Note* Sorry I've been away so long! Will be posting regularly again, probably weekly!
There was a split second when not one person in the room so much as twitched. Deathly quiet, then an explosion of action from the left. Yagari's pistols were out, firing rapidly into the circle of cloaked figures, who fell and exploded into crystals one by one. A blur of movement behind her, and Kaien was taking out the figures appearing in front of him, trying to make his way to her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Kaname and Yukio slowly circling each other like lions, looking for a weakness. Akira was making his way to Yagari, and Mikomi saw the flash of silver as the sword appeared in his hands, the pistols back in their holsters. Mikomi noticed the cloaked figure coming toward her, and she started to back away, only to realize that one was behind her as well. Cornering her.
A tingling started in her hand, racing through her body. She didn't know what she was, but it was there with her, telling her to fight. She had to fight.
In a flash of silver, Artemis extended, the staff glinting in the torchlight. The figure in front of her charged, and Mikomi twirled, knees bent into a crouch, instinctively knowing the one behind her was closer. An arm swiped above her head, missing. she shoved the staff straight up, through those grasping hands and into the downturned face of her attacker. He went flying into the air, blood flying from his face. The charging cloak in front of her seemed to try to stumble to a halt, but his momentum carried him to her, and Mikomi saw the flash of fear on that pale face before her staff was swinging at his head, sending him to the ground.
She felt great. Power seemed to be surging through her, like lightning, giving her strength and confidence she'd never felt before. All the fear of the past few days, the worry, the anger, that had been burning inside of her was coming out. Her hair almost seemed to be floating around her, and she heard someone yelling as if from far away.
"Mikomi!" Kaname's voice seemed shocked, worried. She smiled at him, even as she saw the figures closing in on her, everyone else too busy fighting to stop it. 'It's okay', she wanted to say,' I don't need help'. But she didn't. She couldn't speak. The power was too much. It needed release.
Five more cloaked figures surrounded her, and she felt the grin on her face, so out of touch with her normal passive kindness. "Come on, if you aren't scared."
They came, all at once. It didn't matter. Staff flying in a wide arc, even she was surprised to see the large scythe that formed at the end, and she watched almost as if it wasn't her, as Artemis sliced through it's victims, killing them. Crystals flew into the air all around her, and for one shocked second, she froze, horror flooding her senses.
It was quiet, too quiet. Dimly, she realized it wasn't quiet at all, but shock had drowned out the noise around her. She'd just killed them. Dead, they were dead. Knocking them unconscious was one thing.. but death, she'd never thought..
Artemis dropped from her hands with a loud metallic crash, the noise rushing back into her ears as she collapsed on the ground, sitting on her knees. She looked down at her hands, and her mouth opened in a silent scream. Oh god, there was blood on her hands!
"Mikomi! Run! Get out of here!" Kaien's voice shouted at her from somewhere, and she looked over to see him fighting Akira, who was holding a black sword and was keeping Kaien from reacing her.
Mikomi blinked rapidly, reality rushing back to her. She had to get out of here. They were fighting because of her, weren't they? If she left, the others could escape as well! Scooping Artemis up, she noticed it had reverted back to a harmless staff. Yagari and a few other of the hunters she'd noticed had taken out some of the cloaked figures, but there were so many they were still hard pressed. Kaname and Yukio were fighting, and Mikomi froze for a moment and stared in awe at what she was seeing. Black smoked wreathed around them, so dark she couldn't see through it. Suddenly, Kaname's figure sailed through the air, smashing into the rock wall behind him. Before he could fall, Yukio was there, hand at Kaname's throat. Mikomi saw the blood dripping down Kaname's chin, the hands scrabbling at the grip on his neck.
"Kaname!" She screamed, running as fast as she could toward him, ignoring the shouts from Kaien and Yagari. Kaname! She had to help him! As she ran, she saw both of the vampires turn to look at her. Kaname's expression was full of horror. He was scared for her.
"Mikomi, stop! Get away from-" His harsh voice was cut off by the squeezing at his throat. Yukio watched her come through heavily lidded green eyes, a smile on his face.
"Yes, Mikomi, come here. Or I'll kill him right now." He squeezed tighter, and Kaname began his frantic scratching at the hand again, dark head trying to turn side to side to shake his head at her.
Mikomi didn't know what to do. She wanted to help, but Kaname didn't want her to! She glanced at Yukio, and her eyes were trapped in his gaze.
"Yes, that's it, come to me. Don't be afraid. I don't want to hurt you. Yes, good girl." Mikomi felt her body pulled toward those eyes, and she watched the pale spider like fingers reach out to her, waiting.
She was a few feet away from that hand when she felt arms grab at her, pulling her away and snapping her out of it.
She turned to see Hanabusa Aido, blue eyes torn between his master and her. His blonde hair was out of place, his clothes slightly torn. He looked great to her.
"Aido! Help me, we've got to help Kaname!"
She looked back to them, and Yukio was staring at Aido like a Crocodile would at the gazelle safe on land. "Aido is it? Why don't you come over here, and help your master out? He so desperately needs it." His voice was persuading, and Mikomi looked worriedly at Aido. Aido refused to look Yukio in the eyes, instead keeping an eye on Kaname.
"I've been told about some of your powers Yukio. Don't think I'm stupid."
Yukio's chuckle made them shiver. "No, I guess you are not. Well, this is a predicament. What to do?"
Just then, a scream from behind them made everyone turn and look. Kaien was on his knees, holding his head as if in pain.
Akira was against a wall some 10 feet away, bleeding from a wound at his side, watching.
"Get out! Get out of my head!" Kaien screamed, and Mikomi felt Hikaru's presence before she saw him. Her eyes followed the sense up to the hidden balcony on the second story, Hikaru barely visible.
"Damn him!" The screams from Kaien got worse, and Mikomi searched frantically around for something, anything. Spotting the dagger on Aido's belt, she grabbed him roughly, pointing toward the balcony. "Stop him! He's using his mind powers on Kaien! It'll kill him!"
Aido looked at her for a moment, then nodded. Pulling the knife out, he took a moment to aim. Pulling his arm back, he let go, the blade flying impossibly fast through the air, and Mikomi almost smiled in triumph as the knife buried deeply into his shoulder, making him fall back. Kaien stopped screaming, pulling ragged breathes into his lungs as he looked around him. His eyes met hers for a second, and Mikomi was startled by the haunted look in them. She hadn't thought Kaien could be afraid of anything, but she had been wrong. Whatever Hikaru had found, it had scared Kaien badly.
Mikomi looked around as Kaien stood up. The two hunters Yagari had brought with him were down, and not moving. Yagari himself was breathing heavily, not seriously wounded, but the blood dripping from the deep cut in his leg was hindering his movement. There were only two cloaked figures left, and Akira had made it over to near Yukio, Kaien so disoriented he was wobbling where he stood.
"Well well, this is unfortunate. I wanted to stay longer to play, but it looks like if I want to keep my catch, I'll have to make an early departure." Yukio's voice made them turn around. Yukio's hand came up, his index and middle fingers jabbing Kaname in the neck vey precisely. Kaname's eyes closed, and she watched him slump over, unconscious. Aido made to move, but Akira stepped in between them, sword in hand. Even with that terrible wound on his side, he still looked terrifying.
"I wouldn't try it, boy."
Aido growled deep in his throat. " A boy is all it takes to finish you!"
Yukio smiled. " We don't have time for this, Akira." Black shadows filled the air around them, cutting off their vision. Mikomi tried to walk through it but it followed her, the blackness clinging to it dissipated, Yukio and Akira were gone, and so was..
"Kaname!" Mikomi screamed. The sound of her voice echoed off the tall ceilings, but their was no answer. Aido was immediately gone, searching outside.
Mikomi felt dizzy. Kaname was gone. They'd come to rescue her, and instead she'd lost Kaname! She felt the heavy solid hand of Yagari on her shoulder. "Mikomi chan, there was nothing you could have done. Don't worry, we'll find him."
Mikomi nodded, too exhausted to cry.
"M-Mkomi.." They both turned to see Kaien walking slowly toward them, his gait staggering. Kaien's face was deathly pale.
"Oh my god, Kaien!" Mikomi reached him right before he collapsed. Mikomi let him down slowly, his head resting in her lap. "Kaien, what's wrong!?"
Kaien's eyes were wide, and she could see that he was looking at her, but through her. " Mikomi..run.. won't let...isn't your fault.."
"Mikomi brushed the blonde hair from his face, worry intensifying. He was talking out of his head. Something Hikaru had done must have done this.
"Shh Kaien, it's okay, I'm right here. Don't worry about anything." She clasped the shaky hand that reached out into the air.
"So sorry...sisters...not your fault.. not your fault.."
Mikomi stared at Kaien, foreboding filling her. "What Kaien? What wasn't my fault?"
Kaien was sweating, he felt feverish, and his eyes were fluttering closed. "It's not your fault.. you killed them."
Mikomi stopped herself from jerking her hand away. Killed them? He knew! The eyes stopped fluttering, and she realized he'd lost consciousness.
"Kaien!" She shook him, but his head just lolled sickly to the side."Kaien!"
Early morning sunlight streamed through the bedroom window, and Mikomi stared at the streaks of orange and pink lighting the sky. Pulling the cover around her shoulders, she continued her pace in the rocking chair. It had been almost 12 hours now. 12 hours since Kaien had lost consciousness, 12 hours since she'd lost Kaname.
She glanced at the sleeping figure in the bed. Glasses resting on the table beside him, Kaien's breathing was more even and regular now. His face was still a bit pale, but that would fade, hopefully. His face was so gentle and delicate when asleep, that it reminded her of the stark contrast of the horrified look in his eyes as he'd looked at her at the castle.
Kaien had once said that there were a lot of things in his past he regretted, that he'd wished he hadn't done. He said that he wanted her to understand that the Kaien he was now was all that mattered. Mikomi had a feeling that even though he said that, Kaien didn't think that way himself. What Hikaru had drudged up from Kaien's past, she didn't know, but she knew it was bad, and that Kaien still couldn't deal with it.
Mikomi yawned, her eyes getting droopy. Finally, after guarding her cousin for the night, she fell asleep, head nestled against the quilt.
When she woke up, it was still morning, but the sun was out. Blinking, she automatically looked over to Kaien, and was surprised to see his eyes open, watching her with a tender and sad look on his face.
"Kaien!" She jumped up, rushing over to the bed. "You're awake! How do you feel?"
Kaien laughed roughly, stopping and wincing, holding his head. "Like my brain was used as a football." He sat up slowly, and Mikomi propped the pillows behind him. "How are you, Mikomi? Yagari came in and told me what happened after I blacked out. I'm sorry, about Kaname. We'll find him." His voice was so determined, so sure, that Mikomi had to laugh, even if it sounded painful. "You aren't doing anything, Kaien, except resting. Doctor's orders. Yagari and the others are already out looking for him."
Kaien looked as if he were about to argue, but at Mikomi's stern look, he sank back into the pillows. He looked so tired, but at least he was awake, at least he was alive.
It was quiet for a few minutes. Kaien just lay there, staring up at the ceiling. She knew he was thinking, and didn't interrupt him.
Finally, she heard his voice, soft in the quiet room. " I used to hate vampires, you know."
She couldn't see that. Kaien was so comfortable with the night class, it was as if he didn't notice the difference in them at all. "Really? What changed?"
She saw the small smile turn his lips, as he continued staring up at the ceiling. "Yuuki's mother. I was a monster back in those days. A hunter who'd gone mad with self disgust and hate for everything around me." He hesitated. She knew what he had to say was hard. He had avoided mentioning his past to her, and now, finally, she was going to learn what he'd been so afraid of telling her. "I killed so many people, so many vampires. I didn't even blink anymore at what I did. Hunters were taught then that there was no such thing as a good vampire. And when one of our own kind was killed by them, it only seemed to confirm what we'd been told. So I did my duty. I killed the old and young alike, some as young as those in the night class. I thought that it didn't bother me, that what I did was a good thing." He laughed harshly. "After a while though, one's sins catch up with you. I began to hate myself. I began to see the faces of those that I'd killed, especially the young ones." He wouldn't look at her as he spoke. "I was tracking a vampire one evening, an old and powerful one. She was part of the head family of Kurans, and I knew her head would bring me great prestige in the Association. So I went after her, arrogantly thinking I was stronger than a thousand year old Kuran." He laughed again, and this time the sound was lighter, not as distraught."Juuri could have killed me then, but she didn't. Perhaps she saw something in my eyes, a weariness maybe. Whatever it was, she spared me. I opened the school then. It's what she wanted. I think we both realized then that the only way to stop such senseless killing was to bridge the gap between the two races. If we could understand one another, if we could just come to realize that we didn't have to be enemies, then maybe it would stop."
He finally turned to look at her. "When Juuri died, I took Yuuki in like my own daughter. Even before then, I hadn't quite gotten over my distrust of vampires, of the inherent hatred for them. As I raised Yuuki though, watched her grow up, I knew I couldn't hate her. And so my views begin to change, slowly. Now I understand that we all have the potential to be monsters, that it doesn't matter if you're a vampire, or a hunter, or just a human. There's a dark side in everyone, and if we aren't careful, it can consume us just like the bloodlust vampires have."
She felt herself thinking about what he said. "You aren't a monster, Kaien. I've lived with you, I've watched you every day. You're kind and thoughtful, and you made mistakes in the past. We all have." She said the last with some trepidation.
He sighed. "Ah yes, I remember saying some things before I passed out. About your sisters."
She waited, tense. He continued, but he turned his head to the side to look at her. His expression was tender and sympathetic. "You've remembered, haven't you? About what happened?"
She nodded, looking down at her hands. "I do. I remember what happened afterward too. How father sealed my memories." She looked up at him, and she couldn't keep the fear and pain out of her face. "Why? Why did I do those things? Am I just bad inside?" She felt a tear slide down her face, and more began to follow.
Kaien sat up abruptly, wincing, and grabbed her hand out of her lap. "You are not a bad person Mikomi." He seemed to be searching for a way to explain. "What happened to you, it's happened before, with others."
She stared at him. "Others? I don't understand."
"What happened to you", he began, "is what happens to Hunters in our family that have triplets. About every 200 years, a woman in the family will get pregnant with three girls. You see, in Hunters, there is a trait that is passed on to the child that gives it the hunter's abilities. When hunters have twins, the trait is split between the two. Without the entire trait, both children would be useless, human and weak. So nature has come up with a way to fix that. One of the twin fetuses will absorb the other in the womb, taking the trait back, killing it."
She felt sick. "That's so horrible." To know that you had killed your sibling in the womb, it must be a terrible thing to live with.
Kaien nodded. " It is, but thankfully, twins are rare. Unfortunately, with our family, while we don't often have twins, every two centuries someone will have triplets. Always girls too, never boys."
She began to see where this was going. She and her sisters were never meant to have lived past the womb. Only one of them should have.
Kaien could see the understanding in her eyes. "Yes, it works the same way with triplets. Except for our family. For some reason, while the traits are split up between the three girls, sometimes, one does not absorb the other two. Instead, all three girls are born alive." Kaien's eyes were sad, thinking of things he'd seen no doubt.
Mikomi could feel herself shaken. "But if we were born, then why didn't we just keep on living peacefully? Why did...?"She trailed off, unable to finish it.
Kaien sighed deeply. "We don't know. What happens though, is something tragic and terrible. The siblings will turn on each other at a certain age, instantly and without warning. They've always killed each other, until now. You are the one exception. You were strong enough to fight both of them and live."
Strong enough to live? Her vision flickered, and she saw her sisters standing near her, playing. She was playing with a doll, but something happened. She became angry, violently so. She was hungry too. She looked up to see the same expression on her sisters, and they'd all moved at once. When it was over, she'd stood over them, the anger and hunger fading, replaced by a horror that had overwhelmed her child's brain to the point of breaking.
Her vision adjusted again, and she was back in the room with Kaien, her body shaking. "How long have we been like this? How long has our family had this... this curse?"
Kaien was more tired looking than before. "As long as we can remember. A thousand years, maybe two thousand. We'd all hoped that because you and your sisters were born healthy, that maybe the curse had passed over... but it didn't." He smiled weakly at her. "So it's not your fault, okay? What you are, you are because you had a strong will to live. Don't ever be ashamed of that."
She tried to smile back. "What will happen to me now? I've been... changing. It's like I'm becoming a hunter, but later than I should, and in a shorter amount of time."
Kaien looked a little worried. "I'm not sure what that means. You should have been a hunter years ago, but perhaps the curse was stopping it. Maybe now your body is adjusting to it, and you'll be just like us, a regular hunter." He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than her. Dismissing it mainly because the idea disturbed her as well, she fluffed his pillows, chattering for another five minutes or so about different things. Finally when she noticed that Kaien had dozed off, breathing easy, she slipped quietly out the door. She was so tired that she was swaying, so she made her way towards her room. She hadn't slept much while keeping vigil over her cousin, and she was going to pass out soon whether she liked it or not. Changing into her nightgown and climbing in between the sheets of her bed, she felt the stab of guilt for sleeping when Kaname was in danger. She should be out looking too! She'd offered, even insisted, but Yagari refused more strongly than she'd 'd watched the other hunters disappear into the dark with a hopeless feeling. She just knew that they wouldn't find him. How she knew, she didn't know, but she just felt it in her bones.
She fell asleep fast, and stayed asleep for the entire day. When she finally woke up again, it was almost three in the afternoon. Quickly she dressed, and went to the chairman's room. He wasn't there. The bed was made up neatly. The only place he'd be besides his room was the office, so she made her way there. She found Kaien behind his desk, staring out the window. He looked so deep in thought that she was backing up to leave when he called out to her. "Mikomi, please come in." He didn't turn around though, just kept staring out onto the grounds. So she closed the door behind her and walked into the room.
"Sit, please." She did, waiting.
Finally, after a few more minutes, he turned to face her. He looked older somehow. Not physically, but in his eyes.
"You remind me so much of Yuuki, you know."
She blinked. "Do I? How so?"
He smiled sadly. "She was very innocent and kind, like you. She was also swept up in things that weren't her fault, but she didn't complain. Neither do you, complain that is."
She shrugged lightly. "What should I complain about? I know that whatever is happening to me isn't necessarily my fault, that it has something to do with the family. There's no one to blame though, so how can I complain?" Which was true. If there was anyone to blame, she supposed they were long dead.
Kaien looked like he was going to say something, but shook his head and said instead "Yagari will find Kaname."
She swallowed hard, then nodded. "I know he will." That was a lie. Both of them were lying, and both of them knew it. That man, that thing that took him, was powerful. There was no way they would find him unless he wanted to be found.
She changed the subject quickly. "I'll start school again tomororw. There's no point in sitting in my room doing nothing."
Kaien nodded. "Very well."
Mikomi stood up, her ability to keep cheerful running low. "I'll be going now. I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay."
Kaien's amber eyes were troubled as he smiled and let her excuse herself. She spent the rest of the day in her room. Sometimes she read, sometimes she thought. Mostly she thought about Kaname. Where was he? Was he okay? Was he even alive? By sunset she was exhausted from crying, and barely managing to pull a nightgown over her head, she fell into a troubled sleep.
She was walking down a dirt road, the moonlight illuminating her path. There was an extremely small town to her right, and she passed it without a glance. He wasn't there anyway. She walked for what seemed like forever, but was only a little while. To her left, she saw what she'd been looking for. A large crumbling church was set back away from the road, surrounded by trees. A graveyard encircled it, the white picket fence that had originally bordered it rotting glass from the round window near where the bell would be was shattered, shards of red and blue sticking out in a forlorn way. The church was made of a white stone, and she felt a spark of excitement and fear. This was the place. She moved through the tombstones quickly, almost at a run. It seemed to be getting farther away the more she ran!
"Mikomi", she heard the voice like a whisper in the wind.
"Kaname!" She yelled, trying to get to the building but only seeming to get farther away. "Kaname I'm coming!"
She heard a scream then, filled with pain and fear and rage, and she started crying. "Kaname!" She collapsed to the grass, beating her fists against the ground. The world was going black around her, and she couldn't stop it. "No!"
She sat up in bed, breathing raggedly, tears pouring down her face. It was a dream. Frustration broke over her and she pounded on her mattress. "Damn it!" She hadn't found him, hadn't saved him at all. He was gone, and she'd never see him again.
And what had that dream been about!? Some stupid church in some stupid town... she gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. She'd seen that church before, on the car ride to the school. It was on the outskirts of a small town they'd passed only a few miles from here! She tried to remember what it looked like, and although it was a long time ago, she remembered the window and the shards of colored glass. Kaname was at the church!
She didn't know how she knew, but she did. Her dreams had been rather prophetic since she'd come to this school. She had to tell Kaien! She had to gather... the others.. There was no one but her and Kaien at the school. Everyone else, even the night class, were out looking for Kaname. She knew they wouldn't find them. Even if they looked at the church, they'd only see crumbling sun exposed ruins. They wouldn't know about the underground section...
She threw herself out of bed, racing to her clothes dresser. Grabbing some jeans and a gray woolen sweater, she pulled them on and grabbed some ankle boots from the closet. She would be walking a little ways, so she needed real shoes.
When she was dressed, she paused, unsure of what to do. She wanted to tell Kaien, she wanted help. Kaien was still hurt though. She remembered how he'd leaned against the wall while talking to her that day. No, she wouldn't risk him getting hurt even more. Should she wait for Yagari and the others? 'They could be gone for days though!' She remembered the horrible screaming in her dream, and she knew she had to go, and go alone. She'd bargain with Yukio somehow. With what though? She paled as she realized the only thing she had to bargin was herself. Her hand trailed upward to the bite scar on her neck, the thought of the man that put it there causing it to tingle slightly. She was absolutely terrified of seeing him again.
'I have to though, if that's what it takes!' Maybe Yukio and the others would be gone from the ruins, looking for food. Maybe she could find Kaname and get him out of there before they got back! Maybe, but she doubted it. Then she'd trade herself for Kaname, and hopefully Kaname would bring others back to save her. She grabbed a pen and some paper and began scribbling a note.
Kaien,
If your'e reading this then I'm gone. I think I know where Kaname is, and I'm going to go try to bring him back. It's below the ruins of the church near the hamlet to the south of here. If I'm not back before you read this, then by all means come save me, but not alone! I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I won't risk you too.
Love, Mikomi
She put it on top of her pillow, and grabbed Artemis from the bedside table. "Just you and me then, eh friend?"
The staff seemed to warm in her palm in response. "Alright, let's go save Kaname."
