Saya Tsukihime: Thanks for the notice on my mistake. As for Ferid… I have no idea what it is about silver-haired-anime-psycho-men, but I can't even wait for his appearance in the show. He is amusing… and cruel, sadistic, emotionless 'b******'. Enjoy the new chapter and sorry for the wait.
Camomilemomile: Aw! Thank you for your support!
TheWritingMermaid: Yeah, I didn't update soon, but at least I made this chapter before the New Year! This is my late holiday present then.
Sato Tsubaki was a dog who could bark, but not bite. At least, she could not take out her anger physically on a living person. In worst cases, she screams or throw and break things, but never once lay a hand on someone. That is how she lived and what she taught to her daughter. Putting your hands on someone and hurting them in the process was one of the things any parent should teach their child and that is what she did.
Whenever Momo stepped out of line or went physically violent – in her childish way – towards her friends, her mother never got mad or screamed at her like usually when angry. Instead, she grabbed both little fists and enveloped them into her own hands. The touch had always been firm and gentle.
"Never hurt anyone."
Of course, when her mother got angry, she would be the most terrifying thing the little girl ever saw. That's why she sometimes got confused about whether Tsubaki would ever physically harm her. That was not possible in her mind, nor in the minds of others. The mother and daughter pair were loving, normal, sometimes with any day-to-day conflicts that resolved themselves. If the older woman was tired, she would show it with tightening of her voice and general exhausted attitude – Momo knew that then she shouldn't bother her.
More than a fiery mother, she was also the one who cherished her child the most. She was the one who gave Momo comfort from the monsters during the night, who cooked for her, ironed her clothes for school, brushed her hair and even helped her with homework. Because of this, Tsubaki deserved to let out fumes from time to time, but even then, she made sure not to truly harm her daughter.
That's why that one time that Tsubaki 'snapped' became the most heavily imprinted memory of Momo's life.
"Okaa-san, what's this?"
One innocent question started it all.
It had happened one evening. Both of them slept next to each other on separated futons. However, this time around, Momo had decided that she wanted to sleep next to her mother under the same blanket. It was winter after all and she liked to cuddle.
Tsubaki hadn't objected. Not when she and her daughter started off as playfully tickling one another, nor when their pajama shirts hiked up from the tossing and turning and laughing too much. They were having fun. But for some strange reason, the little girl did something that she should have never done. She looked down at where her mother's abdomen had become visible and even in the dimly lighted room, she could see something peculiar.
Instead of seeing a surface of smooth skin, there was scarring. It marred the area above the belly button, just near the older woman's right hip. It ran from the edge of the hipbone to the center of the stomach in jagged, uneven lines. To a child, the mark on her mother's stomach had appeared both disturbing and intriguing.
Until that point, Momo had never seen anything like it before. She was confused, not fully understanding what scars even meant, nor did she knew from first glance that it even was one.
So, she did what any child could do in their bubbling curiosity – she reached out and touched it.
Tsubaki didn't see it coming. She had been too busy chuckling to notice a small hand approaching before a finger poked the marred flesh. Immediately, the mirth on her face deceased.
Momo asked the question: "Okaa-san, what's this?"
In all the years to come, the details, from the six-year-old girl's mind, would remain vivid.
Her attention remained in the scar. That is why the shadow which passed Tsubaki's face went unnoticed. The little girl was oblivious to the stiffening under her touch and the loss of laughter from the air. She couldn't dodge the fist directed at her face nor how her small body was thrown back and away from her mother.
Time stopped moving forward.
Tears burned in her eyes, the side of her face throbbed and warmed up. She reached out and touched it, flinching from the small pain it caused. Her body was shaking – she understood that it wasn't a stranger who had done this. She didn't wail, or cry out loud, though. Those were stuck in the back of her throat like leeches, sucking the life out the longer she kept quiet.
It was mostly the shock that kept Momo quiet. Tsubaki was another story. The older woman's heavy breaths thundered against the room's walls, but her face contained the most crushing force. It was twisted into an ugly glare, teeth bared, brows knitted and eyes ablaze with pure rage. For a moment, the little girl wondered, if this was her mother anymore. The pain on her face and what happened didn't make any sense.
Something within Momo's chest cracked.
"Don't touch me!" Tsubaki yelled but gathered up the covers around herself like a wounded animal. There was a glint in her eyes, it was sharp and didn't recognize both the pain and terror forming on her child's face. "What's wrong with you!? Do you go around touching every other person like that!? Keep your hands to yourself! Don't come any closer! Don't you dare touch me again!"
The room went deadly quiet.
Her mother had never once hit her, until that evening. It stung more than any other normal hit she had received and broke twice as hard her heart.
And then, Momo broke down. Large fat tears poured down her red cheeks, falling to her lap and thrown blanket. She cried, curling into a ball, waiting to be hit again.
The pained cries took a while to reach Tsubaki's ears, but the moment they did her expression shattered. The anger melted away, replaced by the shock of reality. The mist within her eyes cleared away and was changed into tears.
"I'm sorry," she whispered and drew her child closer, chest heaving. "I'm so sorry."
Neither of them mentioned what happened the next day. And Momo never again mentioned the scar she saw.
They have walked for a while, but the haunting image of her doom is still looming over.
"Haha! Hurry up!"
"Wait for me!"
An innocent scene – two children laughing and running through the mostly empty street. They wear white, like innocent angels, smiles on their faces. But those expressions drop and freeze suddenly when a shadow of a tall figure walks past them. The vampire doesn't even bother glancing them and yet they look like rabbits ready to bolt from a wolf.
Almost like feeling and being drawn to their fear, Momo peeks from under bangs at the two, pity and sympathy pooling in her stomach. And they both wear the same clothes she does, the same color, the same shoes, and the same dark lines. Fear is clearly reflected in their eyes and the joyous laughter from a moment ago is gone, all because a vampire walked past them. He didn't even make any unusual gesture for that to happen. The children are simply petrified from seeing him here.
The city of vampires is truly silent – she misses the children's cheerful voices because of that. Momo can barely believe it has any life within it. The liveliness of her kind was the only source for that. A moment or two, as she is following the vampire, her own heterochromia gaze meets with theirs. What she sees is pure fear and nothing else. The sight sends a sharp pain through her chest. They are so young.
"L-let's go," the one who appears to be the eldest grabs the younger one by the hand, leading him quickly away, paranoid glances back over the shoulder.
Whether those eyes are directed at her, as well, she will never know. Momo keeps her head low, looking ahead on the ground where she can see the boots of her captor. Honestly, if her fear of him had been to the extreme the first time they met, she can only imagine what those young children see.
So chilly. She has an urge to wrap her arms around herself, for a while she has wanted to do so. Here, underneath the ground where the light doesn't shine, the temperature is too low. No ice will probably be formed from this, but it's enough to make goosebumps spread all over the human woman's limbs. The clothes give no protection from it.
"Follow."
The vampire has been doing this for a while now. Whenever there was another blood-sucking creature in the area, dressed in grey capes and hoods, he would speak through their connection. No questions asked. Then they would slow down and walk somewhere secluded for the time being. He doesn't want the others to see the flesh bag he has brought, that is how she sees it. She wouldn't want to open her mouth, to begin with.
And just like that, he makes a turn to the nearest alley and she follows silently. Before they disappear from plain sight, Momo's mismatching eyes catch sight of more than three figures making their way from further away. Unlike all the other vampires she has gotten a glimpse of, few in the small group have white clothes, rather than dark grey. Almost like her kidnapper.
"Don't look," the order comes with his usual tone, echoing and grinding her head, but it is enough to make her gaze snap back to his back.
They must be careful – she must be careful. Unlike him, a mere human who stands out, or does something stupid, will not stand a chance in this place. The walls and the ground, the scenery is cold with white and grey colors, but it is easy to imagine those colors being coated in red. That is what Momo keeps on seeing. Nothing more than an enormous slaughterhouse.
"Haha! My turn! My turn!"
For the second time, there is a startling sound of bell-like laughter in the air.
"No fair!"
Again, small children, barely age of ten, are skipping across scribbles they have drawn on the ground with white chalk. Unknown to them, the dark-haired woman is watching their every move, every little spot of a smile on their youthfully pale faces. In fact, as someone who has been practicing in the medical profession, their white skins are disturbingly unnatural and limbs as thin as mere twigs, peeking out of the wide sleeves and hems.
Don't laugh, she wants to almost say that out loud. This laughter made-up picture of peacefulness makes her skin crawl. It all sounds too empty. There is no way anyone can be happy in a place like this one… although, she is about to find out how to live here herself.
Each step the vampire takes forward, she has to follow with her own. There is no option of stopping. But what kind of smoldering emotions she could feel, if only they had more distance between them? Truth to be told, Momo almost wants to get closer, if that means smothering whatever terror has been brewing up in her chest… no, that is way too poetic in describing how she feels.
The human woman is scared shitless.
"This way," he speaks up suddenly. The tone is calm, the total opposite of her.
A door is before her, a metal one which lays half-open for them to enter. The red-haired vampire isn't going in, though. He stays perfectly still, holding onto the handle with an expectant expression if you could call the latter that. The human can't exactly put her finger to it, but the strange twinkle in those red orbs is making her spine stiffen more than usual. They still hold that emptiness, that everlasting appearance of innocent curiosity and amusement, but all that is empty.
It is ironic to call for deities or pray to one, but she can't stop the words, 'gods that smile is creepy', from echoing inside her skull.
Whether it is the thoughts he keeps on hearing from her end, the expression of anxiety on her face or the plain sight of her trembling fists, the corners of his lips pull up even further. Now, his mouth has formed almost a perfect moon circle.
"What's there?" She dares to ask, feet glued to the ground. Her voice is surprisingly hollow and mismatching eyes stare deep into the darkness on the other side – it is like looking into an abyss.
The vampire closes his eyes, humming thoughtfully. "We really don't have much time for questions. Others are approaching us."
She should have heard the way his last words made a quirky end. It was beckoning, almost teasing, filled with the lightness of a trickster. A mischievous child ready to make fun of another. Still, her legs moved out of instinct not to be discovered by others of his kind and in a few moments, she passed both the monster and the cruel cold door.
"Good luck~"
The door is slammed close the second she is in – the loudness may be due to nerves on the edge.
Somehow, Momo knows that the vampire has not followed and is left frozen standing in the dark.
A trap? Her heart thuds, banging against her ribcage as if trying to attempt escaping. That is exactly what the voice inside her skull is screaming for her to do, but her mind has turned blank. The way she can't see a thing and feels only the cold makes her gut drop ten feet below the ground surface.
Then there is a sound again, besides the echoing of the metal door slamming shut, and that is the noise of a lock being placed. Within second, cold sweat trails once again down her back. Realization of what has happened hits and Momo whirls around, hands slamming flat on the hard surface, aching afterward. She doesn't notice the pain, though. There is only room for panic now.
"What are you doing!? Let me out!" Her scream bounces off the walls in whatever construction she is in.
"Now, now. We, vampires, have quite a good hearing. There is no need to shout," he speaks from the other side, a bit like an adult chiding a child. "Just play your part here. Keep quiet and stay silent – this way you can survive."
Her fist tremble, the breaths coming out ragged. The woman wonders, whether this is where it all ends and she will be left here in the dark, to starve or shiver to death from the chill. "S-survive what?"
"I thought that would be obvious," he states, clearly dramatizing the disappointed tone. "It would certainly raise questions if I am seen with a human. This is the easiest solution."
"For bloody who!? Let me out!"
"Don't make such a racket, or someone will really come over here," he scolds, further aggravating her. The steel door does nothing to break their – mostly from her side – emotional connection, so Momo can keep her temper in check to some extent. She hasn't forgotten where exactly they are – of course, any person within a certain radius could hear her even while being enclosed like this.
The anger is suppressed by the terror of the darkness surrounding her and the knowledge of why she needs to lower her voice. It's hard, though. What is happening to her… this is not what she had thought would happen to her. Momo hates the dark, loathes the fact of how she is unable to break the door with her bare hands. There isn't sunlight in the city, to begin with, but it would be much better than this closed-off space.
The vampire on the other side knows the moment she tries controlling her boiling anger and fear because he speaks only then. "Be a good livestock and continue down the tunnel. It leads to the other side of the city. Stay there for a while and behave, understand?"
Now that he calls her a 'livestock' – in this city, with these clothes on her – something forms a hole in her chest. Her self-worth has been plunged down to new depths. "W-why should I?"
This time, there is silence for a while, the kind that creates tension on Momo's already tense shoulders. Then, the vampire sighs, as if exasperated by the constant questioning. "You sure like to ask questions."
Inhaling as deeply as she can, Momo grits through her teeth. "Whether you like it or not, humans have mouths to talk with."
"I think I preferred the way you were constantly covering from me, though," he says offhandedly, like always, sounding as if he is merely speaking of weather conditions.
"Too bad for you, then," is the only comeback she can get out.
Again, he stays quiet for a while, but there is a faint sound of him humming thoughtfully. "To put this all simply, I will need you to fit in with the rest of the livestock."
"And you threw me in here for what purpose exactly?" Momo asks with dissatisfaction, fingers digging into the metal without a purpose, holding herself back.
"There really is a… bothersome person approaching this place, so I suggest you get going," his voice takes a sudden shift.
She stiffens. He doesn't sound playful nor has that innocent flare she is so used to – a bad sign. There is nothing serious about his attitude towards life, to begin with. To hear such drop in the tone is staggering and her hands hesitantly retreat back to her sides stiffly. Momo isn't sure anymore what she should fear the most: this vampire who is separated from her by a thick door, this city which is a one giant death pit for a human-like her or whatever it is that she has been hidden from.
The thought that she is being tricked to be frightened again doesn't even cross the mind.
Despite herself, she wants to ask what – or who – is approaching them. No words come out of her parched throat, though. The door is not a suffocating barrier between her imprisonment and freedom, but rather a shield. Whatever it's that she should be running from, it definitely can't be another human. This vampire wouldn't take these kinds of measures if that was the case.
Which means… more vampires.
She inches back, arms reaching out to feel the side walls. Now, the only concern filling her mind is navigating this pitch-black place and not fall and scrape her knees to attract unwanted attention. However, whatever blood she has flowed in her veins is beginning to freeze all over. The solid surfaces are closing on her, there is not enough air in here anymore.
"I will find you later."
Hearing those words is a trigger – the human starts staggering forward, picking up her speed and footsteps echoing in the dark.
She has to get away.
This is the kind of fear you get when running through the dark from the-gods-know-what.
He listens, never moving an inch until that faint and small sound of beating heart fades from the scope of his hearing capabilities. And even then, he doesn't start walking until the faint scent of the human's stench has faded from the air surrounding him. During this entire time, even the blank expression on his facial features doesn't waver.
When it appears as if her entire existence has been swallowed by the tunnel behind the door, he blinks absentmindedly, looking up at the rock ceiling high above. That sure took a while. Her reaction to being locked up hadn't amused him as much as he thought it would. But it had certainly been interesting to feel the strange clenching in his gut and the fluttering of her heart in his ears – again, he has felt the emotions that were lost centuries ago. The memory of it is vivid and makes him hum in his usual manner. So interesting.
Too bad for him, he doesn't have the time to dwell on what has occurred.
Leisurely, Crowley turns and starts walking where they arrived from. The plan had been to take the livestock to further part of this city, somewhere where he could sneak her into the mansion. This location is still way too far away and off from where that building resides. Letting that human go through here was another option in case of disturbances. Frankly, he wished not to use it. When that human reaches the other end, she is free to wander around the place. Which means he has to track her. It would be quite a bother for him.
"Crowley-kun~"
Ah, here comes another bothersome element waving happily at him from the distance. Just in time, he muses silently to himself. Had the human stalled any longer, this would have been a closer call towards a new definition of 'trouble'.
The greeting is returned with his own signature smile, which covers up the red-haired vampire's inner thoughts. He didn't see her… right?
Just like Crowley, the red eyes of Ferid Bathory do not betray any inner thoughts as he walks closer, followed by two lower-ranked guards in grey. There is nothing unusual in his approach, nothing indicating that he's different from normal.
"Uh-ou, you found me."
There is a short laugh. "My, my, you make it sound like you were avoiding me!"
"I was," he answers bluntly, which makes the other vampire laugh again. They continue approaching each other until both stand only a few feet apart. The guards stay at a more respectful distance, watching the two nobles interact.
"How could you not send a message that you were already close by? I would have welcomed you with open arms," Ferid says with a fake hurt in his voice before looking at the scenery over the railing next to them. His red eyes are directed at the white building on the highest ground.
Crowley follows his gaze. "That's precisely why I didn't write."
This is good – they are speaking in a normal manner, the kind that they always use while engaged in conversations. Still, no matter how 'normal' things appear, the vampire with the darker skin keeps a close eye on his acquittance's face. Not that he has ever been able to figure out what he is thinking to begin with.
"Your two usual attendants arrived a few days ago. It was quite unusual for you to travel separately."
His lips twist up. "They aren't children, Ferid-kun. I don't see you dragging your underlings around to every single place."
"That's true, but they also told me that you decided to stay behind – for more than a single day," Ferid adds and turns around to face him. Again, there is no change in expression on his face, eyes or how his voice sounds like. The only thing Crowley can rely on is how he would answer the most predictable question. "I was wondering what kept you back."
"I was doing some research on humans," he answers truthfully, seeing no point in twisting the reality.
Ferid lets out a humorless laugh. "Is that so? Those two did mention of orders to look through old research material." The last words are a statement – he is beginning to pry deeper into his business.
Chess and Horn. Crowley does admit that he hadn't given them any restrictions on what to answer if someone started asking questions. But knowing Ferid for more than a few centuries, there is a little room to argue that those women would have been able to evade his curiosity. Still, he thinks that the option of running away had been present. No… his gaze lands on the smiling one in front of him. This one wouldn't have let them get away. The thought makes him want to sigh. The last one he wanted to get even closer to involving in his situation is Ferid.
Despite the thoughts of possibilities of what might happen should his little human 'connection' be discovered – which could be unlikely, if he was careful – Crowley plays it off by keeping his eyes on the dull scenery.
"You have to admit it to be strange. The livestock have steadily increased their strength. You should know," he turns so that the braid on his shoulder slides down. "After all, more of our troops are returning unable to properly heal themselves."
"Haha! Is that all you have been wondering about?" Placing both hands on his hips, the silver-haired man walks past him, patting Crowley lightly on the shoulder. "Don't worry, don't worry. It isn't like the livestock have an upper hand on us or anything."
One already has, Crowley wants to add, but continues standing still. Again, he images what kind of reaction Ferid would have if he knew the truth for this information scouring. No doubt there would be a lot of unpleasantries, and laughter involved, things which should be avoided at all costs in this situation. Although, this is easier said than done now. The older vampire is like a leech when he chooses a target.
"By the by, Crowley-kun~," he is once again in front of him. This time, there is definitely a change in his usual smile. Beneath that usual smile, showing his fangs, something darkens in his red eyes. "What are you doing so far away from the mansion?"
"I thought I caught a whiff of something," he once more tells half-truths, watching as the spark of curiosity in Ferid's eyes grows.
"Oh?" He tilts his head, red earring twinkling viciously. Then, Ferid closes his eyes and inhales, not minding the personal space, lids opening a second after. "You have been feeding."
It doesn't show, but just as those words leave from his lips, Crowley's mindset goes into a halt. The air around them seems to do the same. It can only be hoped that the change isn't noticeable to anyone else. With the reminder of that one act that comes naturally to vampires, his thoughts return backward. He sees the sight of blood before him again, recalls the moment he and the unconscious livestock had been inside that abandoned human store… where she had bled on him.
The clothes are clean, the red-haired vampire made sure of that. There shouldn't be a single sign that he has been anywhere near a human, but then he inhales once more, finally catching the very faint and barely obvious smell of blood. The rust of metal which smells like food to them is still lingering, clinging to him.
Crowley's mouth parts, meeting Ferid's gaze with a slightly bothered expression. "Yes," he answers easily. "It wasn't the best quality, though."
"Really?" The other vampire asks curiously, innocently. A bad sign. "Were you perhaps recovering from a battle?"
"From against humans? Why are you asking such a thing?" He asks back, dubiously raising an eyebrow.
The silver-hair moves in the wind harmlessly, when its owner tilts his head and chuckles emptily.
Again, there is a halt.
That is when he can feel it. The barely audible sting on his back, the spot where the human bled, is starting to tighten and burn. Then, even he can smell it in the air – his own blood. Somehow, one of the human's stitches must have come undone.
"Because, Crowley-kun," Ferid starts ominously, red eyes sparkling with dangerous intensity. "You are bleeding."
Getting out of the darkness is a bittersweet moment.
There is a faint waft of chloride in the air when the pitch-black darkness of the tunnel is replaced by the subtle lights of a random city street. As soon as she opens a half-ajar metal door, the place reeks of filth. Sewers and pipes are coming out of the stone-cold surfaces of walls and the ground from across the place. When liquid seeping with disturbing odor is spitting out of one pipe next to her, Momo jumps, startled.
This is a dumping ground – it doesn't take a genius to conclude where she is. The roofs of a few houses can barely be seen on top of a cliff that stands right behind her. After that, there is only another massive wall of rock, the end of the city, laid bare on the opposite side of the door.
The door is opened a bit more and the human woman steps down on a worn-out stone path that frames a stream of filth being drained down by a large hole just a few feet away. Wherever that leads to, she isn't about to find out. This environment isn't safe – this isn't a safe haven nor are there any paths to freedom in here.
One – or more – wound on her back started stinging a while ago while she had started walking through the tunnel.
Whether the bleeding has slowed down or even stopped, doesn't matter. The smell of her blood is definitely in the air, in a city filled with vampires to whom she could fall as easy prey. Forget about the law of not allowed to drink outside the battlefield, the vampire she has been with has proven already that some will disobey rules.
This is bad. This is all very, very bad. Whatever part of Sanguinem this is, Momo has no idea. The time she kept on walking, feeling the twists and turns by touching the walls around her, had been agonizingly slow period. It could have taken an hour for her to reach this place. Not to mention the vampire had barely given her any useful instructions.
When will he come to get her? Will he even come? Is he watching right now from the shadows at her pathetic resurfacing in this garbage pit? The questions just keep on bombarding her mind and she turns around in frantic movements. He might have done this out of personal amusement, but…
She stares down at the twisted brown and murky water. The color of it only reminds her of her own mismatching brown eyes. No contacts are covering the pale shade of one of her irises. It is something that makes her feel further vulnerable.
Another stinging and burning sensation spreads across her back. No, he is also in trouble with me. He won't… he won't…
The water just keeps on going down into a pit. It is just as dark as the world on the other side of the metal door behind her was. Maybe, if she would plunge into that place, she might get out into another place, somewhere better than this. Perhaps the outside world.
"If you are going to jump in then do it."
The chilly air stills. There is no sound of rushing water anymore. Momo whirls around in a panic, expecting a bloodsucker ready to fulfill the suggestion themselves, but instead finds herself looking at a pair of dull grey eyes.
It is a child, or a teenager more like it. And judging by the matching collar and no signs of sharp teeth peeking over the edges of the lips, she's definitely a human. A very thin, pale, but expressionless human, nonetheless. She stares at the older woman, who in contrast looks violently shaken. The girl's stare does little in comforting her and she wraps her arms around herself. Suddenly, it is a lot colder in here than she felt a second ago.
When Momo doesn't make a move, the other human turns towards the edge of the path carved out of stone and dumps what appears a basket full of garbage into the dirty river. It only takes a few moments for the trash to resurface and drift away together with the water.
"The water is very swallow in here, so I doubt you could properly drown yourself," she starts monotonously. "I suggest you throw yourself headfirst into sewers."
A chill travels down the older woman's spine. For some reason, the emotionless in this girl's tone reminds her of broken soldiers she used to take care of in the hospital right after their battles. They were the kind who had their limbs torn off and bled profoundly to the floors. However, this girl is intact. Her short brown hair is a bit greasy, but her skin doesn't have a blemish on it. Her pointed face is merely blank like untouched paper.
She appeared out of nowhere in white, like a ghost. What she said isn't supposed to be something coming out of a teenager's mouth.
The words register in Momo's mind slowly and when they do the back of her throat dries up. "I was not going to jump in."
"Uh-huh." Her voice is full of doubt while her face doesn't show anything, again. Almost as if she doesn't know how the latter works.
"I was not," the older human presses on, but doesn't get irritated by the youngster's attitude. She can't and won't. Getting in contact with this one person hasn't made her calm down. In fact, it has done the opposite.
So, there the two of them stand, not showing what they are feeling nor making any moves to inch away from their preserved spots. The uncomfortable silence makes the atmosphere tense, but not unbearable. What is intolerable, though, is the constant burning on the dark-haired woman's back. The palms of her hands feel clammed, oversensitive.
There would be no way that the bloodsuckers would be able to smell her through the stench of garbage river, right? If they could, then maybe jumping down the nearest sewer wouldn't be such a bad idea.
"You…" the girl starts, breaking the silence.
Momo blinks, dry eyes already stinging. "Hm?"
She hesitates but then shakes her head softly. "Nah. It was nothing."
Keeping a straight face becomes more difficult. The stitched-up wounds on her back are worrisome. At least one stitch could be undone, or the blood is seeping past small wounds forming on the lines created by lacerations. It burns, sting, she is afraid to make one single move that could make it all worse. She was inwardly complaining about the chilly air before, but now she is worried about the heat caused by nervousness.
She has to think about what to do next. It would become too see-through that Momo does not belong nor has been in here ever before. She doesn't have the knowledge on where to seek shelter, what she should and should not do in this city surrounded by creatures who could twist her spine into small pieces.
"Are you sick?" The girl suddenly asks for the second time.
Unlike before, the silence doesn't end there. Momo is thinking how to answer, already guessing she looks paler than normal. The blood loss, lack of food and water certainly leave their marks on a person. She already saw that in that one abandoned bathroom back on the road.
One wrong answer could affect many things.
"I… no, I don't think so," she finally lets out, being the first of the two to look away from the other.
"You look like shit, though."
Wow. She sure knows how to throw a compliment, is what Momo thinks dryly and lifts her gaze back up. The girl is obviously looking at her from head to toe. The blatant stare is sharp, and she crosses her arms across her chest as some form of a shield.
There is no way she knows how to talk to a person like this. The girl should have obvious features, other than her stature and a small amount of baby fat on her face, to show youthfulness. Instead of eyes with spark, there are two pairs of dark grey coal staring bluntly ahead and through Momo. She knows that look, though. She has worn it many times in the past.
"Are you okay?" This is her first question for the girl, who blinks back blankly.
"That is what I was asking you," she answers and then turns to look up at the wall next to them. "If you were not trying to kill yourself, what are you doing just standing here?"
From pursing her mouth and biting on it, the older human tastes copper. "Hiding… I guess."
A psychopathic vampire with whom I have this strange physical and emotional connection to pushed me into a dark tunnel and locked the door. As if I could say that.
"Are you playing hide and seek?"
She shakes her head. "No."
"Didn't think so," the girl sighs and rubs her head as if bothered. It is the first sign of emotion she has shown so far. "Sure, looked like you were ready to jump into this shit, though. From experience, you would have stunk for days, if you had failed in finishing the deed."
Momo's eyebrows knit together, but otherwise, she doesn't comment on her words.
"So, who are you hiding from?" The girl walks closer to the edge and crouches down, not apparently leaving yet. Whether that is a good or a bad thing, she would hopefully soon find out. "Did you break a rule or something?"
Many rules.
"Yes," she answers but doesn't feel content with it. What kind of story should she spin from this one?
"Huh," the teenager says nonchalantly and throws a random rock into the water. It plunges loudly. "You sure are an idiot."
The insult goes past her ears. The dark-haired woman inhales, feeling how the cold air cools her burning lungs. She wants to sit, to lay down, to rest and not worry about whatever this girl might find out about her. She could sleep here for all she cares, as long as there would be no more vampires bothering her, at least for a while.
"You aren't hiding from a vampire, are you?"
Momo bites her chapped lower lip. "No."
I am waiting for one.
"Then, why are you here?" She turns her head and raises an eyebrow, but soon after looks back down at the water. "As far as I am concerned, they are the only ones we should be hiding from. If you wanted to hide from someone, this place in plain view isn't the best option."
She is right on that one. This truly isn't a place with a shade or a corner where Momo could squeeze herself into and curl into a ball. Not that she could do the last one without further aggravating the wounds on her back.
Suddenly, the girl stands up and advances towards the older woman. The latter freezes, wanting to take a step back, despite being taller than the teenager by at least a head. Not once does either of their facial muscles even twitch, when she stops a few feet away from Momo. She feels, for some unexplainable reason, a bit frightened. Has she figured out that I am not from here?
She has never once been gladder of her pale skin color and lack of enjoyment for outdoors over the past few years. At least with that, her appearance is closer to the people living in an underground city. However, there is a nagging clench in her gut from the intensity the girl is staring at her with.
It is strange. Even if meeting an Asian with mismatching eyes is rare, it should be even rare in this kind of place. There is only a limited amount of people that could be born with this type of condition. So, the way the brunette stares up at Momo without any hint of hesitation or curiosity is unnerving. One could compare it to how water rushes in sewers with high speed, not stopping for a second.
"You can hide at my place."
It must have been out of desperate impulse that Momo went along with her. There is no other reason, probably.
The girl isn't intimidating or otherwise, has the demeanor of someone who could be dangerous, so the older woman doesn't feel too concerned when she follows the teenager through the chilly streets. The girl has her back turned to her the entire time, shoulders thinner and smaller than they appeared at first glance. Instead of going through emotions resembling fear, Momo settles with pity.
This entire place is filled with pitiable children. The sight of them wearing collars makes one wonder where the eldest of humans are hiding at. She is tempted to ask but keeps her lips sealed. However, the tension on her shoulders must be obvious. The nervousness has risen to the level where she feels physically ill, cold sweat trails along with her limbs.
"I will need you to fit in with the rest of the livestock."
That's easier said than done, she thinks and follows the girl in through a broken door. It is still standing but barely clings to rusty hinges. Then, when she steps inside, the sight is even more ghastly than from the outside. Every house appears the same – chalk-white houses and small square windows with basic wooden doors.
Inside, it is just as cold and simple. No furniture, merely a few boxes, chairs, and a table. What is assumedly the bed, is a mere thin and large mattress with a few blankets on top. To put it simply, it is far more medieval and cruder than any abandoned apartment arranged for Momo back in the human city. This one girl lives here, though. The floor feels so cold through the soles of the shoes and even the air inside is no warmer than it was on the outside.
I guess I can wait for him here, for a little while.
Her mind trails off. There is still the issue that her back is…
Momo flinches, violently so, when there is a feather-like sensation going along her arm.
"What are you doing?" Her mismatching eyes look down and sure enough, the girl who brought her here is grazing the tip of her finger across the thin lines on her left arm. Momo jerks back, covering the assaulted area.
Slowly, plain grey eyes rise up to regard her mutely. "You... said you didn't try to kill yourself."
The dark-haired woman bites her tongue. The back of her throat tightens, and she can't maintain eye contact. Her gaze settles on a single dust peck on the ground. "I… I don't."
"Doing is not the same as wanting, though," she speaks evenly and lowers her hand. "These are not old scars – you cut yourself recently."
Mismatching eyes rise up in a bit surprised manner. She can see that? From Momo's understanding, these people barely receive education, much less medical care.
Her expression must reveal a lot because the girl's eyebrows knit down. "Old scars would not be as pronounced… You really are an idiot."
Her words have a little bite to them – Momo doesn't get angry. The statement is more like a soft sigh than a direct insult. Instead of keeping her eyes lingering on the strange look passing on those pale features, she looks with her mismatching eyes at the large mattress in the corner. There are more than one blanket and another mattress lays a few feet away from the first one. Obviously, this would be more than enough for a single person to live with. Does someone else live here?
The offer for shelter had been a smack to the face. There is no telling what the girl wants in return, or her true reasons for helping the older woman. They had just met, so there couldn't have been any preparation for striking a personal deal, nor being a trap by another vampire. A second option could be that this girl works for the same vampire who brought Momo here and was merely following orders. However, that also sounds too doubtful. Why would that monster risk dragging another human into the mix of his own problems that a human started? No, that would not make sense in any shape or form. He isn't that dimwitted, rather…
Momo shudders from the thought of the captor's emotionless smile. He is calculating. He has too much to lose from this.
"Did you wish for one of those vampires to drink from you?" The question comes out casually like the brunette is taking about nonexistent weather conditions in this city.
Her back straightens as if a snake is crawling down her spine. Somehow, she feels sicker than what she did next to that stinky river. "W-what? No!"
She lays down on the mattress before rolling over to continue staring up at her. "Then, it is idiotic to cut yourself. They will not be too happy about that, but you are lucky to have made it to the area that you did. Most of those bloodsuckers tend to avoid that stinky river like cockroaches."
I was wrong, Momo thinks and hesitantly sits down on another mattress, when the girl gestures towards it. She sinks but soon can feel the hard floor under it. The covers are dusty. She is not emotionless, just blunt. Again, she takes note of how there are two mattresses in here and looks around the place, like waiting for someone else to pop up from behind a corner.
This place feels empty, for some reason.
"Do you have a roommate?" She finally asks.
The girl barely stirs before turning on her side and draping a blanket over herself. "No. I live alone… What's your name?"
The black-haired woman stays silent for a while. She couldn't tell her full name. "My name is Momo."
"… I am Asa."
Somehow, as she lays in the silent room, listening to how the teenage girl's breathing turns steady from quickly catching sleep, the older human relaxes. Despite still acknowledging the wounds on her back, worrying about how they could stain the whiteness of her livestock clothes, even her eyes start to feel heavy and tired. She doesn't care anymore if blood seeps into the mattress and blanket that she cocoons into.
It is suddenly much warmer, and the tension leaves her shoulders. This place is a city, but not so shockingly the air remains deadly silent – the perfect lullaby after listening to wind blow into her ears and the hammering of her own heartbeat the entire way.
It's ironic. The safest she has felt in a long time is under a blanket right in the heart of Sanguinem. Apparently, as long as that one bloodsucker stays away… Momo wouldn't mind even sleeping next to the Horsemen. She couldn't care less if she wakes up into another nightmare tomorrow or the ceiling collapses on her. Asa could even slit her throat in the middle of the night. I am so tired.
Unconsciously, she starts stroking the marred surface of her scarred left hand. It lulls her to finally close her eyes fully.
Maybe the tiredness is the reason why the uneasiness in her chest is muted.
The first thing that greets him upon the arrival to the mansion, are two familiar faces waiting just on the other side of the door.
"Crowley-sama!" Chess doesn't hesitate to run up to him and nearly collide headfirst into his chest. "Mou! Where were you? We have been waiting for days!"
As an answer, he merely pats her head. "Hope you have been behaving."
She pouts and draws back. "Of course, I have been…" she trails off, the pout fading and eyes looking almost dazedly ahead. She sniffs the air, looking up at him strangely. "Crowley-sama, are you…"
Horn walks over to them, with a much slower pace than her shorter counterpart had. She lowers her head in a small respectful greeting. "Crowley-sama, welcome back. I trust you would like to take a look at our reports first?"
He continues smiling and doesn't even blink when a hand lands on his shoulder. "I believe Crowley-kun here would need to have his share of blood first. He seems to have been having quite a rough time."
From instinct, Chess suddenly decides to stick close to her lord, pouting expression never melting. Her large red eyes narrow, though, at the face of the other male vampire into dangerous slits. It is obvious she wasn't expecting, nor is she pleased, by the arrival of the Seventh Progenitor. Horn is having similar thoughts and her polite smile drops.
Certainly, the chances that Ferid would have merely walked away were close to zero, to begin with. Crowley knew that as soon as the older vampire caught a trace of mystery in his behavior, he would be sticking to his side. So far, it hasn't taken quite a lot for him to come up with an excuse for his injuries.
"It seems that our dear Crowley-kun is getting rusty – he was injured by those Demon Slayers he encountered in the city," he shakes his head sadly, giving the shoulder another pat. "How careless of you."
"What!? A human managed to injure you, Crowley-sama!?" Both female vampires appear beyond shocked as they look at their lord for confirmation.
"Yes, they were quite strong, I have to admit," he says with a nod.
Of all lies, this is what he came up with. It wasn't too far from the truth – without one livestock, he wouldn't have the current wounds on his back, to begin with. Not to mention, he can also admit that the recent reports have spoken how the human ranks are resisting theirs far more frequently than in the past. It wouldn't be that big of a surprise, if something like this had happened to some other lower progenitor, sooner or later.
Still, though, the silver-haired vampire is getting quite a delight from this small lie. He is laughing, finally releasing the shoulder he had his arm on. "I couldn't believe it myself. After all these centuries, a livestock of all things has made you fall so low!"
Giving him a deadly glare, Chess looks at Crowley all over with a frown. He doesn't move and lets her find the small red pecks decorating the fabric of his back right under the cape. The sight makes her stiffen. She had smelled the blood before but couldn't probably believe it to be possible. There was just no way that her lord could get injured like this.
There is no way...
"I will bring blood! Please wait!" Horn says, also ruffled by this revelation without even seeing the extent of the injuries and quickly disappears from the spot.
Crowley wants to sigh – lately, that desire is lighted up quite frequently. He has certainly thought of this before. This entire thing has become so entangled with trouble for him that he should soon run out of excuses. Still, it could be worse than this. The main problem is how to keep that one woman out of sight from –
"Tell me, what was the human's name?" Ferid asks curiously, as they start making their way inside.
"Who knows? I think they mentioned it once, but it was right before the attack and I didn't press it into memory," he lies again, smoothly.
He smirks, corner of the fang poking out. "That's a pity. They certainly sound interesting, if they can get you to fall on your knees."
"I never said I fell on my knees, though."
"You didn't?" He tilts his head, looking like an obvious child with that one innocent smile.
The red-haired vampire doesn't notice how Chess has remained standing on the same spot the entire time. Even when he disappears behind the corner, Chess doesn't follow after her lord. Her shoulders are slugged – a very unusual sight – and her eyes are shadowed by the short hair.
Underneath the shadows of locks, her crimson eyes keep on staring at the ground where Crowley stood. She keeps on breathing in the air which lacks the strong scent of his blood. The wind is carrying it away, but she continues breathing it in with steady rhythm. It's like following the hands of a clock in perfect sync. She remains closed-off from the rest of the world, before lifting her head.
Her expression is neutral, but at the same time, there is a glint in it. She stares at the wall, not turning towards the door and heading inside. Instead, her lips form a small 'o' and her eyes widen further. Gradually, she lifts a finger under her chin and tilts her head thoughtfully. How strange.
The bottoms of her heels finally click against the smooth tiles of the giant building. While the shoes let out clear and bell-like noise, the door thuds shut heavily right behind her.
Crowley-sama smelled like livestock – the same scent she caught the last time his hand was mysteriously injured.
It has been a while, but happy holidays for everyone!