No Want, No Hunger, No Shame
dialogue – thoughts
"dialogue" – speaking
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Chapter 5:
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"I'm afraid I just don't understand, sempai." Milly's soft voice stated disappointedly. She lowered her eyes somewhat.
Meryl, who sat across from her friend and partner, sighed loudly for the fifth time that minute, "Milly, I need your help." She said frankly, getting straight to the point.
Milly almost instantly brightened up, and flipped a wet strand of brown hair away from her face before she replied happily, "Oh, okay! I can help you, sempai, but what with?"
Meryl sighed in frustration and took in a deep breath. She had been trying to explain what she wanted from her friend for the past five minutes and only now had they finally gotten somewhere, only to end up at the very beginning again.
The taller woman had arrived just over ten minutes ago, sopping wet with a huge smile on her face. It had been raining outside again, but that hadn't barred Milly from seeing her friend after Nick had told her—only reluctantly—that Meryl wished for her to stop by.
The two women sat in Meryl's confined kitchen at Meryl's small table drinking hot tea, which as of late wasn't an uncommon sight. It seemed to soothe the two friends and ward off the chilly dampness that had engulfed London of late.
Meryl stood up from her seat and set her tea down on the nearby table. Then, frowning slightly in thought, as she knew this would in all probability both upset and disturb Milly, she wondered how to tell her friend. How were you to ask a particularly sensitive person that you wanted—no, needed her to help you find a potentially dangerous half-blood vampire because you just happen to have a peculiar feeling that he is somehow connected to the mark on the back of your neck and the bitter eyes you keep seeing wherever you go? The very eyes that tell without a voice that you're going to die and speak of infinite affliction while you sleep? How were you supposed to ask for help without sounding completely insane?
Well, maybe I'm already insane… Meryl thought sardonically to herself, a smile forming on her lips.
Quickly, however, she shook those thoughts from her deadbeat and short-circuiting mind to focus her attention on the matter at hand.
Deciding for the completely honest and straightforward way, and hoping her partner would not become hysterical, Meryl stood opposite her friend and motioned the woman to stand up.
Milly did so without question, albeit with an odd enquiring look, and when Meryl turned her back to her and tilted her head down so her friend could see the unhealed, engraved "K" on her neck, she let out a slight, sharp gasp.
"What is it, sempai??" came Milly's expected question.
Meryl kept her back to her partner so she could get a good look at it, "What do you think it is, Milly?" she replied in exasperation, secretly glad her friend seemed to be taking it so well.
There was a short silence before a soft response, "It's a K, sempai."
Meryl nodded her head in affirmation before turning to face Milly, "Exactly." She waited for any further statements from Milly, or perhaps another question.
Milly tilted her head to one side, "But I don't understand what this has to do with you needing my help…" she trailed off before her eyes widened and she stared at Meryl in disbelief.
"Sempai! Did you call me hear to tell me you have a problem?"
Meryl nodded vaguely, thinking maybe Milly realized what was happening, and replied with a smile, "Yes, I need your help, remember?"
"You have come to me earlier, sempai!" Milly squeaked and suddenly launched herself at Meryl a moment before enveloping her in a huge, bone-crushing hug, "Oh, sempai! We'll get you the best psychiatrist in London!" her friend sobbed out, and Meryl's eyes bugged out in indignation and distress, "Oh! I'm so glad you told me you were suicidal before it was too late, sempai!" she pulled away from the petite woman and held her at shoulders length.
Meryl stared at Milly in disbelief, her eyebrows so high they were no longer visible on her face, but were under her dark bangs.
"Sempai, you should have told me you were cutting yourself! I can't believe I didn't notice."
Meryl's eye twitched slightly as the silence stretched on among them. Then, she focused her widened eyes on her partner and her face dropped instantly, and on it appeared a look of outrage, "Milly! How could you even think that! Do I look suicidal to you?" her hands knotted in her short hair, "I told you I needed your help not because I'm supposedly suicidal, but because something other than me put that K on my neck and I think I know who it is!" she finished with the last of her breath.
Milly looked stricken for a moment before a huge—relieved—grin split out in her face and she crushed her partner in another hug, "I'm so thankful, sempai! I thought you were hurting yourself!" she nodded before pulling away and holding her friend at shoulders length. At Meryl's calmed sight, she settled herself back down into her seat, keeping one eye on her friend, "But I'm not sure if I understand what you are saying."
Meryl followed Milly's lead and backed up onto her chair. She retrieved her cup of tea and held it firmly in her hands, "Milly, what I am saying is that I did not carve that K into the back of my neck."
She waited patiently for her partner's nod.
"I am also saying that I think I know who did, although indirectly."
Milly nodded again, "So whom do you think put it there, sempai?" she asked.
"They didn't exactly physically carve it into my neck, Milly." Meryl took a deep breath before she continued, "I have a sneaking suspicion it has something to do with that half-demon vampire that attacked me two nights ago. The one I had you test the blood on."
The taller woman's brow furrowed slightly, "Why do you think that, sempai?" she darted a slightly accusing look at her friend, "Has he showed up again, and you haven't told me?"
"No, not really…" Meryl trailed off, attempting to look innocent.
Milly caught on, however, and she clasped her hands in worry, "You saw him, sempai?" she bit her lip, "Did he see you??"
Meryl waved her off, "Don't worry, Milly. I'm quite sure he didn't notice I was following him."
The taller woman looked aghast, a rather dramatized expression, "You followed him without me? Sempai! Did you understand the results from the blood? We don't know what he is capable of, sempai!"
"Milly," Meryl protested, "He didn't notice me. Don't worry."
Shaking her head resolutely, her partner replied almost angrily, "I won't let you go out alone again, sempai. You just tell me and I'll come along whenever you want!"
Mentally cringing, Meryl decided not to mention that she had gone hunting without her partner. If this was how she acted if she merely followed a vampire without company, she would hate to see Milly's reaction if she found out she had confronted four vampires by herself…
Meryl nodded for the sake of Milly, "Okay, I'll tell you next time I go out." She smiled somewhat as her friend's eyes lit up, "In fact," she continued slowly, "I didn't just call you over here to show you the mark. I wanted to ask if you would help me out tomorrow, to find the vampire."
As expected, Milly nodded in acceptance, "Of course, sempai…but, why do you want to find him?"
Meryl had braced herself for when this question would come, and took a deep breath before answering, "I told you I thought that the half-blood has something to do with the mark on my neck, didn't I?" she waited for Milly's nod, "I find it odd that right when I was following him, the mark appeared on my neck. It was odd, Milly. He seemed oblivious to me, but usually a vampire could detect when someone is on their trail—even a half-demon. He is strange, and I want to know how and why there is a K engraved in my skin." She paused slightly, "I have a feeling he holds all of my answers…"
When Meryl looked up through the heavy silence blanketing the room, she saw Milly regarding her cautiously, almost guardedly. Pursing her lips suddenly, the petite woman arched an eyebrow in question.
Milly shook her head, the hush broken, "Sempai…I have a bad feeling about this." She stopped abruptly and bit her lip before continuing with a hint of guilt in her voice, "I know your father was very good at his job…but he was a bit of an oddity."
The petite woman stayed silent, and seemed as though what her partner said had not reached her yet.
Milly swallowed slightly, suddenly feeling out of place, "Meryl," she dropped the customary sempai, making her partner's ears perk up at her name falling almost unfamiliarly from the taller woman's lips, "you're beginning to sound like him. You know what happened to him. He was in too deep, Meryl." She sighed, "It is better to stick to your job instead of becoming too involved with their matters…"
The petite woman listened silently as Milly trailed off. A heavy silence once again engulfed the room, plunging the two women into a coldness only broken when Meryl spoke up, her voice determined.
"Milly, I made a promise to my father. I'm not about to break it, and I have a feeling if I want to keep it, I need to know more. Even if you don't want me to, I will if I have to." Meryl glanced at her friend slightly, a smile escaping, "Besides, its my job to be aware what's going on around me. That includes any bloodsuckers scheming on the streets of London."
A light sigh was heard from Milly followed by the strong words the smaller woman was relieved to hear.
"Sempai, I'm with you the whole way."
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Meryl stood silently, watching passively as Milly's front door opened after the third knock to admit her. The petite woman backed up slightly and down the stairs as the Milly yelled out something quite unintelligible. Then, a light smile broke out on her face as her friend came half-stumbling through the doorway with an umbrella clutched in her hand and a large piece of machinery positioned on her shoulder. Meryl sidestepped quickly as her partner's umbrella swiped through the air, narrowly missing her head.
Milly straightened up once she regained her balance and shut the door quite efficiently behind her before turning to face Meryl.
"Good morning, sempai." She chirped happily, the umbrella now tucked securely under her arm, "Sorry for the delay, I couldn't find my umbrella." She smiled innocently and Meryl shook her head with bright eyes.
"No apologies needed, Milly. After all, I owe you one for coming out with me." The petite woman held out her hand before her and peered up into the grey sky, "It isn't raining, is it?"
Milly laughed slightly, "It's good to be prepared, sempai. The spring weather here can change in an instant." She glanced up, squinting slightly, "Today's a good day for a hunt, sempai, and you know I would have come any way."
Meryl let her hand fall to her side, "Thanks Milly, but I still owe you one."
Nodding slightly, Milly descended the steps to the cobblestone street before taking the umbrella form under her arm and handing it to her partner. Meryl gave her a strange look, but accepted the umbrella as the taller woman grinned, "It's hard to react quickly enough when you have an umbrella and an stun-gun, sempai." She explained to her partner.
Meryl smiled and rested the umbrella on her shoulder and joined her partner on the street. Glancing over at Milly, she asked, "Are you ready? It's been a while since we've done this." The half-lie sounded hallow in her ears, but she kept up her smile and waited for Milly's response.
"I'm always ready, sempai." She beamed and glanced back up at the sky, " I just hope it doesn't get around to raining."
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A/N: The arrival of Milly's stun gun! Everyone jump for joy! I was contemplating on whether to keep the gun or keep it out before I decided vampire hunting wouldn't be the same without Milly's BASG (Big Ass Stun Gun)
Thanks for your reviews!
--Cayenne Pepper Powder