Vampire Bund, Tokyo, Japan, 2010.
Two months had passed since the night the assassins tried to kill me and Akira, and things have changed for me. Due to the mentally scarring events I had to go through, I was taking mandatory therapy to try and recover from my experiences. After speaking to the therapist and the other Beowulf veterans, I was diagnosed with PTSD due to witnessing my parents being murdered by Umbrella 15 years ago and a combination of being experimented on while also killing my long lost friend Mei years later. In order to try and recover, I was told to engage in a hobby to help with the recovery process. Yuki had an idea when I came to her about it and she had me look at manga to take my mind off of recent events...the first manga she showed me was about a blond ninja kid named Naruto, and I couldn't help but identify with him due to also being an orphan and suffering from loneliness caused by humanity's cruelty.
I got into it and manga helped ease my shattered mind...it would take a very long time to heal from what Umbrella did to me, but I knew that I wasn't alone anymore since I had Yuki and the others to support me through this. Today was the day that I was given the okay to go back to school. Akira, Mina, Yuki, the three kids who saved us and I were walking to school so that I could ease into the process of adjusting to being a civilian for a short while.
"How do I look?" the little girl inquired and Akira smiled.
"As pretty as ever," Akira replied kindly as we approached the entrance of the Bund.
The replacement guard saluted to us and I saluted back. The soldier let us through and I saw Seiji conversing with the second guard. After Seiji was taken into custody due to working for the enemy, he was interrogated and it was discovered that he was a well-known mercenary called Sledgehammer who was the one that fired the RPG at me, Mina, and Akira a month ago when I was first hired to work for Mina. When Mina was done questioning Seiji, he was released because of Akira and Counselor Gotoh and Seiji was returned to his station because Mina didn't want to lose someone with his combat experience.
As for me, I didn't trust Seiji at all because of his involvement that night...but I had tolerated him to a certain degree out of respect as a fellow mercenary and only gave him the cold shoulder.
"Yo," Seiji greeted, Akira and Mina looking surprised.
"Hama-san?" Akira wondered.
"What are you doing here?" Mina inquired.
"Nothing to do during the day, so I thought I'd see you off," Seiji explained just as the three kids stood in front of me and Akira with scowls.
"Whoa, hey! Enough with the scary faces! I'm not a bad guy anymore. I redeemed myself by making it up to everyone so we're all friends now, okay?" Seiji said defensively while holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender.
"That remains to be seen, "Inspector"," I said coldly, causing Seiji to throw his hands up in irritation.
"Oh for the love of...are you still giving me the cold shoulder? I've been trying to make it up to you, David," Seiji stated in exasperation.
"You have a long way to go before you gain my trust again, so I'm only tolerating you out of respect as a fellow soldier," I replied with an icy glare. Yuki placed a hand on one of my shoulders to calm me down.
"Fine...I can see when I'm not wanted," Seiji groaned as he went to leave.
"Don't you think you were being a little harsh?" Yuki asked while we were heading to the school.
"I was being nice to him when I could do a lot worse," I said, my tone softening. After awhile, all seven of us arrived at the school.
"All right little ones, this is where we must part. Jiji, you and Clara just need to go find your classes. Now, go have fun," Mina told the dark-skinned kid while helping to adjust his tie.
"Right!" Jiji said with a beaming grin as he and Clara ran off.
"I'll see you later, Nanami-chan," Yuzuru said as he kissed Nanami on her cheek.
"Hey! Not where the children can see!" Mina lectured while covering the little girl's eyes.
"Oh don't be so stuffy, Hime-sama. Perhaps you should consider trying it too...with Akira-kun," Nanami teased and Mina blushed.
"Don't be stupid!" Mina sputtered in disbelief while Yuki and I looked at each other.
"Well, I'll see you once we have free time, okay?" I asked.
"Sure. See you after class," Yuki agreed while we subtly kissed.
We went to our classes and I opened the door, Akira, Mina, the little girl, and I took our seats.
After a while, the little girl who was named Anna gained a lot of good attention with the other teenaged students and I almost smiled at the sight.
"Incredible," Mina commented.
"Hm?" Akira made a noise of confusion.
"A veritable wall of discrimination and trouble met us when I arrived, yet she knocked that to pieces with a smile," Mina stated fondly.
"Yeah," Akira muttered in agreement just as we saw Yuki walking over.
"Ah, Yuki! Look at the-" Mina went say, but Yuki passed by her without a word and I could sense that something was troubling her when I noticed that she looked pissed about something.
"What's wrong with her?" Mina wondered in confusion as we went to investigate.
"I think she might be upset with you, Ma'am," I stated, wanting to see what was bothering Yuki.
Akira and I were peering into Mina's office, sensing the tension in the air as Yuki and Mina stared each other down.
"Um...I'll go get some tea. Be right back," Nanami said nervously and left the office to see us standing next to the doors.
"Nanami, what the hell is going on in there?" Akira asked in confusion.
"I have no idea...Yuki-chan hasn't said a single word this entire time," Nanami stated with a look of worry.
"Hmm...she's got to be pretty fucking pissed if she's not saying anything. What did the Princess do to upset her so much?" I muttered, my wolf urging me to go in and be with Yuki.
"It seems that you are very angry with me right now, but how am I able to make amends if you do not tell me what it is I have done?" Mina commented.
"How could you do this to me?!" Yuki exclaimed angrily.
"What?" Mina said, looking confused.
"My story! You showed it to other people, didn't you?!" Yuki accused while taking out her phone.
"H-how did you..." Mina sputtered in shock.
"I got a text from your maids. They say they're my "fans" now," Yuki explained hotly while showing the message to Mina.
"They didn't! Why those fluff-brained fools! I told them not to say anything!" Mina cried in disbelief, Yuki blushing hard.
"How could you do that?! You promised me you wouldn't show it to anyone!" Yuki shouted in embarrassment.
"Ahh...that, my apologies for breaking our promise. However, the more I read it, the more convinced I became that talent like yours should not be kept hidden," Mina replied, which didn't seem to make Yuki feel any better.
"That's not your decision to make! It's my work and it wasn't nearly ready to be shown to everybody...let alone the entire Bund!" Yuki exclaimed in outrage.
"I didn't show it to just the Bund. I personally translated it into several different languages and distributed it so that it could be read around the world. Right now, you are garnering quite a bit of attention as the newest rising star within the vampire literary community," Mina explained bluntly.
Yuki stared in horror and closed her eyes, falling to the ground and I rushed in to grab her.
"Yuki! Ma'am, with all due respect, posting someone's work to other people without their permission was nothing more than poor judgment on your part!" I lectured in disbelief while gently tapping Yuki's cheek to try and wake her.
"Oh, I have most certainly gathered that I did something inappropriate, but surely it is no worse than leaving talent like hers to rot in obscurity! What I have done is akin to freeing the songbird long trapped within a cage. It is something to be praised, not condemned!" Mina declared just as Yuki was waking up from her fainting spell.
"It doesn't matter if you did it with good intentions, you posted her story and distributed it without her consent. It's not only a poor taste in judgment, but it's also a violation of her privacy!" I retorted while Akira and Nanami sweat-dropped at the argument.
"Um...David, d-don't tell me you and Akira read my story, right?" Yuki inquired hesitantly.
"Yeah...it was very good...though I have to say, I didn't think you would make Akira as the main character in your story," I stated bluntly, causing Yuki to look mortified while she screamed in horror.
"Waaahhh! Just kill me now!" Yuki cried incredulously, taking me and Akira completely off guard.
"Urk! Um...Yuki...if it makes you feel any better, I thought it was really good!" Akira reassured frantically while looking awkward.
"Akira, David, Nanami, would you please give us a moment?" Mina suggested.
"Yes Ma'am," I said and left the office with Akira and Nanami.
After a while, Akira scowled and stormed back into the office with me in pursuit after hearing what Akira was going to be used as the model for in the story.
"Who's the model now? You two sound like you're really having a really interesting conversation in here. I'd love to hear all of the details," Akira demanded with a glare, startling Mina and Yuki.
"I-it's not what you're thinking, Akira-kun! It's just an idea so far! That's all it is! An idea!" Yuki frantically explained.
"What?! You won't write it?! Akira, how dare you try and squelch a harmless, innocent creative endeavor!" Mina rounded on Akira while I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"Harmless?! Innocent?! You gotta be fucking kidding me! You guys were trying to use me in some ridiculous smut piece!" Akira shouted in disbelief.
"BL is not smut! Just how ignorant are you?!" Mina argued.
"What the hell is BL supposed to mean?! Quit using damn codes with me! All right...so if that stuff isn't smut, then what the hell is it?!" Akira shouted while I started twitching and forming a tick mark.
"Art! And you have been given the honored role of its main character! That is something to be praised, not scorned!" Mina retorted while Akira growled.
"Like hell, it shouldn't!" Akira exclaimed and that was enough for me.
"Oh my God! Will you two shut up already?! You're acting like a damn married couple and not only is it giving me a fucking migraine, it's also embarrassing the hell out of Yuki!" I snapped in irritation, the force of my shout sending their hair flying back while my eyes were comically white and my teeth were sharp.
I breathed heavily while everyone stared at me with a dumbfounded expression, and I started taking deep breaths to calm myself down.
"Damn...feel better?" Akira inquired hesitantly.
"Loads...you know what, how about Yuki and I leave so that you two can argue to your heart's content," I suggested while gesturing Yuki to follow me.
We left the office before they could say anything and I ran my hand through my short cropped hair in frustration.
"Are you okay?" Yuki asked.
"Yeah...it's just stupid that they are arguing over something so ridiculous. I mean...if you want to use that idea, then it's your choice," I grumbled while we went outside.
"Thanks, David," Yuki said.
"It's no problem," I said calmly as we enjoyed the rest of the day together.
Several weeks later, I had been given the all clear by the therapist after two months of leave and now it was time to take my Rite of Passage. I was paired up with 15-year-old Beowulf recruits and we were being taken to the Ural Mountains in Russia without any clothes on us. We arrived in the middle of nowhere during the freezing cold and the pilot ordered us to get out of the helicopter, my team of six Beowulf Americans and I jumping out and watching the helicopter flying away.
"Listen up everyone! If we want to survive for a whole month, then we need to work as a pack! Change now brothers and let's run wild!" I shouted and we all took off into the wilderness, shifting into our wolf forms and howling in joy at letting out our true natures.
We wound up in a cave and changed back to normal, built a fire and tried to keep ourselves warm. During our time together throughout the entire month, I learned that one of the kids lost his parents in the Kijuju incident while they were vacationing for an entire week. His parents tried to fight back against the infected Majini and BOWs in their were-forms, but they were overwhelmed by sheer numbers and slaughtered. The poor kid had hidden under his parents' bodies for a day and the entire night until BSAA reinforcements showed up and escorted him to safety.
I understood how the kid felt since I also lost my parents. Learning about the others' histories drew me closer to them. Is this what it felt like to be a pack leader? Looking after your pack and treating them like they were your own family? It felt...nice, like I finally discovered where I belonged in this world and found my true calling. We hunted, slept, chatted, joked, and worked together for an entire month until we were picked up and taken back to the Bund for the ceremony.
I was wearing a Beowulf graduation uniform and stood at attention with other graduates while Mina and Wolfgang approached us.
"For the past month, you all have worked hard to be here today! I can't be any more proud of you all for making it this far! By the power invested in me as ruler of the vampires, you all are hereby officers of the Beowulf division!" Mina declared proudly and we chanted three times in response.
"Recruits! Change form and howl for the Princess!" Wolfgang commanded, and we all obliged by shifting into our were-forms and lifting our heads to howl throughout the night.
I felt free and accepted among my kind, feeling like big things were coming in the future.
A/N I know I should've made the Rite of Passage more descriptive, but it would've taken too much time and it would've been a struggle for me to put down what David and the recruits were doing for an entire month due to the fact that I suck at putting down filler chapters. Anyway...now that I'm done with the Rite of Passage, it's time to continue with the manga so review or send a private message to let me know what you think.