Another day wasted carrying books between the mansion and Alice's place. My other responsibilities were slowly falling behind. I was sure to get yelled at by Lady Remilia or Sakuya. Or both. Yeah, definitely both. I had just made my last delivery to Alice and was on my way home. It was far passed my bedtime. The sun was high in the sky and the clouds were scarce. I had just made my way to the edge of the forest and was just standing there, too exhausted to go out into the light. But I had to get home somehow and just standing around wasn't going to help. I was just about to take that first step into the sun until someone called out to me.
"Well, who do we have here? That new vampire I've been hearing all about all the way out here from the mansion? What could your business be out here, I wonder?" the voice of a woman said.
I turned around to face the individual and when I did, all the muscles in my body tightened up all at once. My already bad luck had gone down the shitter real quick. I immediately wanted to run away, but I was so tired. A thumping pain in my head had also decided to make an appearance. The woman I came face to face with was a beauty. Now you might be wondering what the problem was. This woman just so happened to have green hair on top of her head. My heart ached as that stupid dream replayed in my mind like a sick torture. Her hair reached her shoulders and she wore a red plaid skirt that went to her feet. She carried a flower-shaped umbrella. Then there were her eyes. Her eyes were a frightening red. Of all the days to run into someone with green hair it just had to be this one. And I was far from the mansion so I couldn't go for help. I was downright screwed.
"Goodness gracious, boy, you look like you had a bad run in with another youkai. Are you okay?" she asked me with a smile.
"More or less…" I answered.
"I'm so glad to have finally met you, young man. I never thought I would ever see another vampire besides those two girls. And for it to be a handsome man… I think I'm a lucky girl," she said then chuckled to herself.
"Heh… Yeah, I seem to be popular around these parts," I said with a forced laugh. Every minute I stood around with this green-haired woman the closer I felt to vomiting. I had no idea if she was actually the green-haired girl of my dream, but I couldn't risk it.
"Oh, my. How silly of me. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Yuuka Kazami. It's a pleasure to meet you, young vampire," she said with a courtesy.
"And I'm… um… Isaac. Nice to meet you," I greeted haphazardly.
The woman, Yuuka, took a few steps closer to me. "You're trembling, Isaac. Are you not yet use to being around other youkai?" she said, always holding that smile.
"Something like that," I said as I took a step backwards.
"Then I got an idea." The woman walked up to me and took my hand, making me shake more than I already was. "Why don't you come home with me and stay a while? That way you can get used to being around other youkai a little more. I promise not to hurt you."
Bad idea is a bad idea. "Umm… I-I don't think that would be a good idea. You see, I'm already late to getting home and I'm a bit tired so…"
"Nonsense, my boy. I'm sure that vampire won't mind if I borrowed you for a little while and you can always rest at my home. I'll take good care of you," she said, her smile growing a little bit more wide and a little bit more frightening.
"Well, I…"
"Come this way, Isaac. My home is on the other side of the forest. You'll love it there," she said.
Yuuka pulled me by my hand, forcing me to come with her. I did not like hearing that her place was on the other side of the forest. That just meant a lot more walking. Not to mention that I had no interest in going anywhere with this woman, let alone her own home. I know I needed to find out if this woman was dangerous or not, but I could already feel that she was. I felt a power in her that seemed to rival that of my master's. How on earth could I deal with this green-haired woman if she did prove to be a threat? What on earth was a supposed to do?
So without being able to resist, Yuuka led me all the way to where she called home. When we got there, I was greeted to a large field of sunflowers. It was a gorgeous sight, sure, but the sunlight was going to kill me. In the middle of that large field sat a small little house much like that of Alice's. Yuuka forced me to cross that sunlit field and into her house. Once inside, I was relived from the sun's blasted rays and felt so much better. Now I had to attend with being in the home of a green-haired individual.
We were in her living room and in the middle of it were two sets of couches with a coffee table right in the middle of them. Around the edges of the room appeared an assortment of items. It looked like Yuuka was a collector of random stuff. She closed her umbrella up and sat it off to the side then took a seat on one of the couches. She then gestured to me with that smile of hers to take a seat on the other couch so I did. Nervous, I sat down, my eyes at my lap.
Yuuka chuckled. "There's no need to be so nervous. I'm not here to hurt you. I just would like to spend time with you. I'd hate to be the only one who didn't get to know you, you know."
"I understand," I said, not lifting my eyes. "It's just I have some problems that I can't really explain."
"Oh? I'm sure you could if you tried."
If I could then I'd probably just upset you…
"I can't. It's so bizarre that I don't even understand it."
The woman laughed. "You really are coming off as a strange one. I like you already." She stood up, my eyes following her. "How about some tea? Maybe that will help you better understand the little problem you have." She walked off and disappeared into the next room that I assumed was the kitchen.
So I sat there alone, fighting with my thoughts. At that point, should I just run away? I wonder how far I could get before she could chase me down. Would she bother to try? I know it would probably hurt her feelings if she turned out to be just a regular woman who just happened to have green hair. But how in the world am I supposed to know for sure? How many more people with green hair exist in this world and which one of them is the evil one? It's not possible for me to distinguish them. Even if I did find the evil one, what could I possibly do to them? I've gotten a lot better at fighting thanks to Meiling, but I have yet to draw out any magical abilities I may have. What do I have to do to protect Lady Remilia?
Lost in my thoughts, I was suddenly pulled out of them by a strange pull from my heart. I looked around the room spotting nothing out of the unusual. I was about to fall back into my thoughts when I suddenly felt that same pull yet again. I stood up this time, my eyes scanning the room in a bid to find whatever it was that was tugging at my heart. Another pull of my heart and I was walking around the room, snooping in Yuuka's things. The pull at my heart was like some kind of radar and the closer I got to whatever it was that wanted my attention the faster I felt the pull on my heart. That's when I found it; a nicely crafted box that could sit in both of my hands. I gave the box a look over. There was a lock on it so I was unable to open it. Well, that's not true. I could easily open it by breaking it, so that's exactly what I did. With the lock no more, I slowly opened the box. What I found made my heart stop. It was some sort of large nail and it was glowing white. My dream flashed across my vision again. My heart started to ache more at that point. The glowing nail reminded me terribly of the nails that held up one of the people on a cross in my dream. This nail was one of them. It had to be. Why else would it be glowing like it is? And I felt power from it. I had no idea what kind of power, but the power was there. The nail was going to be mine. I would be stupid to leave it with someone who had green hair. So with that easily settled, I went to put the nail in my pocket, but was stopped when Yuuka came back into the room.
Yuuka held a plate with two cups of tea on it. She looked to me before glaring at me when she noticed the nail in my hand. "And what is it that you are doing, Isaac?" she asked.
I was caught red-handed. "Uh… Well, you see…" The only thing I could do at that point was be truthful. Maybe Yuuka is innocent and doesn't even want the nail? "The truth is, is that I need this nail."
"And why is that?" she said as she sat the plate down on the coffee table.
"Long story."
"I have time."
I sighed. "Well, I fear someone with ill intentions wants it and I want to prevent them from getting it," I stated.
"That's odd. What could they possibly do with it?"
"I don't know, but I can't risk them getting a hold of it."
"I'm sorry to say, I have no plans on departing with that item so please put it back where you found it," Yuuka said with a stern look.
Now I was in a bad spot. If I couldn't ask her to hand the nail over to me, then what could I do? Steal it? Well, yes. If that's what I have to do to keep this nail from someone with green hair then I most definitely will.
I shook my head. "I'm sorry, but I will not be returning this nail," I said with determination.
Now Yuuka was mad, going by the look on her face. Her expression did a one eighty when she suddenly smiled. "Is that so? You plan on stealing something that is mine, are you?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, but you're too dangerous to have this nail."
She looked shocked by what I said. "I'm too dangerous?" She then gave me a dark smile that tried to sink my determination, but I held strong the best I could. "Boy, you have no idea how dangerous I can be."
We both stared each other down, waiting on the other to make the first move. Even if I was tired from the lack of sleep, I could still use my unnatural speed to make a run for it. I made steady steps towards the door. Once I was within arm's length of it, I grabbed the door knob, swung the door open and made a mad sprint out of the house. I was half way across the sunflower field and I was certain I was in the clear, but the sudden appearance of Yuuka right in front of me shattered those thoughts. I don't know how she was able to move so fast, but it caused my resolve to waver.
"What the hell?!" I exclaimed in shock.
"You're not very fast for a vampire now are you?" Yuuka said with a giggle.
"I'm fatigued," I explained.
"Then it's going to be very hard for you to steal that nail from me," she said.
I stood my ground, my face reflecting my resolve. "I'll be damned if I give this nail up without a fight," I said.
She looked gleeful with my statement. "Oh, you really are a fun one. I invite you into my home only for you to try and steal from me? You really do want to give me a good time, don't you?"
"I'll be giving you hell if you want this nail back so bad," I stated.
"I hope you do," she said with a dark smirk. "I have not a clue why you want it so bad, but I too will make you work for it."
Yuuka rushed me, throwing a jab towards my head, punching through the wind. I dodged to the side then grabbed hold of her arm. Using my weight, I lifted her up and threw her over my head and went to slam her to the ground, but she gracefully landed on her feet. She twirled on her heel, spinning into a kick that struck me in the side. I went flying from the blow, but I kept on my feet when I landed. I rushed her this time and got into melee range. With my fists up in front of me, I threw a right hook, missing my mark, then throwing a left hook. Yuuka jumped back to avoid the swing. She then did something unexpected. She held up her right hand, her palm pointed at my chest. Then it happened, a white light that was quickly followed by an explosion. I felt the punch of the blast on my chest and I was sent flying backwards. I hit the ground with my back before quickly bouncing back up onto my feet. I looked down at my chest, spotting a hole in my shirt where the blast had hit. My chest ached something fierce.
Yuuka slowly walked towards me, that smirk of hers still present. "Don't just throw your fists around. I want to see what your power is like," she said.
I said nothing. There was nothing to say. But what she did say reminded me of a weapon that I possessed. Quickly, I pulled out the gun gifted to me by Lady Remilia and aimed it at the woman. When I did, she stopped in her tracks, her expression befuddled. She then looked awfully disappointed.
"Oh, dear boy, don't tell me you're going to resort to petty weapons like that," she said.
I said nothing as I took aim at her right arm. Once satisfied with my aim, I pulled the trigger. A purplish fire burst out of the barrel of the gun, followed by a purple line. It traveled through the air in an instant, striking her right in the arm. And when it did, a large explosion of purple fire erupted, engulfing her. I heard a loud, painful shriek ring out from where the woman stood.
Smoke had obscured my vision, hiding Yuuka from my sight. After a while of just standing there with my gun pointed at the cloud of smoke, I was beginning to think that I had accidently killed the woman. I had aimed at her arm to scare her off, but this gun proved to be more powerful than I expected. Once the smoke cleared, I was shown that I had not killed her. She was standing right where she originally was except now she lacked an appendage. Her right arm had been completely blown away. The bullet had eaten it right up. Yuuka appeared to be in quite a deal of pain. Maybe now she'll give up on getting the nail back. I could hope, but that's all I could do.
The painful expression on Yuuka's face did not last long. She formed a dark smirk once again, making me shudder. "Now that was a surprising treat. Looks like that's no ordinary gun. Though, I still would like you to show me your own magical power," she said.
Scared but not broken, I took aim at her other arm. "I'll take your other arm if you don't back off. I'm warning you," I said.
The woman laughed, shaking my resolve. "You can take it if you want, but…"
What I saw then spooked me out of my mind. From the stub of Yuuka's right shoulder, a bushel of vines burst out. What was worse is that they appeared alive, waving around like frenzied animals. My arms grew weak as I lowered my gun. I shook my head, angry with the unfairness of my situation.
"That's bullshit…" I muttered. The anger raging, I took aim at Yuuka's head. There's no way she can live without that. But I would not get the chance to pull the trigger.
Yuuka rushed me down in an instant, knocking my gun out of my hands. She then grabbed hold of me with those vines of her, constricting me and lifting me into the air. She slammed me down onto the ground, lifted me back up and slammed me again. She did this numerous times before throwing me across the sunflower field. I hit the ground hard and rolled dozens of feet before coming to a stop. Hurting badly, I hastily got to my feet, staggering all the away. Yuuka then appeared behind me and kidney shot me. She then followed up with a kick to my back, sending me to the ground face first. I rolled to the side to avoid being stomped on then got to my feet, only to be wrapped in those vines again and slammed to the ground. I coughed and gagged from having the air knocked out of me.
Yuuka looked down at me with a fake frown. "Now you're just making me feel bad. Use your vampiric powers on me. I know you have it swelling in you. I can feel it," she said.
I crawled to my feet, panting exhaustively. "Got bad news for ya… I don't know magic," I said.
"I'll teach you!" she said with a perky smile. The vines that made up one of her arms had reformed into her real arm. It was disheartening to see a non-vampire with such great rejuvenate abilities.
She slammed her knee into my gut, knocking all the air out of me. She then grabbed me by the hair and punched me in the face again and again. I grabbed her by the arm and broke her grip on me then kicked her in the chest, pushing her away and creating some space in between us. She then held out both her hands, palms facing me.
"Twin Spark!" the woman shouted.
I didn't need to guess what was about to happen so I instead leapt to the side, but at such close range, I was unable to dodge the two bursts of magical power that came at me. The white blasts of power caught my left arm, disintegrating it in an instant. I shrieked from the pain, but I didn't let it bother me. Blood and bone from my left shoulder shot out and formed into the shape of my lost arm. Muscle stringed around the blood then just as fast as it was lost, my left arm was reformed whole once again.
There was no time to rest, so I used my abnormal speed to get behind Yuuka. She twirled on her heel in an attempt to round-house kick me, but I ducked the kick. With a good target in front of me, I threw a jab as hard as I could and struck her right in the crotch.
"Guh! Why you…!" Tears were in Yuuka's eyes from the blow.
I followed up with an uppercut, catching her in the chin and sending her into the air. She came back down and landed on the flat of her back. I looked on, surprised but satisfied with what I managed to do. The woman slowly made her way back up to her feet. With a trickle of blood falling from the corner of her lips, she did nothing but smile at me.
"Nice work, young one. But now I'm going to get you to show me your magical prowess whether you want to or not," she stated.
I stood ready, waiting for her next attack. One of her arms exploded into more of those ghastly vines. They came after me with such speed that I was unable to get away from them. They wrapped around me before putting the squeeze on me. I groaned in pain as my body was being crushed. I put all my strength into breaking out, but to no avail.
Holding that dark smirk of hers, Yuuka closed the distance between me and her. "Well? How will you break yourself out of this? Strength alone won't do it so why don't you try pulling out your powers?" she said.
With the air being squeezed out of me, I forced the words out of me. "I… I Told you. I don't know how," I said, aggravated.
"Then let yourself be crushed. You won't die. It'll just continue to hurt real bad."
"P-Piss off!" I shouted. I could feel my anger swelling up inside me. I felt so useless that it pissed me off.
"You've entertained me enough, little vampire. I'll release you, but you're going to have to return that nail to me."
"I'm not giving you the nail unless you dye your hair some other damn color!"
"My hair?" Yuuka said, confused. She glared at me." And what is the deal with my hair? I quite like it, thank you very much."
"It sucks dick!" I shouted, and when I did, I felt my anger explode inside me.
An explosion radiated out from my center, an explosion of blue fire, blasting off the vines and shredding them to pieces. Pieces of the vines rained down all around us, burning up in the blue fire. I huffed and puffed as my anger slowly died down. I looked around me, not really sure as to what had happen. But I was free from the vines' grasp now, so that's a plus. I then noticed that Yuuka had been knocked backwards quite a distance. She was on her back, but she quickly got back up to her feet.
Yuuka brushed herself off of dirt before looking to me with a smile. "See? Was it that hard to do?" she asked.
What I had done was incredible, but there was no time to glee over it. Yuuka has to be dizzy from that sudden explosion. I sort of was. So in a bid to keep the initiative, I rushed down Yuuka as quickly as possible. With both the speed I was running and the weight of my body, I threw a right hook. Yuuka ducked then punched me in the gut. I took on the painful hit then countered with a knee to her face. She nearly toppled over, but she managed to go for a counter of her own and swiped my feet out from under me with the sweep of her leg. I caught myself before hitting the ground then bounced back up to my feet. She struck me with a jab to the face and I returned that jab with a jab of my own, striking her in the face. We swung at each other like mad. It got to the point that we weren't bothering to dodge each other attacks and instead took them head on.
I was starting to feel really woozy, but, unfortunately for me, Yuuka wasn't. She tossed another jab at me, but I deflected her attack then threw my entire body forward. With my head held back, I snapped it forward, delivering a devastating head-but to her forehead. Her head bounced back on her shoulders and she nearly lost her footing. I placed a foot behind her feet, ensuring that she would fall. She tripped over my foot and fell backwards, with me going down with her. Midway through falling, I pulled out that nail and went to stab her. She saw through my attack and moved to the side, but I caught her in the left hand, piercing straight through her palm. We hit the ground together. I quickly rolled away from her and stood up, ready to continue the fight. Yuuka went to get up, but was stopped. I had managed to nail her to the ground, not that it would matter much. It then dawned on me on what I had done. I had accidently given the nail to Yuuka. An utterly stupid lack of judgment on my part.
Yuuka chuckled now that she had the nail in her custody. She went to remove the nail, but she, strangely, seemed to have some trouble doing so. She pulled and pulled, but the nail would not seem to budge. I was confused to all hell. The nail was only in the earth. There's no way she should have trouble removing it.
Yuuka continued to struggle over and over again. "What in the… Why won't it… Stupid thing…"
I just stood there in silence. But after a while of watching her fail over and over again, I decided to speak up. "Are you okay?" I asked.
"Shut up," she said. "I'm just having a little difficulty is all."
"Oky doky…"
So I waited and waited, but no matter what she did, the glowing nail would not move an inch. I was beginning to think there was something seriously wrong with the woman. Did I hit her too hard or something?
She gave the nail one last pull before seemingly giving up. "So it's one of those kinds of nails…" she mumbled. She then looked to me with a gracious smile. A fake one, that is.
"Isaac… Would you be so kind as to remove this nail?" she asked me all sweet like, but I wasn't fooled.
I didn't really know what was going on, but I wasn't about to touch that nail. "Why should I do that?" I asked.
Disgruntled, Yuuka sighed. "Because I'm having trouble removing it myself. That's why," she said.
A smirk appeared on my face. "I don't think I want to," I said.
She growled at me. "If you want this nail then you are going to have to remove it."
"Nah, I like exactly where it is," I said. "Maybe if you're lucky, someone will come by and pull it out for you."
She sighed. "That won't work. Only you can pull this damn thing out," she said then immediately appeared to have regretted it.
I smiled like the Joker. "Only I can, you say?" Now that was information I sorely needed. I don't know what that nail is, but I'm beginning to understand it little by little.
"Look… If you remove the nail, I'll let you have it. Okay?"
I shook my head. "Nope. This situation works perfectly for me. I know where the nail is and it seems to have immobilized someone with green hair," I said.
"What the hell is wrong with people with green hair?" she asked angrily.
I found my gun on the ground and picked it up. "I think I'll be going now. I need to report this to Lady Remilia."
"Oh, no you don't!" Yuuka, using her free hand, shot a ball of magic at me. I dodged it easily enough.
"Rude."
Yuuka was about to take another shot at me, but someone appeared from the sky and landed in between us. I hadn't seen her in a long time, but I recognized the red and white outfit. I believe her name was Reimu.
"Are you Reimu?" I asked.
The girl turned to me with a smile. "I sure am," she said. She looked to Yuuka then back to me. "So… What'cha two doing?"
"Reimu my dear… Please have that boy remove this nail," Yuuka pleaded.
Reimu walked up to Yuuka then examined the nail. "It's one of those kind of nails, aint it? Where did you find it?" she asked.
"I took it from some fairies," Yuuka answered. "Please have him remove it. My arm is going numb."
"I'm not removing it until I talk with my master," I strongly insisted.
Reimu walked up to me and examined the poor state I was in. "Looks like you two were beating on each other. I'm surprised you're still standing after fighting with her. Good work, newbie," she said.
"Thanks," I said. "But I need to get going. This is important." I went to take my leave, but Reimu grabbed me by the shirt. "What is it?"
"Remove the nail," she said softly.
I was shocked with what she said. "What? You're kidding, right? She'll kill me the second I remove it."
"I won't let her. I promise."
I went to object again, but the girl's soft expression stopped me. I sighed and walked to Yuuka. I looked down at her and she glared up at me. "I'm keeping the nail," I stated.
She looked away from me with a huff. "Fine. Go ahead. I don't care anymore," she said.
So I grabbed the nail and, hesitantly, pulled it. It came out without any effort whatsoever. I quickly tossed it in my pocket and went to head off back to the mansion, but was stopped by Yuuka.
"This was a fun meeting, I must admit," she said. "Next time we meet, why don't we have that tea I promised you? Oh, and this time, don't take any more of my things."
I turned to face her. "Sure thing," I said then went on my way.
Reimu nodded at me as I passed her by. "Thank you, Isaac," she said and I nodded at her with a smile. "No idea why you want that thing, but you earned it."
"Indeed," I said then waved Reimu off.
This was a horrendous day. My life was on the line for the most of it and I just barely made it out. But I did come out of it with a valuable item. The nail; it was one of three from my dream. If I found one then that means there was two more somewhere in the world. I needed to find them. I don't know the significance of the nails, but I had to make sure that the evil one did not get a hold of them.
After a long journey, I made it back to the mansion. I opened the front doors to find an angry vampire on the other side. It was my master, Remilia Scarlet.
"And where in the world have you been?" she asked me angrily.
I said nothing and instead pulled out the glowing nail. I placed it in Lady Remilia's hand then promptly collapsed from exhaustion.