Merry Christmas!
I wish you all a wonderful day and I hope this chapter counts as a nice present.
Chapter 15 isn't finished yet and it might take me some time to do so. I'll try updating it in January, but I make no promises.
To those who read my other stories, I've finished writing the next chapter of 'Nobody Sees Me Wishing' and only need to edit it now. It might be updated by the end of the week.
Please leave a review.
Summary: As Reika slowly started to understand her new life, she came to the conclusion that fairness did not exist in this world and that blood was the only thing that mattered. [SI, Self-Insert/OC-Insert as Kuran Rido's daughter]
Have fun.
To Rule The World
Chapter 14
When We're Together
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Where Christmas Truly Is A Magical Time
"There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment."
― Sarah Dessen, The Truth About Forever
"I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul."
― Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets
Senri would do anything for his sister.
No hesitation or regrets would accompany anything she asked of him, no matter how much against it he might be due to personal reasons. His loyalty belonged to Reika first and foremost and contrary to popular belief, he knew exactly what this meant.
Their world was split in two different camps which were then parted in further parties. Choosing Reika meant that he stood against everyone else. Considering that his sister was probably one of the weakest players in this political game, most people probably scorned his choice.
While physically powerful, his sister did not have much of a political might. They both knew that. Knew that they were fighting in a war for adults while they themselves were still very much children.
And yet, Senri could not bring himself to consider his decisions. He preferred fighting at someone's side who would never even think about throwing him to the wolves, rather than putting his money on a leader that would see him as nothing but a minion to be sacrificed.
The young boy might have been a natural follower, but that did not mean that he was stupid.
He knew exactly how much the bastard son of Kuran Rido was worth to the Vampire Council. How little help his uncle would offer him if he had to endanger himself to do so.
Directly related to a pureblood or not, Senri was just one of countless replaceable foot soldiers in this upcoming war.
Not to his sister, though. The Shiki heir knew that there wasn't anything in the world that Reika wouldn't do to keep him safe.
It would have been funny if it weren't so tragic. Senri was aware of the reason why the two of them were so obsessively fixated on each other. Their lonely childhood and the threat of their father had unified them into what they were nowadays. For a long time, they hadn't had anyone but each other to rely on and this made them stick together even years later.
If they survived their father due to their sibling's silent support, they could survive anything at each other's side.
Still, Senri appreciated that his early presumptions of it being them against the whole world had been proven wrong as the years passed.
At first the teen had seen their cousin as just another enemy that had come to harm them. This view was mostly influenced by his sister's own opinions about the other pureblood and the fear the older Kuran so clearly inspired in the girl.
Over the years, as they all got closer, he was forced to rethink his first assessment.
Kuran Kaname was terrifyingly powerful. Most people did not notice this, but most people had not spend as much time in the pureblood's presence as Senri had. The boy had felt the his cousin's aura surrounding his sister and him protectively. Felt its vastness and how easily it could crush them all.
As an enemy, Kaname was an utter monster, while at the same time being the best ally one could ask for.
Although it might have seemed unprobable at the beginning, the elder Kuran had not only become their ally throughout the years but also much more. He had expanded their family and turned into the best older brother and protector Senri could have asked for.
To Reika, though, Senri easily recognized, their cousin meant much much more.
His older sister might not have noticed it yet, but Senri wasn't blind. He knew exactly what his sister's love looked like and he saw it each time she directed gaze upon their cousin.
Despite everything, it was an impossible relief to see this love blooming between two of the most important people in his life. The boy could not say whether it was already at its final stage or not, but that wasn't important.
After all, due to this development, Senri would never have to fear that his sister would one day end up being alone. With someone just as eternal and everlasting as she was at her side, Reika would never have to relive the biggest horror of their childhood.
And that, well, that was something Senri had previously not even dared to hope for.
Reika had no idea how they ended up on the floor of their living room with a board game between the four of them. Monopoly was something she hadn't played in more than a decade, though she did vaguely remember not ever being so bad at it.
Admittedly, she had never before played against one of the oldest vampires on earth and a fiery Italian who did not seem to know the meaning of mercy.
Kaname and Letizia were two right terrors.
Slowly but steadily, they were taking over the whole board, buying most of the properties and collecting all of Senri's and Reika's money. What was most amusing about the whole thing was how differently the two of them went about it.
Letizia had turned into a spitfire, shouting her happiness out loudly and not hiding her giddiness the least bit. In contrary to that, Kaname sat silently next to her, his best poker face in place.
''Yes!'' Letizia shouted cheerily as the dice stopped rolling at the six and then proceeded to laugh in satisfaction. She had once again missed stepping on one of the older Kuran's properties which meant that she would not have to pay him any money. Not that it would have actually done her any harm. The aristocrat's stack of funds was considerably larger than Reika's own.
Next to her, Senri grumbled quietly. He was the losing party in this game.
The girl might have pitied him if she were not so amused by the whole situation.
''Here, Senri-sama,'' chirped Letizia as she handed him the dice. ''It's your turn.''
Mischief wasn't something Reika normally partook in, but there was always time for a change. As Senri drew back his hand to roll the dice, the girl quickly counted what number he needed to not further Letizia's and Kaname's winning chances any more than he already had. Then her gaze instantly focused on the white cube that was by now moving across the floor. With just a twitch of her finger she made sure that her brother stayed in the game for another round.
Out of the corner of her right eye she saw Kaname's mouth twitch in response to her action. He did not call her out on it.
Taking the dice from her brother's hand, Reika smiled innocently. Afterwards she repeated her previous act by counting the exact number of fields she would have to move across to reach the best result and then letting go of the dice.
Her finger twitched once again discretely. Entirely certain of her upcoming victory, the girl could already feel a grin forming on her lips.
And yet instead of stopping when it was supposed to, the dice continued rolling.
Almost teasingly, her cousin's aura brushed against her own and the girl's attention immediately snapped towards him. Did he really just sabotage her?
(...Reika ignored how she had previously done the same to him and Letizia...)
Her grin sharpened around the edges and she thought almost viciously: Game on!
And, well, that was about when the real game truly ended and transformed into the purebloods trying to one up each other. The other players quickly caught on to the change and, as proper vampires ought to, joined the cheating. Despite their handicap when it came to telekinesis, both Senri and Letizia came up with interesting ways to not fall behind due this new development.
For example Senri started stealing everyone's money right from underneath their noses each time they allowed their focus to drift. By the time anyone noticed, he already had a considerable stack of fake banknotes in front of himself.
She should probably not have felt as proud due to this as she did.
Christmas was always a big affair, especially when Takehiko decided to host it at their home.
At fifteen, Reika was quite proficient in getting through the whole proceedings without a hitch. Most often she played the role of the eye candy hanging at Kaname's arm. The girl rarely engaged in any meaningful conversations, always cautious to not show too much of herself to the world.
Smiling politely, engaging in civil conversations and ignoring the rare thinly veiled insults some of the higher politicians uttered to her, that was all she had to do during such occasions.
It was both utterly amusing and unimaginably irritating.
On the one hand, it was very clear how little the Council thought of her. How much they actually underestimated her. Reika was smart enough to see what an advantage this might give her some day. When the right time came, they would not know what had hit them.
On the other hand, she had to play nice with people who would like nothing more than to eat her alive. They either thought her too stupid to notice or they just did not care, but the girl knew of the hidden meaning of their words. That they thought otherwise was just insulting.
Over the years, Reika learned to enjoy these evenings in her own way. She did not have much of choice in this. It was either finding some decorum of amusement in these political soirees or constantly running around with a foul mood and probably going mad in a short few years.
Besides, time went by faster if she enjoyed herself. And sometimes, if she was lucky enough, as was the case this Christmas, it turned out that the event would end earlier than she had anticipated, which always managed to lighten her mood immensely.
After saying goodbye to all of their guests, Reika was finally allowed to take off her uncomfortable high-heels. Looking out of the window, she spied the still dark sky and the sparse stars that lightened it up. Normally, her small family would have been force to spend a few more hours at someone else's soiree.
Once Takehiko dismissed them for the night and the servants started cleaning up the mess left behind, Reika was almost as dead on her feet as her brother. They must have presented quite a sight; the normally so composed two vampires stumbling blearily across the marble floor of their home.
Senri went upstairs without any further ado, his by now taller form quickly disappearing out of sight. Reika herself had previously planned to go immediately sleeping after surviving this evening, but something prompted her to change her course of action. A part of her just missed spending Christmas in a pleasant manner, surrounded by family instead of a pack of wolves.
As Cienna she had used to spend the whole evening in a room that was most often too small to fit all of their relations comfortably inside of it. They all reclined at a table full of all kinds of foods, talking and laughing together. Most often the TV was turned on on a low volume, Christmas carols ringing softly from it. After having a few drinks, one of her uncles always joined the singers on the television, his voice echoing loudly throughout the whole room.
Their guests often stayed until late at night. At some point, the adults always sent the younger ones into another room in order to watch a movie. Reika could not even count how often she had seen Home Alone.
In some ways, the girl wanted to have all of that again, which was most likely the reason why she decided to follow Kaname into his office instead of going to sleep.
Although her action seemed to surprise him, he did nothing but glance at her in askance for a second or two. Then he held the door of the room open for her at let the girl walk inside before him.
Silently, Reika searched the room for something of interest until her eyes beheld the large bookshelf occupying the whole wall. Walking up to it, the brunette started to search the collection of books for something fitting. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens caught her attention within a short while.
''Will you read to me?'' She asked Kaname, who had by now settled down behind his desk. His gaze immediately flitted upwards to look at her, abandoning the documents he was previously perusing. ''There won't ever be a better day to enjoy A Christmas Carol.''
A thoughtful expression appeared on his face as he started putting the papers on his desk into a tidy pile. ''Well, I couldn't ever say no to such a convincing argument, huh?''
Reika's smile was full of joy. ''Of course not.''
They settled down on the small couch in the corner of the room. Reika, tired after such a long night, laid down on the soft cushions, her head resting gently on Kaname's lap.
''Stave 1. Marley's Ghost,'' Kaname read once they were both comfortable, his voice deep and soothing as he continued, ''Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner.''
He was a good reader, capable of catching her attention easily and keeping it as well. He told the tale in compelling tones that spread a content feeling throughout Reika's entire being. Despite all the things that he would do in the future, the female Kuran had never felt as safe as she did at this very moment.
It was mad, this warmth that so easily seemed to flood her chest when she was within his vicinity. A feeling so light and yet at same time so very stifling.
Her eyes settled on Kaname's face, on the way his lips formed each word so softly as his gaze roved across the pages. For once no mask seemed to hide him from her view and startled the girl realized that he trusted her enough to not be on guard in her presence.
When had this happened? When had they started to feel so comfortable around each other?
The story continued steadily as realization after realization danced across Reika's mind. She felt as if, for the first time in years, she was seeing the world clearly.
Unbidden, a thought that she had hidden deeply within the recess of the mind came to her; She loved him.
Reika loved this man who read poetry late into the night and who secretly harbored an impressive competitive streak that did not allow him to lose in even the simplest of games. This man who would never admit his ardent dislike of sour foods and whose life in some ways was so very similar to her own.
She loved him and the way he so naturally took care not only of her but her brother as well. The way he spoke about the world with a melancholy that so often managed to steal her breath.
She even loved the way he could so proficiently hide his feelings from others, because no matter how much he tried, he never quite managed to fool her. Somehow, in some way, his aura always managed to betray the truth.
But most of all, the girl guessed, she loved this man who, no matter what fate had thrown his way, did not ever give up. This man who continued living and made her feel as if she was not alone.
Reika was in love with Kuran Kaname and this thought did not frighten her even half as much as it should have.