Shiki
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.
Warnings: AU, Vampires/Shiki, multiple pairings (boy/boy being prevalent), coarse language, violence, and excessive references to blood (because there's Vamps, so…duh).
Sorry for the ridiculously long wait! I promise I didn't forget about this one. Unfortunately, I can only focus on a few fics at a time with my schedule being what it is. I'll still do my best to update though! And maybe not make you wait quite as long next time…
"This is talking." 'This is thinking.' /This is telepathy./
oOo
It was an early autumn evening, but with winter coming, the days were growing shorter. Karitoru villagers were already pulling out winter jackets and sweaters to ward off the cold. People wanted to stay healthy, especially with the strange bout of illness going around town lately. Folks were willing to try anything from prescribed medicine to herbal remedies, but most were more concerned with staying healthy for work or school as opposed to preventing a fatal sickness from striking. Karitoru was a very self-sufficient village because everyone had a role to play in making it function. Without a strong work force, things would come to a grinding halt. It was for that reason that the villagers worked hard all year long and tried to take care of each other.
Alfred and Ludwig had spent the afternoon hanging out with Feliciano and joined him for dinner. Nobody wanted to leave him alone in that big house. Both boys knew his father was there, but neither counted him. Nowadays, Romeo cooped himself up in his office and refused to see people whenever possible – including his own son. The youngest Vargas found he actually missed the boring business lessons his father used to teach him. Once they learned this, Feliciano's friends redoubled their efforts to keep him company.
"Since his dad is being such a prick, I wonder if Feli will ever fully recover…" Alfred complained, kicking a small rock down the dirt road.
"Will you?"
Alfred felt a pain in his chest as the other blonde spoke those words.
"I see what you mean…"
They continued down the lonely road that led to the Vargas house, nearing the intersection, connecting them to the main road. Before that point, other houses and people were few and far apart. Which was why they found it odd to encounter a strange man wobbling towards them. Neither recognized him and he didn't look like he was going to pay a visit to the Vargas family or the town shrine, the only reason people used this road. Judging by his haggard appearance and staggered steps, he must be a very lost drunk. The two blondes made some space for him, trying to walk past him. They continued their conversation, switching topics to superhero movies (between Alfred and Gilbert's undying love for action movies, Ludwig had willingly and unwillingly seen several).
Suddenly, the staggering man shot forward, grabbing both their arms tightly, catching the boys by surprise. For a drunk, he had a powerful grip. Alfred tried to shake him off, but was unable. A glance Ludwig's way showed Alfred that he was having the same struggle. The American quickly looked around him, the nearest house was fenced in and too far away to see him try to wave down any help. Even if they shouted, the owners might not hear them.
"Dude, what's your freaking problem?!" Alfred yelled at him while trying to pry his arm loose with his free hand. He decided to be as loud and difficult as possible. "Go back to whatever crappy bar you crawled out of!"
Ludwig tried to figure out who their assailant could be, but nothing about him was familiar. Was he passing through town? This time of year brought unfamiliar hunters to Karitoru, but this man didn't seem the type. The German noticed the drunkard's strange eyes behind his shades, however that didn't quite register given the situation. All he could really focus on was how to escape this.
"What's the rush?" the drunk hissed in a low tone. "I only want a little taste…"
Before they could blink, the man suddenly clutched his head and dropped to the ground in pain. He wildly thrashed around the dirt road, screaming his head off. Seizing the golden opportunity, Alfred tugged at Ludwig's sleeve and suggested they GTFO. Ludwig could now clearly see the man's discolored eyes, as they practically bulged out of his head. What should have been white was black and his dull grey irises burned bright with agony. Deciding questioning the man's lifestyle choices and possible drug consumption could wait; Ludwig followed his companion's suggestion to run.
From the treetops, Lovino crouched down and watched his friends take off safely. He glared at the Shiki flailing about.
"Like hell I'll let anyone touch my friends…" he frowned, releasing his hold on the man's now-broken mind.
Lovino jumped down to deal with the third-rate Vampire once the coast was clear. The haggard-looking man struggled to look up at him, eyes unfocused.
"L-Lovino…? What…What the fuck…you…do…?"
"I should be asking you the same, but my language skills are a little better."
"A-Ah…I…hurt…" the man clutched his head again. It felt like his skull was smoldering after a giant fire scorched away everything between his ears. Even his eyes stung and throbbed in their sockets.
"And where's your escort, shit-for-brains?" Lovino looked around. "All Newbloods are required to have one."
"F…Fuck…"
"Hmm. Not really the answer I'm looking for," the Nobili held him up by neck, trying to ignore his putrid stench. What was bad for humans, smelled vomit-worthy for Vampires. "Did you know them?"
"Wha…at?" he croaked.
"Did you know the boys you attacked?" the brunette's eyes flashed black, green irises blazing.
"N…No!" the lower-class Shiki looked ready to piss himself. "I swear! D…Don't!"
"Good to know," Lovino's eyes returned to normal. "Do you know what the punishment is for breaking Elizabeta's rule of sticking to your escort during a hunt?"
"N-No…!"
"Me neither," Lovino suddenly slammed the Vampire onto the wooden fence, piercing his heart with the amount of force used. The man exploded into dust as the Nobili looked over his shoulder at his remains. "But I think that'll suffice."
Just down the road, the other Vargas brother woke up with a start. He had another bad dream and his entire body felt cold and clammy. Feliciano pulled his knees to his chest. He realized he didn't even make it to his bed this time. Instead, he had collapsed onto the couch after seeing his friends out. It was a challenge being so tired all the time, yet unable to sleep because of all the nightmares.
His legs swung over the couch and his feet grazed against the cold floor. Feliciano sluggishly made his way to the stairwell. He'd prefer to fall asleep in his bed, even if it didn't last long. Sleeping on the couch always gave him a kink in his neck. The youngest Vargas rubbed the sore spot on the back of his neck and burrowed under his blankets. Hopefully the sheets would warm up with his body heat. He felt so cold…
Lately, he kept dreaming about Lovino's death. No matter what he did, it ended the same…desperately clinging to his brother's body, praying for him to somehow return to life. Worse still, was the guilt that accompanied the dreams. Feliciano felt that if he somehow ran faster, shouted louder, or tried harder, he could have saved Lovino, if only in a dream. It didn't matter that he knew how the dream would end, he was always too late…and so the cycle continued.
He tried to hide it from his friends, but was fairly certain Ludwig was aware of them from staying overnight. All the same, he knew his friends were trying really hard to help him recover. Feliciano didn't want to drag them down and he definitely wanted to start feeling better, so he hid the fact that his nightmares continued.
"Fratello would be brave…I'll be brave too…" he whispered under his breath, letting his heavy eyes close once more. "I bet fratello is watching over me…I won't let him down…"
oOo
Alfred entered his house as quietly as he could manage. He didn't want to bug his twin brother if he was in the middle of something. Alfred still had a scar on his shoulder from the last time he interrupted Matthew during a hockey game. The blonde kicked his shoes off, shrugged out of his jacket, and got himself a glass of water. He downed that and poured another to take with him to his room. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the run-in with the drunk/druggie/weirdo still had him a little rattled.
One physically-fit teenager he could understand, but how in the hell was that guy able to hold onto both Ludwig and himself? Neither were exactly lightweights and both could probably benchpress that guy on a bad day. It didn't make any sense.
"I better warn Mattie…" Alfred mumbled, trudging up the stairs. If that creeper was going to stay in town for awhile, he didn't want anything to happen to his brother.
Alfred walked down the hallway, noticing Matthew's door was open a crack. Light streamed into the dark hallway from the crevice, so he must still be up. Alfred walked over, hand ready to knock, but froze. Inside, he could hear Matthew crying. Instead of waiting for an invitation, the blonde walked right in.
"Mattie?"
His brother was sitting by the window, tears rolling down his face. Matthew tried to wipe them off, but couldn't stop crying. He hadn't expected Alfred to show up so suddenly. His shoulders shook from the efforts of trying to bottle it all back inside.
"Holy crap, are you okay?!" Alfred ran over, checking his brother for injuries, relieved when he found none. "Why are you crying? What happened?"
Matthew let his brother hug him, but had no idea how to put all his thoughts into words.
"Did somebody hurt you?" Alfred asked, tensing up. He was fully ready to beat the shit out of anyone who harmed his brother.
Matthew shook his head, wiping away old tears with an unsteady hand. He really had to get himself under control if they were going to talk about this. Alfred patted his shoulder and Matthew took a few shaky breaths. When his throat felt a little less constricted, he spoke up.
"I-It's j-just everything…everything th-that's happened lately…" he began. "W-With Gil and the others d-disappearing and Lovino…oh, god, Lovino…"
Alfred winced a little, but heard him out.
"I-I can't take it…I c-can't take all of this, Al…" Matthew covered his mouth with his hand. His words were muffled, but he still had his brother's full attention. "I f-feel like I'm fighting this all by myself…"
Matthew closed his eyes. Fresh tears streaked down his face, so he took a few more steadying breaths.
"It's not fair…I was there for you and the others, but you guys weren't there for me…" he continued. "Nobody comforted me…I couldn't even talk about it around you all…And then…And then I started noticing things…"
"Like what?" his brother asked, curiosity winning over guilt for the moment.
"Like Lovino's final diagnosis. There was something wrong about him dying from 'anemia' and 'acute heart failure' when just days before he told Ivan that he didn't even have anemia," Matthew explained. "Dr. Braginski kept implying it was Lovino's old childhood sickness complicating things, but Lovino hasn't had an attack in years. He outgrew it and was just as healthy as the rest of us until Ludwig found him in the forest."
Alfred nodded.
"But nobody seemed to remember that. Nobody even questioned the doctors," the wavy-haired blonde grew angry. "They can try to explain Lovino's death on his old sickness, but what about the others who have died from the same thing recently? None of them had his childhood illness. I even checked! Lovino and his mother were the only ones in the village to have anything like what he had as a kid."
Alfred was in shock. He hadn't even thought of that. Sure, he didn't like the way things added up about Lovino's death either, but it never occurred to him to look at it from that angle. Focusing on Lovino for too long made things painful, so Alfred subconsciously looked into everything else around him instead. He pressed his lips together in a thin line. Alfred couldn't believe how stupid he had been…
"It…It's been hard without any help, but I've been trying my best…" Matthew continued. "I walk through the forest almost daily and have been over the meadow Lovino was found in with a fine-tooth comb. But it's…it's no good. I can't find any clues and it frustrates me! I feel like I'm failing them all, Al!"
"I'm so sorry, Mattie…" Alfred gave him another hug. "I know I can't erase it, but I'm so, so sorry to put you through all that."
All he could think of were all the times he retreated into the back of his mind and zoned everything out after Lovino's death. He refused to talk about it because he was afraid. All this time, he had been afraid that talking about it would somehow make it more real…which it was, of course, but he was only human. A part of him still thought that he could bargain or wish Lovino back into existence. Alfred had been so caught up in his own troubles, he forgot about everyone else. He forgot about his own brother. Even after recovering enough to play Hero for Feliciano and the others, he never checked on Matthew because he always acted like he had it all together. Alfred felt like an idiot for not realizing how unraveled his own twin brother's mental state really was. He had to help him in some way. He had to fix things somehow.
"You don't have to deal with this on your own, anymore," Alfred patted his back reassuringly. "You made a lot of good points. Something is wrong here and for Lovino's sake, we're gonna solve this mystery."
Matthew looked up at him, a bit taken aback.
"Like Scooby Doo, okay?" Alfred flashed a smile.
"That's a kid's show…" Matthew wrinkled his nose.
"Okay, fine. Like Sherlock and Watson, then?"
"Can I be Sherlock?" the violet-eyed brother asked with a ghost of a smile.
"Sure."
oOo
As the night wore on, Ivan stayed in the hospital to keep an eye on his patient. The faint tune of Oy, Da Ne Vecher played through his headphones, relaxing him, even if the subject of his observations was anything but calm. Ivan absently tapped a finger on his clipboard to the beat of the song, while his Mr. Walker hissed and jerked around on the hospital bed. He had noted that his patient was far more agitated at night. By the fourth night, Ivan had to strap him into his bed, to ensure he stayed put. How was it that a man who could barely lift a finger during the day could throw pillows and rip out his IV lines during the night? It was unlike anything the Russian had ever seen or heard of.
"Are you in the mood to talk to me yet, Mr. Walker?" Ivan asked in a neutral tone.
He received an angry hiss in return.
So far, Mr. Walker had been surviving with the blood transfusions. Unfortunately, his mental state seemed to be deteriorating. Ivan sat silently in the corner of the dimly lit room, going over his notes. Mr. Walker developed extreme paranoia over his stay at the hospital and was convinced that an unknown entity was coming for him. Whenever Ivan asked about it, the patient's answer would change. In the daylight, he would tell him "Death." In the evening, he would say "Her" with great reverence in his voice.
Mr. Walker's answer to that particular question seemed to be the only consistent thing about his condition. His physical state varied depending on how much fresh blood he had in his system. Despite his extreme exhaustion, the man refused to sleep whenever he could. Even in his weakest state during the day, Mr. Walker appeared afraid of falling asleep. When the poor man did sleep, even for only a few minutes, he'd wake up with a start and panic about how long he was out. Ivan hadn't been able to determine if he was afraid 'Death' would kill him in his sleep or if there was a deeper psychological reason. Everything Ivan could measure with medical science pointed to his newfound insomnia being impossible, given his weakened condition.
What in the world was causing this?
Katyusha was the only one besides Mrs. Walker and Ivan who knew about his secret patient. He had made sure of it. Ivan didn't want anyone interrupting his research. His older sister was trustworthy enough to keep it a secret and skilled enough to take care of Mr. Walker when Ivan wasn't around. It also helped that Katyusha was so driven to help others. So far, the rest of the staff was none the wiser. Or at least that's what the snowy-haired boy thought.
Had someone tampered with Mr. Walker's transfusions somehow?
oOo
Lovino wasn't sure if the finality of his actions hadn't hit him yet or if he just didn't give a crap about the Shiki clan he was forcibly recruited by. He glanced at his hands from time to time on his way back to the Manor. It wasn't that long ago that they ended yet another life. The only difference this time was the complete lack of remorse.
Turning five innocent humans into Vampires in the past few weeks left him with a huge gaping hole of guilt in his chest. He had essentially killed them all. Nothing he could do could ever change that fact and it would be a long time before he'd be able to forgive himself, if that day even came at all. Yet here he was feeling nothing but relief and comfort in the fact that he killed another Shiki.
'Serves the bastard right…' Lovino thought. 'He broke the rules first and almost hurt Alfred and the potato bastard.'
That thought eliminated any shot the fallen Vampire had at sympathy from Lovino. If there was one thing the Nobili was absolutely sure of, it was his desire to protect Alfred and the others. He wouldn't let anything or anyone get in his way. Clenching his fist, he fought the urge to punch a hole through one of the nearby trees. That would get him nowhere. If he was given this power, he'd make use of it for their sakes.
Lovino was barely back at the Manor long enough to shut the heavy wooden door behind him when his least-favorite trio approached him excitedly. He sighed as the door's elaborate locking mechanism clicked and grinded into place. He couldn't tell if that grating sound was the metal gears or the last of his patience leaving him.
"Heya, Lovino!" Gilbert threw and arm over the brunette's shoulder. "Did ya hear?"
"Do I want to?" the tsundere shoved him off. Despite continuing down the entryway and towards the marble staircase, the older Nobili didn't take the hint and continued following him. The fact that the three could fail so spectacularly at picking up on obvious social cues made Lovino question Elizabeta's decision to give them any rank of any kind.
"There's a party in town~!" the albino proclaimed. "And you're not invited~!"
"None of us are!" Antonio pretended to cry on Lovino's other shoulder. "Elizabeta's only taking the limey bastard and Eduard!"
"Why should I care?"
"Because it's a party! And we don't even get to go!"
"That's because people would recognize us," Francis walked over at a leisurely pace. "We're supposed to be dead, remember?"
"I say we crash it!" Gilbert punched the air enthusiastically.
"Great idea, potato bastard. I'll watch from here when Elizabeta rips your wings out with her bare hands."
"W-What?!" the albino exclaimed.
"Do you really think she'd be mad?" asked Antonio, concern slipping into his voice.
"If we get caught she might…" Francis thought it over.
"If we get caught! Which we won't!" insisted Gilbert. "We could wear awesome disguises!"
Lovino left the three idiots to go over the pros and cons of crashing the party. If he was lucky, they wouldn't notice him slip away. There were a few hours before dawn and he could really go for some peace and quiet.
oOo
A/N – In one corner, the Investigation Team is finally coming together! In the other corner, vigilante!Lovino is dishing out his own brand of justice! And in the final corner, the Shiki are greedily staring at the town and slowly draining it of life. I'd mention the other townsfolk, but at this point, most are oblivious to the real threat surrounding them.
Translations
Shiki – "corpse demon" basically a Vampire. (Jp.)
Karitoru – "to reap" or "to harvest" (Jp.)
GTFO – stands for "Get The Fuck Out" (Eng.)
Fratello – "brother" (It.)
Oy, Da Ne Vecher – "Oh, At This Evening" (Rus.) This song has many covers, but Pelageya's version is my favorite and the one I imagined Ivan listening to. If you happen to be familiar with it, you'll see how it starts to relate to Ivan's character in this fic…