So here is yet again another review. Reiko, Steph, Remy, Jaal and Mostro belong to me. Dante and Trish don't.
I'm not in the best of moods right now. Possibly why this chapter is even more angsty than usual. People can't ever accuse me of not having put my emotions into my writing.
I need to thank every single one of you that's reviewed. I love you guys. Seriously. I don't know how many times you guys have made me laugh. Laughing WITH you and not AT you.
It's been fun. Writing here I mean. I still will don't worry. But if you don't see me around for a bit don't worry. If you see me around after this weekend, then you and I will BOTH be happy. And I'll write a new HITH chapter perhaps, or give Reiko a break in Dark Legion. Whichever I'm in the mood for.
Thank you everyone. It's been fun.
Chapter 9
Trish opened the door and blinked seeing Reiko standing at the door. Behind her, stood a terrified girl. Tears were in her blue eyes and she was holding one hand to her other arm, where blood streamed out.
'Reiko? What happened?'
'I'll explain later; just help Stephanie.' Steph looked up at Trish and whimpered pitifully before she swayed and fainted. Reiko dashed forward, catching her before she hit the floor. He looked up at Trish briefly before he picked her up and carried the girl to the couch. Trish pulled out a thin blanket and covered Stephanie with it.
'Is she going to be okay?' Trish shook her head silently, communicating that she didn't know.
'What happened to her?'
'She was attacked. By Mostro. But Trish, this was the same girl who was attacked previously by a demon. That demon was also working for Mostro. He's after her, and I just don't understand why.' Trish nodded slowly and then looked to him.
'Remy's been looking for you. Where were you? He was just about pulling his hair out.'
'I was unconscious for four days. I was staying at Steph's house while I was out of it.'
'She invited you in? Does she know?'
'She knows.'
'And she still invited you in?'
'She didn't have much of a choice. The sun had risen and I was close to getting killed.' Trish looked at him curiously and frowned.
'Why would she be so bothered about saving you?'
'I was the one who stopped the attack that night. I don't think that's the only reason though. She has a good heart.' Trish smiled at him quite suddenly, taking him off guard. He blinked and then smiled back.
'How's Dante?' he said. Trish's face fell slightly.
'Not too well. The fever still hasn't left him but it's a lot less than before.' Reiko sighed and then slowly went upstairs, tracking down Dante. He stopped short as he saw him in bed, asleep.
'Dante?' The silver haired demon hunter slowly opened his eyes and looked in Reiko's direction, frowning slightly as he recognised him.
'What the hell are you doing here?'
'I need your help. I need to know whether you found out anymore information on Mostro.' Dante slowly sat up, looking more alert.
'So what if we have?' Reiko's eyes lit up. Dante struggled slightly and managed to rest his head against the headboard of the bed, breathing slightly harder than was normal. Reiko came closer to him and Dante weakly raised a hand, stopping him instantly.
'If you want to get sick, come closer. If not, then stay where you are. I was joking. I didn't find anything about him.' Reiko sighed and lowered his head. 'You're too quick to trust, kid. You've got to be wiser about these things. This is what got you into the mess in the first place. You should have listened to Remy.'
'I should have, shouldn't I…' he said flatly. 'But because of my foolishness all of them are dead.'
'Who's the girl?' Reiko looked up at Dante quickly and frowned. Dante smiled thinly and watched him steadily. 'She isn't a demon, that's for sure.'
'She…saved my life,' said Reiko softly. Dante groaned and rolled his eyes.
'God…she's as bad as you.'
'How so?'
'Too trusting.' Reiko blinked.
'What's so bad about trusting people?'
'You never know when they'll turn their back on you. You think you know someone, but only until they hurt you, do you realize their true nature…' Reiko was quiet but then looked away slowly. 'All I'm saying is, don't trust her.'
'Mostro's after her,' said Reiko softly. Dante blinked and tried to sit up straighter.
'Scratch that then. You can trust her.'
'Why the sudden change of mind?'
'An enemy of an enemy is a friend.' Reiko narrowed his eyes slightly.
'Didn't you make that mistake with Trish? You thought she was on your side.' Reiko walked out, eyes cold, face impassive. Dante watched him go but then slowly tried to get out of bed, smiling when he found he could take a few unsteady steps.
Trish looked up to see Reiko come down the stairs.
'Has she woken yet?'
'No.' A small sigh came from the vampire, causing Trish to look at him.
'You like her, don't you?'
'No.' Trish smiled knowingly. Reiko didn't notice but watched gloomily, only straightening up slightly when Steph stirred and opened her eyes.
'W-what happened?' she whispered. Reiko came closer to her, his eyes softening slightly.
'You fainted.' Steph started to whimper and to Reiko's alarm started crying again. Trish pushed Reiko out of the way none too gently and pulled the girl into a hug.
'Who was that guy? What did he want with me?'
'I don't know.'
'He tried to kill me,' she sobbed. Reiko looked at her and then moved so then he was looking out of the window. Trish rubbed Steph's back soothingly but looked up as she heard a noise from upstairs.
'Dante, what do you think you're doing?' she said calmly. Dante paused and held her eyes with his own before narrowing them slightly.
'I'm sick of-'
'Yeah, I know you're sick. So go back to bed.' Dante growled low in his throat, causing the girl in Trish's arms to cry out again with fear. Trish held her tightly and looked towards Dante, who had stopped growling immediately.
'I'm not going to bed,' he said quietly, despite him shaking slightly with the effort of standing on his own two feet. Reiko turned away from the window for a few moments to take in Dante's shivering and then turned back, staring vacantly out. The others seemed to fade away into nothingness, until he was by himself.
It was snowing. He was in the mountains and he turned his face up to the wintry skies and smiled, feeling the cold flakes on his cheeks. Around him, there was nothing but endless heaps upon heaps of snow. He started to feel cold, and he shuddered, but the smile remained on his face. He was happy here. He tensed as he heard a voice behind him and turned and ran back down the slope he had just climbed, back into his mother's warm arms. No matter how cold he got, she'd always be there for him. Always…forever, and ever…
Around him, the snow continued to fall, but he smiled as he heard the voices of others. He ran past his mother, towards his father and uncle but on the way, he tripped and would have landed face down in the snow had his father not been there to catch him and pick him up, so then he was able to rest his small head on his father's shoulder, soft because of the padded jacket he wore. He nuzzled into it, and smiled, closing his eyes.
'Luff yew…' he said, his voice muffled and distorted by the jacket into which he nuzzled. He made his father happy, for he laughed. They went into the hotel that day and Reiko watched them unpack his favourite toy, a stuffed tiger. They had said that it was a cat called an Ocelot, but to him it had always been a tiger. They had laughed when he pointed at it and tried to pronounce the word. Small things…they delighted them, and Reiko smiled back and laughed with them, not sure why but only aware he had made them happy.
The weekend was full of fun but it all seemed to end too quickly. Reiko fell asleep on the way back home, his father was driving and his mother was sitting quietly, listening to the songs playing on the radio. He woke up to his mother scream out a single word. The car moved violently, and Reiko felt the safety belt come undone and he slammed against the car door, which fell open under his slight weight. The car carried on driving, and Reiko's eyes widened as he heard his mother's voice continue screaming out that name that he would come to remember for the rest of his life.
'Mostro! Oh God! No!' The car crashed into the side of the cliff they were driving next to, and all was silent. The car door opened, and a bloodied mess tumbled out, limp, lifeless…dead.
'MOM! DAD!'
'Reiko!' Hazel eyes snapped open and stared about wildly. Trish was kneeling beside him, shaking him slightly. He realised that he himself was holding onto her but now he let her go, putting a hand up to his eyes, as though trying to erase the visions that haunted him in his dreams from his eyes. Dante stood over him, his face looked as though it was carved of stone. Steph was nowhere to be seen. Reiko blinked, looking dazed. Trish held him close, rolling her eyes as she found that she was comforting someone yet again. Dante knelt down on the hard wooden floor and pushed Reiko back onto the solid surface. Reiko lay back obediently and blinked tiredly, looking helpless. Trish noted down that he was shaking silently.
'Reiko?' she repeated his name softly, looking at him with concern showing only too clearly in her eyes. Reiko's gaze switched onto hers and he blinked slowly. Dante shook his head and turned and sat down on the couch.
'Where's Steph?' whispered Reiko. Trish smiled.
'Upstairs, taking a bath.' Reiko nodded slowly and rested his head back down. He felt drained suddenly. He couldn't move; he didn't want to. He couldn't even open his mouth to speak. He was simply there, but he felt as dead as his parents. There was nothing left to keep him going anymore. Nothing but vengeance.
Dante blinked and turned as something caught his eyes. A red jewel, the colour reminiscent to that of jasper lay on the floor. Dante picked it up and studied it. Reiko looked at it but said nothing, even though he knew that it belonged to Steph. Trish stood up and moved away from him, and for a sudden wild moment, Reiko felt a sudden urge to latch onto her and cry like he had never done before. It was stupid, he knew, but he was still afraid of being left alone. Trish looked at him quickly, and he felt himself calming down. He wasn't going to be forgotten. He closed his eyes but then a choked sound escaped from him. He held the rest of his sobs back but they left him shaking on the floor as he battled against the tears that were threatening to spill onto his cheeks.
'Don't fight them back,' said Trish calmly. 'Let them go.' Reiko shook his head and was still, the dry sobbing no more. Dante shook the jewel, getting Trish's attention.
'Who's is this?'
'I think it's that girl's,' said Trish immediately. The two looked at Reiko, who had remained lying there, his grief eating at him slowly but steadily. His eyes stared up at the ceiling blankly. Trish looked at Dante, who simply shrugged and then lightly kicked Reiko in the side. This seemed to get the vampire talking.
'They didn't know the half of it. They tried to tell me that they were far away, and that I'd see them again. I wanted to believe them. But I always used to wait for them by the window. Waiting for that black car to show up. It never did.' Dante raised his eyebrows, looking at Reiko as though he had gone mad. Trish shook her head at him and sat down by the vampire's side.
'Keep going.' Reiko shook his head and shakily got up, still looking like one in a trance. He slowly went upstairs but then turned to take a closer look at the jewel that lay in Dante's calloused hands.
'Mostro is after Steph,' he repeated slowly. 'Mostro is after Steph because of that necklace that she wears. He wants it, but I do not know why.' Reiko's eyes suddenly rolled back in his head and he turned limp, falling to the ground heavily. Trish dragged Reiko to the couch and dropped him there. Dante looked down thoughtfully at the necklace and then looked out of the window. Snow fell.