"Good morning!" An overly cheerful voice greeted Kyouko before she even opened her eyes. "No point in pretending my dear, I can tell that you're awake."
Rolling onto her side she chose to ignore the strange man. She opened her eyes only to find another strange man sitting in a chair beside her bed. This one she vaguely recognized by his scent. Closing her eyes in irritation she wondered how many more strangers she would have to put up with because of her behavior.
"Kyouko, right?" At her nod the man in the chair continued. "I'm Yashiro Yukihito, advisor to the king." He introduced himself but her eyes remained closed. She was wishing that they would leave her alone to suffer with her hunger in silence. "I was wondering if you happened to know your last name?"
His only answer was the growling of her stomach. Why was she so damned hungry? She hugged her stomach and unconsciously flicked her tongue over her fangs drawing blood.
"Here." Yashiro said, and something was held to her lips.
Whatever it was reeked of chemicals. She had the feeling that it would dull her craving for blood but wouldn't even begin to satisfy her hunger. Not wanting to seem rude however, she sat up taking the proffered cup of stinky red goo. Taking the smallest sip, she gagged and began to choke violently. Yashiro took the cup back before she could spill it everywhere.
"I did remind you that Upyr fledglings are notoriously picky eaters Yashiro-kun." Lory said patting Kyouko on the back. "You need to at least try to drink it though."
Kyouko eyed the tall man and backed away. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." She said wanting him to stop looking at her. "You must think me rude. Please let me try again."
Yashiro nodded vigorously happy that she was well mannered. He had his doubts about her since she grew up with Shou.
"Here. It's A positive. If you want, I can have them send up another type."
"No, this should be fine. I'm just not used to drinking blood is all." Kyouko reasoned taking another sip of the vile liquid.
It had been so much more appealing to her when she was sucking it out of the tall man from before. She shuttered at the thought. He had been scary and yet the memory of his blood made her blush.
"We could try mixing it with human food." Lory mused, "I myself enjoy certain candies made with blood. Do you like chocolate?"
"Yes." Kyouko answered automatically not sure what either of them wanted from her. She handed the cup back to Yashiro and hoping she didn't sound rude asked, "Who are you people?"
"Forgive us," Yashiro said with a slight bow. "I'm Yashiro Yukihito, personal assistant to the king. This is Takarada Lory, former vampire king, currently he's a lay about and occasionally he advises the king. You know when he isn't playing video games and shamelessly reading smut."
"Nothing wrong with a little romance." Lory said unabashedly.
"A little? You're only out of your room because Kyouko-chan here is intriguing. Once she loses her novelty you'll go straight back to your room and bury yourself in love stories. I'll never understand how poor Ruuto can put up with you all day. Especially when you make him dress so strangely."
"Careful Yashiro-san, I may no longer be king, but I still hold rank over you."
Kyouko listened to them bicker and flinched away as she noticed the third man in the room. He had been silent but close by and his eyes staid trained on her. She vaguely recalled him attacking her and she shivered.
"Are you going to experiment on me? Am I going to be locked in the dungeon and strapped to a table while you inject me with poisons?" Kyouko asked recalling the stories of the king's dungeon Shou had told her. "To try and cure me of my possession. Or is it too late for me? Did I already become a ghoul? Will I lose my mind and become covered in pustules? Will I start eating rats and small children?" With each word she became more panicked as she remembered more details of the horror stories Shou had scared her with.
"No, none of that has ever happened to my knowledge." Yashiro answered in a calming voice. "We don't even have a dungeon and you certainly won't be locked up anywhere or strapped to any tables."
"My dear girl where did you hear such horrendous tales?" Lory asked. "I assure you that no one here wishes you any harm. Furthermore, you are not possessed."
"I'm not?" Kyouko asked hopefully. "But I kept eating all that uncooked meat. I couldn't control myself or the hunger knowing at my brain. I caused so much trouble."
"Do you really not know what you are?" Yashiro asked laying a comforting hand over hers.
"I," She thought for a moment trying to advert her gaze from his. "I only know that I was hungry. So hungry that it felt like a ravenous beast was trying to claw its way out of my stomach."
"Yes, that is normal for a fledgling. It is however not normal for an Upyr fledgling to be so grown." Lory explained patting her head.
"What is upyr?" Kyouko asked.
"Upyr are the highest rank of vampires. All Upyr are born vampires and there is no way to turn a human into an Upyr." Yashiro explained.
"So how can you be sure that I am one? Maybe I'm a gaki vampire like Shoutaro. He was always biting me wouldn't the best explanation be tha he accidentally turned me?" Kyouko shuttered at the thought of having to obey him for the rest of eternity. He had brought all those hunters into their home to kill her.
"Gaki are ugly deceitful creatures." Lory said but received a glare from Yashiro and Ruuto. "Not all of them are ugly on the outside I suppose. Still other vampires can see their essence, and most are slimy and filled with envy. That boy, their heir, is the worst. Gaki also have the ability to sprout wings and they are insatiable as you well know. A gaki will eat their prey slowly but they will eventually drain the victim completely before consuming the corpse." He explained more thoroughly with a glum expression.
"Upyr, can be haughty and conceited but the majority of them are not killers. They only eat what is offered to them or in the case of the more arrogant ones they eat what they have claimed as theirs. Even fledglings have this trait. Also, their eyes glow when they're hungry." Yashiro said then he thought to himself for a moment. "Hm." He shook his head storing away an observation for later. "As vampire royalty however, they are surrounded by blood donors and so never go on blood thirsty rampages as you did." Yashiro explained. "Not that it was your fault of course. Someone did a terrible thing hiding your vampirism from you."
"They also happen to be incredibly resistant to other vampires' abilities." Ruuto spoke for the first time and Kyouko met his eyes wearily. "You were stabbed with magic daggers meant to paralyze vampires but didn't instantly go down. Any other type of vampire would have. My chains are designed to capture even Upyr except for those with the ability to drain others energy."
Kyouko bowed her head. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"Awe you're a good girl aren't you Kyouko-chan?" Yashiro gushed liking her more and more.
"I am unharmed." Ruuto said blushing slightly.
"So, what should I do now? I doubt I can go back home, but if you don't plan on experimenting on me then what should I do with myself?" Kyouko asked worried that she would have no place to go. Though she supposed she could ask the Darumaya couple if she could stay with them.
"You'll become part of LME, of course." Yashiro said. "We won't experiment on you, but we can't have you running around on the streets. The king wouldn't abandon you to a life on your own without proper nourishment and other vampires to look after you. If for no other reason than you need to be properly trained. Eventually we'll discover all your abilities and find a position for you in the company."
"As for a place to live, I have a palace with many rooms and a young granddaughter who could keep you company. Though she's an unbearable she-devil at times, she can be quite adorable when she wants something." Lory offered already imagining the trouble Maria would cause. Then a mischievous thought popped into his mind and he said. "You could also stay with the king. Since the two of you are already so close."
"But I'm not close with the king." Kyouko said looking at all three men in turn.
"He let you drink his blood. That's closer to him than anyone I've ever known." Yashiro said thinking of all the people who Ren denied even being friends with. Everyone was a co-worker or a subject, or in the case of some of the Upyr a pest. Yashiro himself could only ever get the king to admit that he was an irreplaceable personally assistant but not a friend. Ren insisted that kings couldn't have friends.
"I've known that boy since he was little, and he never even let his ex-girlfriends drink his blood. He had no problem drinking from them however, but only when they asked of course." Lory said scanning Kyouko's face. "You are rather pretty. Could it have been love at first sight?" He mused then added to himself in a low voice. "Maybe that brat is just growing bored."
Kyouko shook her head. "There is no such thing as love and definitely not at first sight." She said taking a moment to process their words then looked at them with large shocked eyes. "I drank the king's blood?" She asked appalled.
Yashiro smiled, "Finally somebody understands the impropriety of such an act. I have been bombarded by the noble covens about this. Ren just waves it off as though they can be reasoned with. They can't though. The Morizumi and Koenji covens are the worst too…" he stopped himself and pat her hand. "It's alright though. You needn't worry." He soothed seeing the panic in her eyes. "I can handle the covens, and no one is mad at you."
Kyouko relaxed a little and leaned back against her pillows. She took the cup again and sipped it trying not to choke on the taste. Her stomach turned however, and she had to pass the cup back to Yashiro.
"I could give you some of my blood if you want. Mothers and fathers are often their babies' main source of sustenance for the first couple weeks." Lory offered her his wrist which she wrinkled her nose at. "If you accept my offer of adoption, I will be like your father."
She eyed him cautiously and leaned away. "No thank you."
"Father? Oh, darling are you taking in another stray?" A small woman in a lab coat asked entering the room and bowing to Kyouko. "I see my patient woke up but none of you bothered to inform me."
They all turned sheepish and apologized.
"Sweet girl, you have nothing to apologize for." She said to Kyouko gripping her chin and lifting her head up. "I am Jelly Woods; I am the King's personal witch and healer. You may call me Ten-san. Everyone does."
"Alright, I'm Kyouko." Kyouko said attempting to bow.
Jelly raised a brow. "Just Kyouko? You don't know your family name?" At the shake of Kyouko's head she continued. "What about your father's name." Another head shake caused Jelly to frown. "Your mother?"
Kyouko shook her head. "She abandoned me with the Fuwa coven. They told me she was a witch and that she had sacrificed me to them for power."
"What power could a silly little coven of gaki vampires give to someone powerful enough to conceal vampirism?" Jelly questioned not expecting an answer. "Hm, your eyes are golden, not a trademark of any coven I've ever heard of. At least not one that hasn't been thought extinct for centuries."
Jelly continued to examine Kyouko and though she was speaking Kyouko found it hard to concentrate on her words. The hunger was coming back in full force and Kyouko caught herself staring at the woman's neck. She could smell the warm flowing blood in the room; hear their hearts pumping and their veins pulsating. Wordlessly the cup of blood was held to her lips. She meant to take another sip, but her hand shot up on its own accord and smacked the cup away.
"Young lady that blood was donated to us. Someone made a sacrifice so that young fledglings like you could eat." Yashiro scolded.
"I'm sorry." Kyouko bowed her head feeling defeated. She had never felt so powerless to control her own actions.
"I suppose we'll have to get you a blood doll. There are plenty of them at LME, I'm just not sure how many will want to submit to a fledgling." Lory said though he could tell Kyouko's attention was drifting again.
The girl was too hungry to focus on them. She had picked up a familiar scent. Unconsciously her tongue flicked over her teeth and she jumped up wanting to find the source of the intoxicating aroma. Yashiro stood up to restrain her, but she fixed him with a stare and a strong confident voice left her mouth, "don't touch me." His body obeyed without his permission.
"Where is she going?" He asked as she exited the room.
Lory pursed his lips in thought. "If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say she smelled some blood that she couldn't resist." As if just realizing it he added, "Isn't Ren in a meeting a couple of floors above us?"
"Oh no!" Yashiro jumped up and chased after her even as Lory casually took a seat.
"Shouldn't we be worried too?" Jelly asked looking at her notes. "She might have discovered what Ren really is, who he really is."
Lory waved his hand dismissing the thought. "Her unfortunate abusive upbringing works in our favor here. The Fuwa neglected to teach her the very basics of the vampire hierarchy. She was raised to serve their son and heir not to mingle with other high rank nobles. She's probably never even heard of the fairy race."
"Still we're lucky she didn't drain him the first time. She was so close to becoming a vukodlak like that boy, and she doesn't have any family who could have saved her." Jelly said scribbling in her notes.
"No, she doesn't. No family. No coven. No last name. And yet somebody in her life had been powerful enough to seal her vampirism deep within her. Had the Fuwa boy not drained her so much she might have remained as a human indefinitely." Lory mused as he sauntered out of the room. "I think I'll go help Yashiro-san pry our dear little fledgling off our king after all."
A/N: This chapter was meant to be longer but I was having trouble ending the second half so I split it into two just so I could post something. I'm glad people are enjoying it.
Honestly I wasn't really thinking when I named the different vampire ranks, I just used different vampire lore that I have seen portrayed on tv or read about. Normally I think this is tacky but since someone PMed me and asked I compiled a list terms that appear in this story. I might be missing some that will pop up later.
Blood doll – basically a blood slave, it can be insulting to insinuate that a high-ranking vampire is a blood doll to a lesser one. Most blood dolls are human who get high off the experience.
Fledgling – newborn vampire
Upyr – Russian vampire for the purposes of this story they are vampire royalty. Lory is the oldest known Upyr though he looks much younger than many of the other coven leaders.
Kiko – spirit fox, a good kitsune who has outgrown the need for food. Yashiro mused to himself that Ren is a Kiko because he doesn't eat.
Kitsune – Foxes found all across Japan. Extremely intelligent with shapeshifting as well as other magical abilities. Some are good and helpful others are mischievous and punish people. The only one in this story so far is Yashiro.
Algul - A vampiric demon from Arabic lore. The lowest ranking vampire in this story. All Algul were once human and turned by a higher ranking vampire. Ren is pretending to be an Algul.
Gaki - Japanese translation (literally "hungry ghost") A Gaki can be the soul of a person who was overly compulsive, deceitful, jealous or greedy during their life. I thought that suited Shou so the Fuwa coven all ended up being gaki.
