Embarrassment 48: A Painful Reality


Kanon sat on her bed staring out the window as sunlight started to shine into her room. She had locked herself in the room all night, just talking to her father about Keitaro. Kenta may not be the same person that she remembered in life, but she still loved him all the same. She still felt he was the only person that she could truly trust.

"I wonder if Keitaro's going to be alright out there," Kanon wondered. "I don't know what I'd do if he got injured."
"You really do like him, don't you?" Kenta asked from the chair in the corner of her room.

"Is it really that obvious, Papa?" Kanon asked, going slightly red.

Kenta smiled. Of course it was obvious at this point. All she had been thinking about all night was his whereabouts. "Kanon, if you have feelings for Keitaro, you should tell him how you feel."

Kanon immediately shook her head, going redder than ever. "I could never do that. It'd be just to embarrassing. Besides, I don't think he feels the same way about me."

"You'll never know unless you ask him," he said.

Kanon couldn't even bring herself to doing that. She did really like Keitaro at this point, but she would only let her father know that. She was afraid that Keitaro still didn't want anything to do with her. The thought made tears come to her eyes. What if Keitaro had been treating her so nicely just because he had too. She would like to think that he liked her, even as a great friend. But what if he didn't?

Keitaro, just come back safely, she thought, laying down in her bed and closing her eyes.

Keitaro was at a loss for words at the moment. Somebody in the elder house knew exactly who he was. Now he was in an awkward situation, wondering if he should retaliate. The vampire was extremely calm and didn't seem to find Keitaro as a threat. Keitaro kept his finger next to the trigger of his riffle. At least until he figured out the vampire's intents.

"How do you know me?" Keitaro asked, unsteadily.

The old vampire smiled. "We've met once before, young Keitaro. But you were just a little a child."

Keitaro wasn't sure if he should believe him. "I don't remember ever meeting you. Explain yourself."

"Is that how you treat all vampires?" He breathed a heavy sigh, realizing that Keitaro wasn't going to lower his guard. "My name is Alexander Welsh, Keitaro. You probably know me as the elder vampire."

Keitaro immediately lowered his weapon. He had spent the last hour looking for the elder vampire along with the vampire council. As it turned out, the elder had found him. He put his weapon away, knowing that this vampire wasn't lying to him. The elder vampire was the oldest and most sacred of all vampires, even older than Elda. Pointing a riffle at him was signing your death warrant, even for a vampire hunter.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Welsh," Keitaro said, bowing.

"Please, don't take it to heart," Alexander said softly. "I expected nothing less from the son of Hotaru Cross."

"You know my father?"

"But of course," he said calmly. "Hotaru is a good friend of mine. It was because of me that he started Cross Organization."

"If that's the case," Keitaro quickly said, "then you have to stop this war."

The elder laughed. Keitaro had been quick to bring up the topic. "You really are tenacious. You come all the way to the elder house, when you know that most vampires would love to kill you. All just to beg me to stop the vampires from attacking the Maakas."

"You don't understand, Mr. Welsh..."

"No," he interrupted. "You don't understand, Keitaro. These are desperate times. In a few years time, the vampire race is going to die out. The only hope rests with the Pushuke."

"There are other ways to get her," Keitaro stammered. "Kanon is not an object that you can just use and forget about. She's a person like you or me."

Alexander shook his head. "That's where you're wrong, my boy. Keitaro, the whole purpose of the Pushuke is to bring fertility to vampires. That was the whole reason they were born. I was there when the first Pushuke was born. Her name was Sophia, and she was quite a beautiful young girl. At the time, vampires were on the verge of extinction."

"I know the story of Sophia," Keitaro said, slightly annoyed.

"Then you must know that when vampires found out that her blood could prevent their destruction, a war broke out to get to her. There were some vampires that believed that her blood shouldn't be taken. They were so determined to protect her, that they threw their own lives out just to save her. They did the same as you are doing with Kanon Usui. But you do not understand how far the vampires will go if they know there is a way."

"This doesn't matter!" Keitaro yelled. "You can't break the code of honor."

"I helped write the code, boy," the elder said, taking a step towards him. "I know very well what consequences I will face. I also know that you may be the only person who can stop this war before it gets any worse."

"What..."

The elder stepped past Keitaro and got up on the platform, before turning around to him. "You should know very well that if the blood from the Pushuke is taken by force, it will be little more than worthless to us. The Pushuke's blood effect is only permanent if it is given, not taken."

He already knew what Alexander was getting at, and he hated the sound of it. "I would never do that."

"I can read your mind, Keitaro. You want nothing more than for things to go back to the way they were. You are the closest person to the Pushuke. She trusts you more than anyone in the world. If you pushed her in the right direction, you could stop all this fighting."

"And I'll be responsible for the death of an innocent girl?" Keitaro said.

"But in return, you will be responsible for saving an entire race. Is there no greater triumph? Is that not what Cross Organization was created for? The preservation of both the vampire and human race."

Keitaro knew right off the bat that what the elder was saying was true. Everything had been pointing towards this. Kanon was the Pushuke. Her whole purpose in life was to save the vampire race, but she would never do it on her own. Keitaro had the ability to change her judgment. He could tell just from talking to her that she trusted him more than anything in the world. He promised that he would protect her until she made a decision on what to do with her life, but he never wanted to be the one who would convince her.

"There has to be another way," Keitaro said softly, taking a seat in one of the pews. This was getting to hard to fathom. "I didn't come all this way for nothing."

"At this point, even if I told the vampires to stop, they wouldn't listen," Alexander said calmly. "But you know what they want, Keitaro. If you want them to stop then talk to the Pushuke."

"Her name is Kanon," he said softly.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said, her name is Kanon," Keitaro said louder. "She doesn't want to be called the Pushuke, and I don't want her to be called that either. Her name is Kanon Usui."

The elder gave him a gentle smile before leaving the room. Keitaro was dead silent. His brain was running a mile a minute and he felt worse than ever. He had now figured out what this room was. He was sitting in the last room a Pushuke ever sees, and if Alexander had his way, it may be the last room that Kanon ever sees. It was the sacrifice room. This was designed especially for the Pushuke. Keitaro hated this room more than anything.

All of this, Keitaro thought as he stared at his feet. All of this was a waste. Coming here. I wasted all this time. The vampires aren't going to listen to me. They never would. They have had their eyes set on Kanon ever since they found out she was alive. Nothing I could have said would have changed that. There's only one way to end this.

In the past, Keitaro wondered if he had feelings for Kanon. He believed that he never deserved her. But now that he knew he was the only one who could persuade her, he knew exactly how he felt. Kanon wasn't just a job. She wasn't just a friend either. He really liked her... No he loved her more than anyone else in the world. It took this to realize that.

Maybe he was crazy. He pushed her away from him because he was afraid that he would hurt her. But now he wished nothing more than her to be happy. She was the only person who he had allowed himself to get close too. When he was near her, he felt like he could be himself. Every time she was around, he was able to smile.

I love Kanon. I don't care how crazy it sounds. I know I may not deserve someone as perfect as her but I don't care anymore. I want nothing more than for her to be happy.

Keitaro didn't remain in the elder house anymore. He went down to where Anju and Karin were and told them that he needed time to think. He apologized to them for dragging them all the way out to the elder house just to leave them. Karin knew something was seriously wrong with him but he would say. All he said was that he would meet them at the train station once night fell again.

"Does that mean it's over?" Karin asked Anju.

"I don't know?" Anju said, staring Keitaro down as he climbed the metal staircase and left.

Keitaro had never been so torn in his life. He knew exactly how he felt for Kanon. But how could he be the one to tell her that she would have to fulfill her destiny as a Pushuke? If he didn't convince her, things would only get worse and eventually the vampires would take her by force. Then he would be the one to blame for not doing anything about it. What could he do?

Keitaro didn't sleep the entire day.


I'm sorry. I originally had an action scene decided for this chapter between the vampires and Keitaro. But when I came to it, I could bring myself to write it. This chapter was just so sad that adding an action scene would destroy it. If you think that I did it wrong, tell me. But I love this chapter more than anything. Can you see where this story is going? Just be ready for a surprise at the end of part 5