isn't here." Sora's heart dropped.
"Do you know where she might be?" Sora asked impatiently.
'no, she's probably out walking, showing her dress off or something like that." Sora could feel his pulse race.
"Well, whenever she returns, just let her know I dropped by….shit…shit shit shit shit shit! God damn it! Oh man! If she's already gone into the mansion…..i gotta move!" his heart was pounding out of his chest, without another word he left their doorstep and hopped onto the minibike, speeding off into the distance. After perusing the streets of Sotoba he finally rounded the path up to the manor. A few feet away he saw Kaori walking her dog love.
"Kaori! Have you seen Megumi?!" Sora shouted as the moped screeched to a halt.
"Huh? Oh hi Sora! How are you doing? I've been having a pretty good day myself" Sora had to stifle his irritation. He put a finger on her lip
"Yeah, whatever, that's nice….look, Megumi, have you seen her or not?" Kaori looked at him strangely.
"Uh yeah, she walked up the path to the mansion. You literally just missed her"
"Thanks!" Sora said as he sped off up the path. With ever y passing foot his stomach churned a little more, he couldn't seem to see Megumi or spot her. Until finally he was only a few meters to the top of the hill.
"oww….that really hurt" Sora felt the most powerful relief in his life as he saw Megumi huddled on the ground rubbing her knee.
"Oh thank god! Thank god thank god thank god! i wasn't too late!...hey Megumi! Whats wrong?" Sora wiped the sweat from his brow as he tried to hide his desperation.
"Sora?...oh my god? Did he see me fall?" she went beet red.
"Yup, in the flesh." Sora walked over to her and helped her up off of the ground "so what were you doing here anyway?...you certainly wont be finishing…." Megumi picked up the corners of her dress and twirled.
"Oh, I came to see the new family who moved in, I was surprised that they still did, especially after you-" Sora rushed to her and put his hand over her mouth. He whispered quietly in her ear.
"shhh….the walls have ears…I hope Tatsumi can't hear us…." He let up his grip and she stared at him crossly. But the anger quickly faded from her eyes.
"Sorry...wasn't thinking…anyway it was nice seeing you, but I'm gonna go meet them now"Sora's eyes grew wide as she nearly trailed off. He grabbed her arm.
"Wait, don't!" He was frantic.
"What? Why not? Scared I might rat you out?" she saw the desperation and Sora's eyes. It caused her to recoil from his grip.
"Well…a little…just don't go in!" she looked at him warmly.
"Look…I know I was pissed at you before, but there's no reason I'd tell on my only friend, hahaha"
"aww, I'm her only friend?...what about Kaori? I thought you two were pretty close." Megumi's face contorted into a snarl.
"eww, no….that relationship is all one sided. I've tried being mean to her so she'll leave me alone, but she won't take the hint." Sora sighed.
"So it's like you and Natsuno then? Wait! That just came out!" Megumi was taken aback; Sora could see the anger on her face.
"That was different!" Sora stepped back "whatever…..i'm going now, so stop bothering me." She snorted at him.
"Please wait!" he grabbed her arm again, but she tried to fight back "please Megumi! Don't go!"
"Let go creep!" Sora was out of options he tried as fast as he could to think of some kind of lie, some kind of excuse to get her to stay with him….and then he noticed how beautiful she looked in the sunlight.
Kiss
Sora kissed Megumi, he held her arm and slid the other across her waist. Megumi struggled at first, her eyes wide in shock, but after a few seconds she was swept up in the passion, in turn putting her arm on his and clutching his back with the other. After a moment or so, Sora let off. Megumi moaned quietly as Sora retracted. Both of their faces were as red as a sunset. And Megumi bit the corner of her lip.
"Oh man….i…I can't believe…..i can't believe I did that to Megumi. I'll have to think of a great lie for that one….well….sorry about that." Sora said, blushing intensely.
"i…" Megumi was at a loss for words. "I had no idea you felt that way about me." She stammered.
"I…this…might work….yeah….I didn't know how to tell you…..thats why I was looking for you today." Sora said, almost choking on the embarrassment.
"Well….you found me." She said, feeling the same way.
"this would be a great chance to see how she feels about me…Iwill live even if she hates me, I just want her to be safe most of all, even if I have to hit her over the head and tie her up until this whole Sotoba mess is over with…god I hope I don't have to do that….though it would be nice if she liked me as much as I do her…how do you feel about me?' Sora asked.
"Well…i….i don't know…..there is just so much going on all at once….i can't think straight right now…..do I still have feelings for Natsuno? But Sora…he actually wants to spend time with me…and he can be really sweet under all of the sarcasm and mystery….he even put up with me when I was using him" Megumi felt a pang of guilt when she remembered the day at the resturaunt "to be honest….i have been thinking about you lately…it's not like I haven't entertained the idea of you." she was touching two fingers together as she twirled her hair nervously.
"if you don't like me…I totally get it…I'm not exactly a steal of a guy…look I'm sorry for bothering you….should I go? Maybe she's surprised enough to just leave….but then I won't know how she truly feels about me…man, why do girls have to be so difficult?!" Sora palmed the hood on his shirt.
"No! its not that I don't like you!...this is just so weird for me, I honestly didn't consider what would happen if someone I showed interest in showed interest back….i've always been giving my feelings…not receiving them from others, you know? So…I don't know what to think." Sora felt sorry for her. He put a hand on her shoulder.
"Then…will you spend some time with me?" Sora said. "maybe you could figure out how you feel if we spent some real time together, no using, no manipulating, no information mining, just for fun." He smiled awkwardly.
"It's a nice thought…but what fun could we have in this place?" Sora hopped up back on the mini bike, and patted the seat behind him.
"We could start by driving down this hill really fast!" Megumi laughed at how childish he sounded.
"I guess" she tried to sound arrogant about it, but couldn't help cracking a smile. Megumi walked up behind him and hopped into the back part of the seat.
"Put your hands around my waist" Megumi blushed as Sora gave her the command.
'Are you sure?" she said hesitantly.
"You'll fall off otherwise….i suppose Seshin won't mind me borrowing this today." Megumi obeyed and Sora sped off down the hill, her grip tightening as his speed increased. She pressed her cheek into his back during the fastest parts. And the jumps.
And that was how Sora and Megumi spent the day together.
Later that night
"I should probably bring you home…your father might get worried." Sora slowed the minibike to a halt.
"well…it might be best if you dropped me off here….my dad might get angry at you for keeping me out so late." Sora thought about it for a moment.
'are you sure you'll be safe…the kirashiki's have probably all fed by now…..but I'll have to tell her about the vampire problem eventually…but I just want today to be fun." Sora smiled as Megumi dismounted.
"Oh…and Sora?" Megumi walked to the front of the minibike, and knelt down to Sora's level. She put a hand on his cheek and kissed him, once more. "My answer…is yes…." She giggled as she ran off, and Sora felt butterflies swimming in his stomach.
"wow." Sora was dumbstruck for a moment. But then realized his own predicament. "Oh crap! I better get back to the temple! Sei has got to be worried sick!" Sora sped off back to the temple. Running up the steps as fast as he could, he reached the gate and one of the volunteers let him inside.
"Hope you had a nice day, but you should have called, Seshin was starting to get worried." Sora sked where he was and met him sitting at the table.
"Oh, Sora. You've brought my bike back in one piece I see." He said calmly.
"uhh…yeah…it served me well." Sora was starting to get cold chills; he knew that tone of voice well, when someone was so mad that they were empty. "Look…I'm sorry I didn't call or anything…but…" Seshin turned around to meet his eyes.
"Don't worry about it…but…there is one thing….you've been hiding something from me ever since I took you in. its time to come clean." Sora let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh that's all? I keep meaning to tell you, but things keep happening." Just at that moment one of the temple patrons asked for Seshin.
"Sir? There's a little girl at the temple steps who wants to see you"
"I'll be right down." Sora looked on in horror as Seshin got up.
"I'll come too…Sunako…you won't be sinking your claws into Seshin this time." Sora absolutely insisted despite Seshin's protests until they were just at the temple steps.
"Mr. Muroi? Are you Seshin Muroi?" Sunako smiled as her black eyes pierced the night.
'Why yes. What was it you needed of me?" she twirled her hair.
"Well, I've read all of your books. And I just wanted to meet you." if there was any blood flowing to her face, she would have blushed. But instead she simply stood there, cold and unmoving.
"yep, uncle Sei here is one hell of a writer….by the way…you have very pretty eyes…..what an unusual color…I'm gonna expose you here and now, that way, I won't have to stake anybody" Sora stared back at Sunako with a bitter scowl, Sunako could sense it and in turn replied coldly.
"Yes…..it's a rare genetic trait, it marks my illness, my mother and I can't be out in the sunlight. It burns our skin terribly." She scowled back at Sora.
"Well, I'm sorry for being so insensitive…why don't you come to the temple and we can have a cup of tea…that's gotta suck, I'm inviting you in and the only thing keeping you at bay is the fear of religious artifacts…ha! I might as well twist the knife while I've got you." Sora smiled maliciously.
"That sounds like a wonderful idea" Seshin said "I could even show you one of my first edition manuscripts." Sora couldn't help but chuckle knowing full well what a treat Sunako was being denied.
"well…I'd love too, but I'm in a hurry. I've only got another few minutes to spend here." Seshin laughed but Sora knew what he had to do. Slowly, he pulled the pocketknife out. He turned away from the two to make sure they couldn't see what he was doing, he put the flat of the edge against his palm and clenched his theeth.
"Okay….whew….you can do this, this bravado wasn't for nothing! Go! Go! Go!" as fast as he could he ran the sharp across the flat of his hand, making a shallow cut, but one that bled profusely. "gah! Seshin! I cut my hand!...i'm glad I sharpened this today, or this would hurt a lot more that it does…but I still feel sick to my stomach" Sora grimaced, but clearly held the gut up to Sunako, making sure she could see every last drop of blood, he even went so far as to swing his hand, acting like he was in more pain that he really was, a drop of blood landed on her cheek.
"Blood?!" she tried desperately from keeping the red in her eyes from showing. But with every passing second her thoughts grew numb, only serving to feed the intense hunger boiling inside of her, she could smell the blood on her cheek, when Seshin wasn't looking she licked it clean "so…sweet" she whispered under her breath. With each passing second she was more and more tempted to run at the two fangs bared and ready to feed. "no….must maintain cover. But….so much blood…." Sunako dug into her arm until a small trickle of her own blood started to drip, unbeknownst to the two in front of her "I have to go. I'm sorry about your cut." Sunako ran off as fast as she could into the night. And Sora was sitting there bleeding. He let out a sting of curses so foul that Seshin turned red.
"jeeze Sora, I know it hurts, but could you at least be respectful?" Sora gritted his teeth.
"So…do you suppose that girl was hemophobic?" Sora asked in a half joking manner. Still cursing under his breath. "damn it all! Now there is a blood thirsty vampire out in the village…it should be okay…though I feel sorry for whoever encounters her next….i'd give chase, but I don't think I'm in any position to fight right now….damn…how could that plan fail?!"
Meanwhile
Megumi walked the night path home. The air was cool , a stark difference from this afternoon. And her head was swimming. She skipped along happily as her thoughts turned to Sora.
'wow, I never thought I would grow to like him…but something about him is just…..so cool. I wish I could put my finger on it…..but I'm glad I bought this while we were out" Megumi held up a postcard with a love note written on it. She planned to give it to Sora later, when he wasn't expecting it. She reached the center village path, and could see the mansion on the hill, glowing in the moonlight. Even half destroyed, it still had an almost hypnotic presence.
"I see you like my new house?" Megumi turned to face a little girl with long purple hair and piercing black eyes standing a few feet away from her.
"Yeah!...this must be the little girl who lives there…its way better than anything in this boring old village. Its one of the few things that give me hope here." She swooned as she thought of it.
"Really? I'm glad to hear that my family's home brings such joy to you. you should come by….you might just be here forever…." sunako curtsied with her dress. And Megumi had stars in her eyes
"Wow she handles herself just like a princess! I'd love to come by!" she clasped her hands together.
"I'm glad you think that way…..hey there's a special message hidden in one of the windows, if you focus really hard, you should be able to see it." Megumi nodded and looked at the house as hard as she could, she didn't even notice sunako advancing towards her.
"I'm not seeing anything." She said.
"Keep looking" Sunako said maliciously
"Oh! I think I see-" Sunako sank her fangs deep into Megumi's neck, drawing out as much of her sweet blood as she could.
"Terribly sorry about that. If it weren't for an incident earlier I probably wouldn't have been hungry. Hey, be sure to let me in if I'm ever around your home. Okay sweetie?" Megumi nodded with approval. Her eyes glazed over as she lost consciousness.
"I can't…wait…..to…get….out….of…..sotoba…." she thought as the last few moments of lucidity slipped away from her.
told ya it was gonna get darker...but leave a review and such...fan art on the archive of our own version of ttf