"So, we all must remember out parts in keeping the peace in our society." Haruka watched as the teacher finished her lecture, she sighed, looking around at all the other young girls seated around her. School was drawing to a close and today was her day…
The bell rang shrilly, a harsh, horrid noise which was the blessed saviour of every school-kid in the universe. She packed her bag slowly, dreading how her parents would be acting this afternoon. It had been bad enough that morning, when her mother had been shedding silent tears as she waved her daughter off to school, her father stood beside her mother, his arm wrapped around the older woman's waist as she cried ever more.
Haruka stood from the desk, her friends giving her sideward's glances, Lutia was in tears as she hugged Haruka farewell. Haruka wasn't used to such a startlingly firm hug, especially not from Lutia. "You have to promise to come back tomorrow okay!" Her friend's big turquoise eyes stared directly into her own sapphire ones. "Because school just won't be the same without you around!" Haruka spotted tears in her friend's eyes and wanted to turn away from the sight of yet another person crying over her.
Everyone knew that ninety percent of people returned, some pale as a sheet, others changed somehow, but still alive and breathing. She patted her dramatic friend's back comfortingly, even though technically she was the one who should have been comforted. "Lutia, it's my duty like all those before me. I have to do this in order to keep the peace between us and them." She repeated the lines all the teachers hammered into their heads every day of school.
Haruka managed to avoid all others on her way back home, only passing one of them as she exited the school-ground. She didn't hate them, far from it. But she wasn't really sure if she could trust them. Haruka had spoken to this particular one quite a few times during various classes, as she was one of the non-fearful students she was paired up with him a few times.
'They say the blood of a virgin is their favourites. So we offer exactly those in order to keep relations between humans and vampires sweet. If we offer up blood then they will protect us from all kinds of threats. But don't worry. The vampires have vowed not to kill if they can help it.' The teacher's words echoed through her head. But there were always those mishaps where the one sent off never returned.
Haruka did not fear her fate; it was simply everyone around her who panicked over her. She like many, many others was just going to head to the large mansion where they all lived. All the pale-faced people who were far smarter, stronger and more attractive than any human could ever hope to be.
Haruka turned down her street, seeing her parents waiting for her outside the front door; she sighed and walked towards them slowly. Her mother had tears in her eyes, again. Her father had a sad look in his eyes. She wanted to just change her clothes and go, not wait around with her parents, a simple goodbye would do - she would not allow any vampire to suck all life from her veins - it simply wasn't going to happen to Haruka Tsuyo, not today, not ever. She was stronger than that.
"I s-set out your clothes o-on your bed Haruka…" Her mother's voice was shaky as she ushered her daughter inside. "You g-go clean up and g-get dressed okay?"
Haruka nodded and went up the stairs, dumping her schoolbag in her room before snatching up a clean towel and headed off for the bathroom to get a shower.
Haruka finished drying her hair, combing it carefully as she tied a blue ribbon in it. She had pulled on the sapphire-blue dress which matched her eyes perfectly. It was a beautiful dress, to be worn with a silver-grey cardigan. It was a sleeveless dress, tight around the waist but flared out from the hips, not too flashy; Haruka had seen girls teetering off to that place in great flamboyant dresses which looked as though they belonged in a fashion show not on the street. Hers stopped just above her knees; she pulled on her sapphire blue kitten heels and looked in the mirror, fixing a wayward strand of hair back into the ribbon before headed downstairs.
"I'm going now, or I'll be late." She looked into the lounge; her mother rushed out to hug her for what the older woman feared was the last time. Haruka patted her mother's back before pushing the woman away. "Mum, I'm coming straight back home, I promise." She grasped her mother's hands and gave them a squeeze. Before she left, she gave her father a short peck on the cheek. "I'll be home for tea!" She called as she left the house, making her way down the streets lit by the setting sun.
Haruka slowed down outside the mansion, taking in a deep breath before entering confidently. She turned to the left, where a human sat behind a reception desk. "Name," The call from this man was quite bored; his job was a dull one, simply look after the many vampires who lived here.
"Haruka Tsuyo," Haruka recited, her heart reacting to the atmosphere which emanated from this building. She closed her eyes for a brief second, taking in a deep breath to slow her pulse.
"Third floor, first door on your right hand side." He recited after checking the name on his computer screen.
"Thank you." She gave him a strong smile before walking off to the stairs. The climb seemed to take forever, yet be over in seconds. She had now reached the third floor and couldn't understand where the time went.
Haruka stepped into the corridor and hesitated only half a second before wrapping on the door, the sound strong and steady. She was quietly proud of herself; she had managed to keep her composure this far into the hellish place.
"Enter," The voice was soft, enticing… Haruka shook her head and opened the door, stepping around it quickly and turning to shut it behind her.
She looked around the room quickly, seeing an enormous bookshelf taking up one entire wall, many, many books lining it neatly. A pale, slender boy sat at a desk in the corner, scribbling quickly on a sheet of paper, stones littered the desk around him. "May I take a seat?" She enquired, looking over to a comfortable-looking couch. The room seemed almost normal, the only difference being that there was no bed.
"Make yourself at home." Haruka moved over to the sofa, seating herself on the end closest to the desk, seeing no point in shying away from him. She thought for a moment how ironic it was that she should be here, in the room of the one vampire she knew the most. Haruka watched him writing, seeing his silver eyes darting up to examine the stones before returning to his paper and scribbling more.
She peeked over, reading the neat handwriting upside-down. "Aw, shit…" She moaned he paused for a moment, his eyes rising to her. "I completely forgot about the chemistry homework!" She groaned a half-smile on her face. He seemed to be taken-aback at her words. "Oh well, I guess I can do it in form… again." She continued her cheeks slightly flushed under his inquisitive stare. "It wouldn't be the first time I scribbled out an essay in five minutes, the teachers don't seem to mind it too much."
"Yes they do," He stated simply, "You are always getting into trouble for the lack of effort you put into your homework, yet your class work does not reflect this, as you usually are at the top of your class." He set down his pen, leaning back still staring deeply at her.
"Well this time I have an excuse, I'm busy tonight." Haruka smiled, feeling oddly at ease here, despite what was to come and what he was.
"You should have gotten it done before now." Haruka laughed at his scornful tone.
"Too late now, oh well." She leaned back into the back of the sofa - she watched him finish off his conclusion - then her gaze flickered over to all the books on the shelf. She stood up, crossing to them - reading the spines of a few of them - carefully running her index finger across the spines of the well-kept books. "Wow…" She sighed under her breath, seeing the wide variety of reading material stored on the same shelf.
Haruka, having taken in as many of the book titles as she could at one time, turned back to make her way back to the sofa. She jumped slightly when she saw him standing right behind her.
"Whoa!" She stepped backward, "You shouldn't be trying to give me a heart-attack." She burst out laughing at her own reaction.
"You are a very strange human." He rested his chin on his knuckle, pondering her behaviours.
"Wow thanks… um, was that a compliment? I'll take it as one." She skirted around him and moved back to the sofa, her back exposed to him. He - in an instant - grabbed her, drawing her closer to him, his fangs at her neck. To his utter amazement, her pulse did not leap into overdrive, it stuttered a little in shock but then rested into a regular pace once again as she leaned her head back. "Trying to get a rise out of me, a scream of fear maybe?" He pulled back, looking into her face, her eyes were closed. She was nothing like any of the others who had come to him.
"I wanted to see what you would do." He admitted the reason behind his actions shamelessly. "As all the other human's pulses would raise beyond belief just by being in the same room as one of my kind."
"Well, they're not me. I came here for a reason and I refuse to be afraid of it. I know the possible outcomes and I have accepted them." She pulled away from his grip, turning to face him. Haruka stepped close to him, raising her chin to expose her neck. "I'm here so that the peace can be kept, so that my friends and family can live in a place of security. However, I was more than a little shocked when I saw it was you who would be the one." She admitted a half-smile on her face as she lowered her chin to look into his silver eyes. "I must say that I half-hoped that it would be you."
"May I ask you why?" Haruka stepped away from him as he spoke, settling herself on the sofa.
"Reasons of my own." She gestured to him, "Shall we begin? Or are you really that intrigued by my answer?" She held out her hand, he stepped forward and took it, his cold skin in contrast to her warmth. He felt her pulse quicken at the contact, but not the racing thud of the fearful heartbeat, the gentle fluttering of a love-struck heart.
"I think I have my answer." He sat beside her, very close beside her. "Although it is a dangerous position for you to be in." As much as he wished he could be what she wanted, he couldn't and they had the species difference which would always be driven between them. It would be better for her to leave here after and never think of him again.
"Daigo Tsuwabuki," She sighed. "If danger really frightened me so very much, do you think I'd be calm right now?" She smiled at him, briefly pecking him on the lips, feeling his cool lips beneath her own. Finally the scent of her blood drove him to the breaking point. He drifted closer to her neck, hearing her next words before he lost himself in the sweet scent pulsing out of her with every heartbeat. "Just don't spill any on my cardigan alright? Blood is a pint to wash out."
She felt the sharp fangs pierce her neck; his arms supported her back as he drew her lifeblood out from her neck. Her eyes drifted closed as he fed off of her life. After a while she felt lightheaded, wondering if he was going to stop soon. A primal flicker of fear fluttered through her mind. 'He's going to kill me.' Hut her heart refused to acknowledge the instinctive fear of this boy.
Misty shadows claimed her consciousness, she felt as if she was falling through an endless pit of the darkness surrounding her. Was this what it felt to die? She didn't mind it too much, it was kind of peaceful.
Her eyes opened, she was staring at a white ceiling in a room with no windows. She was lying across a sofa feeling very comfortable but slightly cold. Haruka raised her head to look around at the wall of bookshelves. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, a wave of vertigo threatened to pull her back down but she fought it and won. Haruka sat up completely, swinging her legs down so her feet touched the floor.
"I'm sorry; it's very hard to stop feeding once the urge takes you over. For a moment I thought you…" She looked over at him; he looked distressed, sat at his desk, fist around a stone. She made to stand up, not to run from this place and never look back, but to approach him, comfort him as he looked so sorrowful at the moment.
Haruka teetered on her feet, staggering a few steps before hitting the desk and steadying herself with it. "Hey, look at me," She whispered, waiting for his silver eyes to turn to her. "I'm alright; it'll take more than that to keep me down." She held her hand out for the stone he had grasped in his own. "If you break that you'll have nothing for your chemistry assignment. Then what'll you do?" She smiled softly to him. He slowly moved his hand towards hers; she touched it gently, waiting for him to drop the stone into her palm.
After some time the object plopped into her palm, she set it carefully down on the desk, grasping his hand in her own. She squeezed it gently before starting her next sentence.
"Thank you," She whispered, eyeing his puzzled response, after feasting off of her blood his cheeks had a little flush of colour in them, this simply little change made Haruka smile more warmly. "You didn't spill a drop on the cardigan." She beamed before continuing on a different train of thought "I'm a little off balance here, do you mind walking me home?" He blinked at her. "Well, I don't think I can make it on my own and I think you'd rather be rid of me than have I hanging around. Plus my parents are waiting for me." She babbled on, trying to take his mind of what could have happened because it didn't happen.
His lips were still tilted downwards in a frown. She touched his bottom lip gently, upon contact he flinched away from her touch. She smiled down at him carefully, making sure her motions were slow, like he was a startled wild animal.
"Nothing bad happened. Oh, I do have one question, just out of curiosity." His eyes bore down into hers. "What does my blood taste like? You don't have t answer if you don't want to that is. You're just acting now like it was your first time when I know that's not the case. So how come you're so shy now?"
He sighed. "I just, never lost it like that. Yes I have drunk the blood of many humans, it's the sick truth of my kind, but never have I lost it like that and nearly killed someone."
"Well there we go; at least I'm the first in something. Even if it was the first you nearly killed. It's special in its own way." She laughed softly. "Come on, I need to go home." She pulled his hand.
"I've never kissed a human." She glanced over to him, they were on the street now, she was leaning against him quite significantly, her equilibrium had not returned to her fully, but he didn't seem to mind. "So you're not just the first human I nearly killed. You're my first kiss as well."
"Well, that's a lot nicer." She smiled, looking up at him; they had nearly reached her house now. She paused before they reached it, turning to him. "Do you mind if I kiss you again?" She asked him, looking up at him carefully, not wanting to do something which would put him out of his comfort zone.
He leaned his head down slowly, cupping her face carefully, before pressing his lips against hers gently. The genteel contact made her head spin, he was being so careful with her; it made her heart skip a few beats. He broke away from her; finally his lips had twitched upwards into a smile.
"Goodnight Daigo-san, I'll see you in chemistry, when the teacher yells at me." She smiled at him, hugging him before she turned on her heel and walked back to her home. Both of her parents rushed to the door to greet her, neither of them seeing the vampire in the shadows watching their daughter closely as she left his side to return to her human life.
He turned on the spot and walked off, back to his cold, unwelcoming home, looking forward to seeing her in class tomorrow. She was something truly special, something worth more than his own existence, he almost felt… alive.
A/N: Here we are, the bottom of the barrel! The AU to make all AUs cringe xD Hmmmmm, still a better love story than Twilight? Pahahaha! Oh dear, I'll really need to think up some new HoennChampion ideas for the next few chapters. Any suggestions are gratefully welcomed xD Thank you so much for reading! -Iris