Until Then

By Xinderella

Chapter One: Chance Encounters

Disclaimer: Me no own Vampire Princess Miyu.

Summary: This is a story of the relationship between Larva and Miyu. Miyu is a normal schoolgirl, at the tender age of fourteen. She gets good grades, has great friends, and has a great life. But the day will come when she finds out that she is not completely human. And so she meets Larva. Until then, enjoy. Please read and review!

Other: Make sure you read my poems about VPM in I Am! And don't forget to review!

"Bye, Mom! I'm leaving for school!"

Kimiko leapt out of her house with purpose and started sprinting down the sidewalk.

"If I don't hurry, I'll be late for my first day of school!" she mumbled under her breath.

She started running faster. She brushed past the bustling crowds, ran past the marketing salespeople crying out their wares, rushing towards her destination.

"Ummph!"

She fell, scattering her books and folders. She gazed up at the exceptionally large obstacle standing in her path. She had meant to give only one glance, apologize, and then continue on her way. But she found herself staring up at the place where the man's face should have been. In its place was a mask that completely covered it. All in all, it was kind of intimidating.

"Um... I-I-I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to run into you. I was just... wasn't... looking where I was going..."

She cringed inwardly, readying herself for the sharp reprimand that was supposed to come her way. But nothing came. He just stood there, in his flowing black cloak, silent as stone.

He held out a hand to help her up. But . . .it didn't look like a hand. Or at least a normal one. It was white, like a glove. And it had red fingernails at the end of each tapering fingertip. After a moment's hesitation, she took it. He pulled her up easily without any sign of visible effort.

"...Thanks."

She bowed slightly to him in a sign of respect, then began to pick up her fallen belongings. He watched quietly, standing there in front of Kimiko. Bending down to pick up the last one, she visibly started when he finally spoke.

"...Miyu..."

One word. Yet it chilled her to the bone. It was the way he said it, as if he had known her all her life. She stared at him in shock.

She stuttered, "N-n-n-no, sir. You've got me mixed up with someone else. My name is Kimiko, not Miyu."

"Miyu..."

"Umm. Have we met before?" She didn't know what else to say.

He only remained in his original position, stationary as a statue.

"I'll. be going now. Sorry again. Thank you for helping me."

Kimiko walked past him and continued on her way to school, resisting the temptation to look back. Which was unfortunate, for had she done just that, she would have seen the tall man turn around and watch her leave his presence. And perhaps she would have noticed that he noted exactly what she looked like, from her height to the uniform she wore. He even imprinted in his mind the way she fixed her dark mahogany hair, which was up in a ponytail beside the crown of her head trailing down the side of her face in a braid threaded expertly with a red ribbon.

He watched until she was out of sight, and then and only then did he finally leave.

Kimiko arrived at the school with minutes to spare. She found her homeroom according to her school map and sat down in a seat towards the very back of the classroom near the window. She stared at the scenery outside the window. She had an excellent view; her homeroom was on the third floor.

Apparently, there was a park just outside the school grounds.

Kimiko made a mental note to visit the park when she got the chance. Perhaps today, after she finished with her homework. That is, of course, assuming that the teachers here were cruel enough to give homework to the students on the very first day of school. She let her eyes wander, as well as her mind, letting it roam over the playground and field for sports.

She dimly recalled her encounter with the tall, strange man and toyed with the memory of him calling her Miyu.

'Why would he call me that? I'm pretty sure we've never met before. And besides, how would I ever be able to forget someone that tall? Is it possible for anyone be that huge? Maybe he was wearing stilts...'

She was abruptly jerked out of her calm reverie as someone pronounced her presence with a "Hi!"

Kimiko turned and looked up at the girl. She had greenish blue eyes and light brown hair with bangs. Her hair was perfectly straight and cut just above the shoulders. She was quite pretty, in a cute sort of way.

"Hi!" she repeated, smiling wide. "I'm Yoko. You must be new."

"I'm Kimiko."

Yoko continued with her welcome speech and started to point out different students in the class.

"That's Koji-san. He's the cutest guy in the school. Maybe the whole world! Not a bad personality either. That's Aora-san. She's the vainest. She's pretty and she knows it. She basically flirts with all the hotties in the school. But we all know the one she really wants is Koji- san. That one's Shurin-san. He not a bad guy, if you don't mind perverts.."

It was quite possible that Yoko wasn't exaggerating. Koji was quite attractive, with his green eyes and raven hair. Even innocent Kimiko could see that.

And Aora did look quite shallow and self-centered as she flipped her (pink-streaked) black hair, speaking to a group of boys that included Koji.

And then, there was Shurin.

Well, to put it bluntly, Shurin was looking at places that he shouldn't have been.

Yoko went on from there. Kimiko only half-listened to the one-sided conversation. She only nodded once in a while, not really paying attention. She figured that since only half of their group of two was talking, she should give only half her attention.

So, of course, she jumped when she heard Yoko's high-pitched squeal. "Yuki!"

Yoko rushed over to the startled newcomer and dragged her over to Kimiko's seat.

"Kimiko-san, meet my best friend in the entire world, Yuki!"

Yuki was slightly taller than Yoko, making her about the same height as Kimiko was. She had long, dark violet hair and gentle ice-blue eyes. Bangs brushed the tops of the lens of her lavender glasses.

"And in case you were wondering, we're twins, too! She just got here later than me because she takes so much time at her stupid locker!"

Looking at Yuki's timid smile and bewildered yet kind eyes, Kimiko instantly saw that she would be quite unlike Yoko. Most likely the opposite, in fact. Yoko seemed bubbly, outgoing, and spontaneous. Yuki was more like the type who would give up an afternoon of shopping to read a book, curled up in a chair near the fireplace.

"But, you two don't look anything alike!" Kimiko couldn't help blurting out this statement, immediately blushing afterwards for her abruptness.

Yoko seemed surprisingly unperturbed by Kimiko's outburst, as if she had already expected it. "Oh, we get that all the time. We're fraternal twins." Yoko beamed.

Kimiko smiled back at the two of them. They'd be great people to hang out with. It wouldn't hurt to make a few friends at this school.

She coincidentally glanced over at the small crowd of students in the center of the room. Koji turned towards her and gave her a sweet smile. Slightly startled, Kimiko smiled back shyly.

Flirtatious Aora, sensing she wasn't the object of Koji's attention anymore, followed his gaze. She scowled when she saw Kimiko. Kimiko waved at her teasingly. Aora made a face at her, then turned away.

Kimiko smiled. She had a feeling it would be a very exciting school year.

Hey, minna!
How'd you like this chappie?
And yes, all those people in Miyu's class are in fact original characters.
But only because I need them.
Well, maybe not Shurin.
But it's all for the plot.
Well, maybe not Shurin.

-Xinderella