Chapter 4
Riho sank down upon the blanket, sitting close to Shido's side, their hands tightly clasped together. Neither one spoke. They only let their acute vampire senses take in the beautiful music created by the ocean as the waves broke endlessly upon the shore. They admired the dark sky with its twinkling stars creating lifelike patterns, and they fondly gazed up at the moon who was their constant companion during their "days."
Shido was the first to break the silence. He turned to Riho and smiled.
"I would like to pronounce a toast," he said, releasing her hand and rifling through the basket looking for the wine and glasses he had packed.
Surprised and amused, Riho playfully asked, "To what?"
"To US," he proclaimed and proceeded to pour wine into each glass. He then handed her one and raised his glass to hers.
"Riho..." he began in a halted attempt at an apology, "I know that..."
Riho clinked her glass to his before she raised it to her lips and at the sound of the tinkling glass; a memory was triggered and brought to life in Shido's mind.
He and Cain had brought two prostitutes back to their suite of rooms and had seduced and killed them, and then slit their wrists. The vampires had then drained their gushing blood into wine chalices. They raised their glasses of lifeblood in a toast and Cain lovingly said, "To US." Shido had clinked his glass to Cain's and drunk deeply from his cup. Then with lips wet with blood, he had met Cain's lips with his own...
"Shido!" Riho called from what seemed to be a great distance.
"Shido!" she exclaimed once more and with a shake brought him back to the present.
He stared dumbly at her for a minute, trying to recall where he was and why he was there. He saw the glass in Riho's hand filled with a magenta liquid and watched her tongue dart out to lick a drop that had clung to her lip. Shido suddenly flung the glass out of her hand and quickly rose from the blanket. He turned his back to her and stared out at the ocean, breathing heavily.
"Shido! What's wrong?" Riho cried in confusion and worry, rising from the blanket.
After several seconds of strained silence in which Shido struggled to compose himself again, he turned back to her and said, "Nothing. Riho, I have to go. I will see you later."
At her look of stunned hurt and disbelief, he reached a shaking hand out to her, but immediately pulled it away. "I'm sorry," was all he said before he strode off along the beach, leaving their romantic picnic rendezvous in a shambles and Riho desolate and alone. She watched his disappearing figure until she could see him no more and then sank down once again onto the blanket. She went over again and again in her mind the events leading up to his outburst, trying in vain to decipher what could have caused such a strange reaction in him. She knew in her heart that it had to have been a memory, but her self-esteem played tricks on her. A voice in her head taunted and teased her into believing that Shido didn't truly love her anymore, that she was no good, and that he would prefer to be in someone else's company.
Just as the tears began to form in her eyes, she sensed a presence behind her and turned in surprise, hoping for it to be Shido.
"Hello, Riho," Hunter greeted her.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked as he sat down on the blanket where Shido had been and turned his lovely amber eyes upon her.
Riho was speechless.
Shido knew that he had a serious problem, but was at a loss as to how to deal with it. He stared morosely at the dark, murky waters churning below him as he leaned over the railing of the pier upon which he stood. How he longed to tell someone about these recurring true-to-life nightmares. But anyone whom he told would come to hate him. Just as he was coming to hate himself, a voice inside said. And therein lay the crux of the matter.
Shido actually had no problem with being a vampire. It was not the life that he had asked for, but Cain had granted him eternity nonetheless. And he had grown accustomed to it. He did, in fact, enjoy the thrill of battling demons, being able to fly and leap great distances, and have superhuman strength. When he had first been turned and hunted the nights with Cain, he had been a sinner. But when he had finally left Cain, he had turned his life around and tried to reconcile for his sins by battling evil and saving human lives and hearts.
And in the process, he had found his own human heart again. True, he was cursed to walk endless dark nights, but since he had turned Riho, his nights were not so dark, but bright with her love and laughter. And as for the nights being endless, lately they seemed to pass all too quickly for him when he and Riho were together.
His life now had meaning and his existence had meaning to someone else. He had tried before to walk the solitary path and block out all others. But ever since meeting Guni, Yayoi, and Riho, he couldn't imagine being alone again. They all accepted him for what he was...now. But none of them had any real idea of the man who he had been. Would they turn away, one by one, if they knew the truth? Could he risk it? Would the good that he had done outweigh the bad? In his eyes, he was starting to believe that no amount of demon battling could rectify the harm that he had done and that was why he hated himself. And why he didn't deserve to have an innocent soul like Riho by his side.
Shido felt the guilt of his actions weighing him down; sinking him in a sea of lies and deception. And who would be there to save him?
Unhappily, his thoughts turned in another direction. Why were the memories coming back so frequently lately? In the past that had been a sign that Cain was nearby. Could his maker be lurking in the vicinity and plotting a new attempt to win him back? He remembered in some alarm that Cain's last attack had focused itself upon...
"Riho!"
He had left her all alone on the beach! What if Cain were after her again? He set off running down the long pier, praying that she was out of harm's way.
Riho was attempting to appear normal in front of the handsome vampire and not let him see that her heart was breaking. She was guarded and on edge in his presence, knowing that both Yayoi and Shido distrusted his motives. He was, after all, a vampire and an unknown quantity. She decided to try to get some information out of him to relay back to the team of investigators.
"So, Hunter," Riho began, "Where do you come from and what are you doing in town?"
"I've come from somewhere else," he replied evasively. "And I am spending time with you. What more could I ask for?"
"Oh,..um," Riho nervously stammered as he continued to stare at her.
Hunter began his own line of questioning.
"Riho, how well do you know Shido?" he inquired.
"Very well," she replied firmly and blushed a little, saying the word 'intimately' in her mind. "Ah, I see," Hunter uttered as if he could read her mind and hear what she was thinking.
"So you DO know that he had other lovers then? Countless other lovers. Most of whom he just took for pleasure and then later killed and discarded," he taunted.
Riho paled and angrily began to form the words to attack back and defend Shido, but Hunter calmly continued before she could reply.
"And you do, of course, know that he and his maker, Cain, had a relationship. They were lovers and I do believe that they were even IN love," he said with a sardonic smile on his lips.
Riho had had enough.
"Just who do you think that you are to talk about Shido that way to me? You have no idea about the kind of man that he is! And how do you know so much about him anyways? What are you trying to do? To tell me that I don't mean anything to Shido? To tell me that he doesn't really love me?" she shouted at him.
Her voice was rising hysterically and tears were beginning to form angrily in her eyes.
Hunter's amber eyes filled with sympathy and sorrow for the hurt that he had caused this beautiful creature.
"I am sorry for hurting you Riho," he apologized. "All I am trying to do is to make you see that you don't really know this man Shido as well as you think. And to make you see that you deserve so much more...more than..." he broke off helplessly and reached out a hand to brush a tear off of her cheek that had rolled down from her luminous brown eyes.
That was when Shido appeared before them.
Riho sank down upon the blanket, sitting close to Shido's side, their hands tightly clasped together. Neither one spoke. They only let their acute vampire senses take in the beautiful music created by the ocean as the waves broke endlessly upon the shore. They admired the dark sky with its twinkling stars creating lifelike patterns, and they fondly gazed up at the moon who was their constant companion during their "days."
Shido was the first to break the silence. He turned to Riho and smiled.
"I would like to pronounce a toast," he said, releasing her hand and rifling through the basket looking for the wine and glasses he had packed.
Surprised and amused, Riho playfully asked, "To what?"
"To US," he proclaimed and proceeded to pour wine into each glass. He then handed her one and raised his glass to hers.
"Riho..." he began in a halted attempt at an apology, "I know that..."
Riho clinked her glass to his before she raised it to her lips and at the sound of the tinkling glass; a memory was triggered and brought to life in Shido's mind.
He and Cain had brought two prostitutes back to their suite of rooms and had seduced and killed them, and then slit their wrists. The vampires had then drained their gushing blood into wine chalices. They raised their glasses of lifeblood in a toast and Cain lovingly said, "To US." Shido had clinked his glass to Cain's and drunk deeply from his cup. Then with lips wet with blood, he had met Cain's lips with his own...
"Shido!" Riho called from what seemed to be a great distance.
"Shido!" she exclaimed once more and with a shake brought him back to the present.
He stared dumbly at her for a minute, trying to recall where he was and why he was there. He saw the glass in Riho's hand filled with a magenta liquid and watched her tongue dart out to lick a drop that had clung to her lip. Shido suddenly flung the glass out of her hand and quickly rose from the blanket. He turned his back to her and stared out at the ocean, breathing heavily.
"Shido! What's wrong?" Riho cried in confusion and worry, rising from the blanket.
After several seconds of strained silence in which Shido struggled to compose himself again, he turned back to her and said, "Nothing. Riho, I have to go. I will see you later."
At her look of stunned hurt and disbelief, he reached a shaking hand out to her, but immediately pulled it away. "I'm sorry," was all he said before he strode off along the beach, leaving their romantic picnic rendezvous in a shambles and Riho desolate and alone. She watched his disappearing figure until she could see him no more and then sank down once again onto the blanket. She went over again and again in her mind the events leading up to his outburst, trying in vain to decipher what could have caused such a strange reaction in him. She knew in her heart that it had to have been a memory, but her self-esteem played tricks on her. A voice in her head taunted and teased her into believing that Shido didn't truly love her anymore, that she was no good, and that he would prefer to be in someone else's company.
Just as the tears began to form in her eyes, she sensed a presence behind her and turned in surprise, hoping for it to be Shido.
"Hello, Riho," Hunter greeted her.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked as he sat down on the blanket where Shido had been and turned his lovely amber eyes upon her.
Riho was speechless.
Shido knew that he had a serious problem, but was at a loss as to how to deal with it. He stared morosely at the dark, murky waters churning below him as he leaned over the railing of the pier upon which he stood. How he longed to tell someone about these recurring true-to-life nightmares. But anyone whom he told would come to hate him. Just as he was coming to hate himself, a voice inside said. And therein lay the crux of the matter.
Shido actually had no problem with being a vampire. It was not the life that he had asked for, but Cain had granted him eternity nonetheless. And he had grown accustomed to it. He did, in fact, enjoy the thrill of battling demons, being able to fly and leap great distances, and have superhuman strength. When he had first been turned and hunted the nights with Cain, he had been a sinner. But when he had finally left Cain, he had turned his life around and tried to reconcile for his sins by battling evil and saving human lives and hearts.
And in the process, he had found his own human heart again. True, he was cursed to walk endless dark nights, but since he had turned Riho, his nights were not so dark, but bright with her love and laughter. And as for the nights being endless, lately they seemed to pass all too quickly for him when he and Riho were together.
His life now had meaning and his existence had meaning to someone else. He had tried before to walk the solitary path and block out all others. But ever since meeting Guni, Yayoi, and Riho, he couldn't imagine being alone again. They all accepted him for what he was...now. But none of them had any real idea of the man who he had been. Would they turn away, one by one, if they knew the truth? Could he risk it? Would the good that he had done outweigh the bad? In his eyes, he was starting to believe that no amount of demon battling could rectify the harm that he had done and that was why he hated himself. And why he didn't deserve to have an innocent soul like Riho by his side.
Shido felt the guilt of his actions weighing him down; sinking him in a sea of lies and deception. And who would be there to save him?
Unhappily, his thoughts turned in another direction. Why were the memories coming back so frequently lately? In the past that had been a sign that Cain was nearby. Could his maker be lurking in the vicinity and plotting a new attempt to win him back? He remembered in some alarm that Cain's last attack had focused itself upon...
"Riho!"
He had left her all alone on the beach! What if Cain were after her again? He set off running down the long pier, praying that she was out of harm's way.
Riho was attempting to appear normal in front of the handsome vampire and not let him see that her heart was breaking. She was guarded and on edge in his presence, knowing that both Yayoi and Shido distrusted his motives. He was, after all, a vampire and an unknown quantity. She decided to try to get some information out of him to relay back to the team of investigators.
"So, Hunter," Riho began, "Where do you come from and what are you doing in town?"
"I've come from somewhere else," he replied evasively. "And I am spending time with you. What more could I ask for?"
"Oh,..um," Riho nervously stammered as he continued to stare at her.
Hunter began his own line of questioning.
"Riho, how well do you know Shido?" he inquired.
"Very well," she replied firmly and blushed a little, saying the word 'intimately' in her mind. "Ah, I see," Hunter uttered as if he could read her mind and hear what she was thinking.
"So you DO know that he had other lovers then? Countless other lovers. Most of whom he just took for pleasure and then later killed and discarded," he taunted.
Riho paled and angrily began to form the words to attack back and defend Shido, but Hunter calmly continued before she could reply.
"And you do, of course, know that he and his maker, Cain, had a relationship. They were lovers and I do believe that they were even IN love," he said with a sardonic smile on his lips.
Riho had had enough.
"Just who do you think that you are to talk about Shido that way to me? You have no idea about the kind of man that he is! And how do you know so much about him anyways? What are you trying to do? To tell me that I don't mean anything to Shido? To tell me that he doesn't really love me?" she shouted at him.
Her voice was rising hysterically and tears were beginning to form angrily in her eyes.
Hunter's amber eyes filled with sympathy and sorrow for the hurt that he had caused this beautiful creature.
"I am sorry for hurting you Riho," he apologized. "All I am trying to do is to make you see that you don't really know this man Shido as well as you think. And to make you see that you deserve so much more...more than..." he broke off helplessly and reached out a hand to brush a tear off of her cheek that had rolled down from her luminous brown eyes.
That was when Shido appeared before them.