Title: Blood Lust
Author: CryingInsideOut
Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.
Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!
Chapter 13: Ittekimasu! Itterasshai! (I'm leaving! Have a safe journey!)
{Edit 09.02.14: It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }
Amu's breath hitched in her throat, and she was immediately forced to duck. If it weren't for her well-trained instincts, she would've received a painful blow to her head.
"Woah! Matte kudasai! What is going on?" Amu asked. In front of her, Tomoya stood with a wicked grin on his face.
"Hehehe. How was that, Amu nee-chan? How was my punch?" Oh. So that's what that was about.
"Honestly, pretty good. But yet, pretty bad at the same time." Amu closed the door behind her and set the takeout on the kitchen island. Thankfully, the apartment wasn't nearly as bad as Amu had imagined it to be. Sure, there were empty ramen cups, water bottles, and a few toys Yaya had bought them scattered everywhere, but at least all the walls were still intact and furniture wasn't turned upside down.
"Haah? What's that supposed to mean?" Tomoya demanded. He pouted, but quickly ran over to Amu as she untied the takeout bags and boxes. "Sugoi! It smells delicious!" Amu could almost laugh at Tomoya. She supposed it was natural for him to have a short attention span since he was only a little kid.
"It's salmon and onigri with miso soup. I also got curry if you two don't eat the fish. Go get your sister and you can eat." Tomoya quickly darted into the room the two siblings shared.
Halfway through lunch, someone knocked on the door. Yaya. Amu could feel the younger girl's presence. The roseate got up to open the door. But before the door was even halfway open, Yaya came catapulting in.
"Yaya nee-chan!" Mizuki grinned and ran to attack the vamp into a tight hug.
"Osu, gaki! I bet you already miss my cooking." Yaya grinned and waggled her eyebrows comically when Amu shot her a look.
"Please tell me you didn't just give them candy," Amu almost pleaded. Rolling her eyes, Yaya pouted.
"You're no fun, Amu-chi! Besides, it wasn't just candy and sweets all the time. You would've killed me if it was." Yaya made a wise choice to mutter the last part.
"Ne, Amu nee-chan! When are you going to train us? You promised!"
Tomoya demanded with his mouth full of rice.
"Tomoya, don't talk with your mouth full; it's rude," Amu scolded. He swallowed and repeated his question. "We can start after the both of you finish eating." The two siblings flashed each other an excited grin and began to scarf down the rest of the food.
"Um, Amu-chi. Can I talk to you for a second?" Casting Yaya a curious look, the roseate nodded and pulled the girl into an empty bedroom.
"What's wrong?" Amu asked. Yaya fingered her caramel pigtails before answering her friend.
"Utau-tan told me to tell you that you and Rima-tan are going on a mission." Amu froze.
"When?" the roseate demanded. For the love of Kami-sama, she had promised she would train the little kids! Every single time they had asked, something had come up. She can't break her promise again!
"Tonight." Yaya grimaced as she watched the older vamp's mood deflate.
"Seriously? Tonight?" Amu whined. "It can't be tonight! I have to train the kids! And what made Utau assign us the mission on such short notice. And why us?" Yaya sighed and almost rolled her eyes in irritation. Being short tempered and whining like a baby was her job, not anyone else's.
"Look," Yaya sighed, "you'll leave at midnight tonight and it's only one o' clock right now. You only need an hour to prepare for your mission and plan your route out. You'll still have time to train the brats."
"Sure, but they're going to be depressed that I'll be gone for probably one week max."
"No big deal. Let's see how fast they can catch up on bow and arrow basics and even sword basics. Teach them one or two techniques, and then give them one week to perfect them. Make it seem like a challenge. Tell them that if they don't accomplish and perfect the techniques in one week, you won't teach them any other skills until they do master it."
"Wow, Yaya. When did you become so grown up?" The bowmaster almost laughed in astonishment. For once, Yaya had said something that actually sounded mature. Yaya smirked at Amu's surprise.
"Thanks," she drawled. "Now come on. I'll go get Rima-tan to come over so you guys can start your little training crap." Amu nodded happily and skipped back into the kitchen. Tomoya eyed the two curiously while Mizuki kept silent.
"What happened? You two were fighting like an old couple!" Tomoya exclaimed. His statement earned a dainty giggle from his sister.
"Ah, iie! Nandemo nai. Rima and I will be gone for the week, but we'll still be able to train the both of you."
"What do you mean you'll be gone for the week? How do you train us if you're gone?" Tomoya banged his small fists onto the table, causing the utensils to fly in the air before clattering back onto the table. Mizuki sported a slight disappointed look, but said nothing otherwise.
"Rima and I have somewhere to go to. I can't tell you any more about where we're going because it's… a secret. But we're going to start your training after you're finished eating. Rima and I leave tonight at midnight, so we still have a few hours to perfect your basic fighting skills." Taking in a deep breath, Amu asked calmly, "Is that fine with you?"
The two siblings were quiet for a moment. Tomoya seemed to be lost in deep thought while Mizuki stared at the table.
"That's fine," Mizuki said softly. The pretty little girl looked up and smiled contently at Amu while bowing her head politely. "Amu nee-san, thank you so much for teaching us how to defend ourselves. Nii-san and I appreciate it very much." A soft smile graced Amu's face as she nodded in return.
"It's my pleasure. I hate to see the two of you defenseless. So are you two finished eating? Rima will meet us at the usual training ground."
"Aa," Tomoya nodded, slightly ashamed of his actions. Amu's eyebrows knitted together at his sudden depression.
"Don't feel bad, Tomoya. Everyone overreacts once in a while. Yours didn't harm anyone, ne? So no worries!" Amu tried to cheer him up as he swiped at his watery eyes with the heels of his palms.
"Aa!"
"That's the spirit!" Amu giggled and grabbed the leftover food. She placed the boxes into the empty fridge while the siblings cleared the table.
There was a tiny squeak, and Amu quickly flashed over to Mizuki. The roseate managed to grab the plates before they crashed onto the floor, creating a mess. Mizuki's cornflower blue eyes widened while Tomoya stared dumbfounded. It was then that Amu realized she had flashed over in an instant to prevent an incident. The bowmaster cursed herself in the head as she tried to think of an excuse to say.
"S-sugoi! That was incredible, Amu nee-chan!" Tomoya suddenly shouted, a bright grin on his face. "How did you do that? You moved so fast you were like a blur! Will you teach us that? Huh? Huh? Please teach us that!"
"Eh?" Was the only thing that left the startled roseate's mouth as she listened on to Tomoya's rambles. She shakily drew in a breath and rebalanced the stack of plates onto her hand.
"Uh, sure," she mumbled, absentmindedly running a hand through her pink locks. "C'mon, let's get ready. Go put on your shoes." As she watched the two children run to grab their shoes, Amu scolded herself.
"Damn it! What were you thinking?" she hissed to herself before dropping the dishes into the sink. "Oh wait! You weren't thinking at all!" she snapped back to herself sarcastically, shaking her head.
"Great. Now I'm talking to myself," Amu mused with a wry smirk.
"We're ready!" Mizuki's sweet voice called out, catching Amu's attention.
"Hai!" The vamp shouted back as she grabbed her cloak and snapped it on in a flourish. Strapping on her weapons pouch and holster, Amu grabbed her discarded bow on the coffee table and padded over to the already open door.
"Anxious now, are we?" Amu asked with a teasing smile as she lazily fingered on her boots. The roseate watched with an amused grin as Tomoya pouted.
"Amu nee-chan! Yamate! Hayaku, hayaku!" The impatient boy whined while tugging lightly on the hem of her kimono.
"Hai, hai," she drawled and pulled open the door, ushering the two siblings to exit first. Amu puffed up her cheeks as she locked the apartment door slowly, mind still replaying the incident earlier. Amu exhaled and shook her head, making sure her weapons pouch, holster, and bow was hidden underneath her cloak before she jogged to catch up with the children.
As the three neared the training ground, Amu felt a soft smile tug at the corners of her lips. Unclasping her bow from the holster around her hip, Amu watched as the two children laughed and chased one another. She could tell the two were excited, but they couldn't begin the lessons just yet; they still had to wait for Rima to arrive.
"Ne, Amu nee-chan?"
"Nani?" Amu hummed as she pulled her cloak off.
"Do you... Do you believe in vampires?"
Amu's breath hitched in her throat.
"V-vampires?" Amu questioned weakly. Her honey eyes flashed with slight panic as cold sweat dotted her brow.
"Vampires... They kill people and drink blood," Mizuki informed the slightly trembling roseate. Amu gulped and bit her lip, thinking hard. She couldn't get caught! Not by little kids!
"What would you say," Amu began uneasily, "if there were such thing as va-vampires?"
Tomoya and Mizuki paused to think for a bit before Tomoya answered, "I think they're cool. Didn't all villages use to have vampires living in them? I thought that there was a, um..." Tomoya trailed off, his brows scrunched in thought as he tried to remember the correct words to say.
"The Vampire-Human Pact," Mizuki finished for her brother. "It was when vampires worked together with humans to keep the villages safe. No one really knows why the Pact had been broken though."
Amu swallowed thickly. How did two little kids know so much about vampires? Upon reading the slight confusion in Amu's eyes, Tomoya said, "Our family used to be friends with a family of vampires. We shared a compound, actually. They were really nice, and weren't scary either."
"But then something happened, and our village was torn down. Barely anyone survived," Mizuki said in a remorseful mood. Not knowing how to reply, Amu wished for Rima to hurry up and show up so the awkward silence would go away.
Right on cue, there was a soft breeze, and the petite warrior stood leaning nonchalantly against a tree.
"Yo!" Amu called out cheerfully, relieved to see her best friend. Rima smirked and lifted two fingers up in a wave. "Let's get started, ne?" The wheat-haired girl nodded and pushed her weight off the tree trunk, taking confident strides toward Tomoya and Mizuki.
"So who's Shishouam I going to be?" Rima asked and unsheathed her orange sword. Tomoya's hand shot up, a wide grin on his face as if the vampire conversation had never happened. Nodding, Rima rummaged through her satchel and pulled a miniature version of her sword out of the bag, sheath and all included. Placing the small sword into the awaiting hands of her student, Rima explained the basic necessities.
"This," she gestured to the weapon in his hand, "is called a tanto. It is quite similar to a katana, but is a smaller version of it. We'll start off with something small, and as you gradually get better in wielding a sword, we can move it up to using a katana."
Tomoya stared in awe at the tanto in his hands. Using his fingers, he touched the sheath of the sword with great care.
"Mizuki, come. I have something for you." Amu flashed her student a comforting smile as she waved the young girl over to her. Mizuki skipped over to her, her pitch black hair flying over her shoulders.
"Hai, Shishou?" Mizuki cocked her head slightly to the left as she trained her cornflower blue eyes on Amu, who had miraculously pulled a basic wooden bow out of her bag.
"When Rima and I came back in town, I managed to bargain for the bow. Pretty cheap too, but it works perfectly. It's all yours to keep and use!"
"Arigatou, Amu-shishou!" Mizuki beamed happily, gripping the bow tightly in her hands, while Amu sighed discreetly. How on earth was she supposed to teach two little kids abilities when they were just mere humans? Humans!
"I guess I can just teach Mizuki how to use the bow. Basic skills are good enough for defense," Amu murmured to herself. Looking up, Amu couldn't help but smile as she watched Mizuki chatter anxiously with Tomoya, who was ignoring Rima's advice on how to hold the tiny sword. The roseate even let out a small laugh as the blonde scowled at being ignored. "Yes, basic bowman skills will be enough. Besides, Yaya will be teaching the girl basic medic skills in case any of them get hurt." Amu nodded to herself, remembering Yaya had once told her that she would just be teaching Mizuki how to tell the difference between herbs and how to properly handle a broken arm or something.
"Shishou?" Mizuki stuck out her bottom lip in a cute pout, while she tilted her head in a confused manner to stare at the dazed huntress. Snapping out of her thoughts, Amu smiled.
"Let's get started." Her seriousness took over as she snapped her fingers and strode over to her bag in confident steps. Mizuki quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing otherwise as she accepted the container of arrows placed in her hands. "Let's see how far you can shoot an arrow first."
Like any other beginner, Mizuki stared at the bow and arrow in her hand. She clumsily placed the arrow in place as she lifted her bow, using all her strength to pull the string back. The girl honestly didn't think it was that complicated! So why wasn't the string even budging a centimeter?
"Because you're holding it wrong," Amu stated, as if reading her student's mind. Walking behind Mizuki, Amu repositioned the bow in the girl's tiny hand. Using her own strength, Amu kept her hands on top of Mizuki's and pulled the string back without having to strain anything. Her student's eyes widened in surprise at the skinny roseate's strength. "Release," the vampire commanded. A second later, the arrow whizzed through the air flawlessly and landed on a tree trunk with a loud thunk.
"Sugoi!" Mizuki squealed. The anxious girl quickly bent down to pick up another arrow and positioned it correctly this time. Before she could launch the arrow, she felt arms snaking around her waist.* Startled, Mizuki glanced back.
"It's better to keep the holster somewhere on your body. That way you wouldn't have to waste time standing up and down to get another arrow," Amu stated nonchalantly as she finished strapping the arrows to her waist. "Okay, go."
On the other side of the field, Rima watched with a bored expression as Tomoya continued to punch the tree in front of his over and over again. This was boring, but strengthening yourself was the first thing warriors needed to do. Rima could tell Tomoya was in pain as his fists began to break skin and bleed from hitting the rough surface of the tree over and over again.
"Ten more times – five on each hand – and we'll move on to kicks!" Rima barked out. Tomoya yelled out a confirmative as he continued to punch. After getting slapped in the face by the petite warrior for complaining earlier, Tomoya didn't want to see Rima's true strength.
Rima sighed and leaned against a shady tree, glancing at the sky. It was approximately late five o' clock by now, judging by the sunset and colorful sky. She figured she wouldn't be able to teach much to Tomoya today, seeing as how she and her teammate had to leave soon to get ready for the mission tonight.
"After kicks will be punches and kicks combined. Then after punches and kicks will be the weights on his legs. Perfect. He better be in better condition when I come back from the mission." Rima spoke to herself, planning out the training plans for the day. Opening her eyes, she stood up and brushed off the grass from her butt, ready to bark out another command.
It was now six-thirty, and the two siblings were collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. Tomoya was coated in a thick layer of sweat, ankle weights still attached to him while Mizuki felt as if her arms were about to fall off. Rima had cuffed light weights around Tomoya's ankles and forced him to walk over to her. He had been complaining every tiny step and collapsed even after not walking for one foot. On the other hand, Mizuki's palms were aching from all the string work she had to do. She could feel the tiny cuts adorning the inside of her hands as she held back another whimper.
"You two worked hard today. We're leaving tonight for something, but we'll be back within a week probably. Mizuki, I want you to continue on trying to fire two arrows at once. If you have mastered that, go for three arrows and so on. I expect you to have mastered that when I come back."
"And for you, brat, work on not complaining," Rima commanded at Tomoya who returned a sheepish smile, "Fifty punches left and right then kicks. Then punches and kicks twenty times. After that, you will put on your weights and do kicks for another fifty times. Lastly, you will walk around this whole village twice in those weights."
After seeing the pained expression on the younger boy's face, Rima gave a rare smile and reached out to pat and rub his head affectionately. "I believe in you."
Amu held in a chuckle and nodded encouragingly at Mizuki while reaching into her pocket. Pulling out a small envelope, she handed it to Mizuki. "It's the next month's rent for the apartment, and extra money as well for the both of you to spend. Buy something you like. We'll walk the two of you home and take care of your injuries and get you ready for the remainder of the night."
As everyone collected their belongings and strolled back to the apartment, the quartet engaged in light chatters and giggles. When cuts were smeared with creams and a bucket of warm water for sore muscles were filled, the siblings changed into their pajamas and were set for the night.
"We'll be back soon," Amu promised.
"Aa," Rima agreed as she switched on the TV and changed the channel to cartoons.
"Ittekimasu!"
"Itterasshai!"
Terminology:
Nandemo nai - Nevermind/It's nothing
Sugoi - Amazing
Yamatte - Stop it
Hayaku - Hurry
Shishou- Master or teacher
Tanto- A Japanese short sword or dagger.
*-tries to pretend really hard that this doesn't sound dirty-
Ittekimasu! - I'm leaving! (said when leaving the house)
Itterasshai! - Have a safe journey!
{Edit 09.02.14: It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }