Chapter 26: Parent & Child
Where am I?
Senri looked around, but darkness stretched on in all directions. There was no sky nor ground he could discern. However, when he looked down, he could clearly see his hands and feet despite having no light source. Trying to keep calm despite the situation, he started walking. Perhaps something or someone would come into view eventually.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the darkness finally gave way in the distance to the night sky. As he hurried over, he detected the faint scent of roses. The scent grew stronger, almost to the point of being intoxicating, and soon he found himself in a splendid rose garden. All around him roses of many varieties were in bloom. Glancing back, he saw that the darkness he emerged from had disappeared.
Suddenly a coquettish, girlish laugh rang through the air. His body started moving on its own, heading towards the sound. He reached a fountain and stopped, half hidden behind a rose bush. A few paces before him, he saw a handsome man leaning down before a lovely woman, tucking a rose the shade of fresh blood behind her ear.
Was that Kaname-sama and his sister? Senri looked more carefully, and saw that although the male looked very much like Kaname, he was not him. Likewise, although the female greatly resembled Yuki, she was taller and her hair curlier. The two were busy looking into one another's eyes, and seemed unaware of his presence.
The man gently touched the woman's cheek, then leaned down and kissed her. She slipped her arms around his neck, reciprocating his desire. Watching those two, Senri experienced an inexplicably intense fury.
How dare they?
The wrath he felt made him want to incinerate everything, reducing all the roses and the couple before him to ashes. Never in his life had he felt such rage. But within the rage, there was something else: an all-consuming jealousy, and the sharp pain of betrayal. He stepped out from behind the rose bush, his rage ready to spill forth like a deluge.
At last the couple noticed him and quickly tore apart, their mouths agape and guilt clear in their eyes. For a moment, everything was still and silent, like the world had frozen in the final moments before its destruction.
"Onii-sama…" the woman finally spoke, her voice barely more than a whisper. She then broke off eye contact, looking down at her hands instead.
"We were going to tell you, Rido onii-sama..."the man said, his voice also hushed.
Rido onii-sama?
Things finally clicked in Senri's mind. These emotions and actions were not his, but Rido's. He was experiencing a memory of his father's, and these two were his father's siblings. He had previously experienced memory fragments belonging to other's, especially Rima, when he drank their blood. However those experiences had been much less intense and much more fleeting, never as vivid and hard felt as this.
Prior to him losing consciousness, that man had said something about borrowing his body. It seemed his consciousness was currently trapped in Rido's mind while Rido controlled his body. Before Senri could think anything else or find out what happened to those two purebloods, the rose garden vanished and he was back in the darkness.
He stood still a while, then started walking again. Not long after, he heard his footsteps resounding distinctly underfoot. He was walking over marble tiling, and tall bookshelves gradually appeared around him. Glancing around, he perceived he was in some manor's private library. Once again, his feet were moving of their own accord, taking him down aisles of bookshelves. He seemed to be searching for someone...
Passing the last bookshelf, he arrived at a corner, lit up by moonlight washing in from the floor to ceiling window. A beautiful woman with long, silvery-white hair was looking out the window, perhaps gazing at the distant moon. She was an incongruous sight, dressed in an elaborate kimono, as if she were an Edo-period princess who had mistakenly wandered into this European-style manor.
"Shizuka…" he crooned, his voice not his own, but low and oily, his father's. "Shouldn't you welcome your husband back after his long absence?"
At that, the woman finally turned to face him. Within a fraction of a second, her expression hardened, her eyes the delicate pink of sakura assuming an iciness. Without a word, she turned with a swish of her long sleeves and brushed past him, disappearing down the aisle of books.
What an obstinate woman...
He laughed hoarsely then started after her, spurred on by a perverse mix of joy and desire at her cold and haughty reception. How he wanted to grab those slender wrists of hers and tighten his grip until he saw the hint of pain in her eyes. Just as he was about to close in on her, his fingertips almost touching the top of her obi, she and the manor around them faded into darkness. Senri was himself once more, lost in the labyrinths of his father's mind.
In the darkness, he set off yet again. Soon, he found himself in what appeared to be a dimly lit, subterranean, stone-paved passageway. As he headed down the passage, he felt a stinging sensation in his right hand, and realized he was holding a sheathed sword. A weak current of electricity crackled around the sword despite the sheathe, indicating its anti-vampire properties. Despite the pain, he held on to the weapon and continued walking. At the end of the passage were a large set of stone doors, flanked by columns on both ends. The Kuran crest was carved onto the doors, and he felt a cold calmness as he pushed open the heavy doors and entered.
A large tomb was behind the doors, mostly empty except for a white double sarcophagus in the middle. He approached the sarcophagus, his steps echoing loudly in the cavernous space, disturbing the tranquility of the sanctum. When he finally shoved the sarcophagus lid off, he put his sword aside and gazed down at the slumbering couple inside for a while.
The man greatly resembled Kaname, Rido, and Rido's brother from the previous memory. Likewise, the woman seemed a somewhat older replica of Yuuki and Rido's sister.
Without hesitating or taking his eyes off them, he transformed his fingers into claws, dug into the woman's chest, grabbed her heart and tore it out. The woman finally opened her eyes, reached a hand to her chest, looked at the blood on it, then stared up at him uncomprehendingly. He bit into the still warm and beating heart, and soon felt the delicious power it contained surge through him.
More...he wanted more. No, he needed more...
"Rido?" the woman croaked weakly and moved her bloody hand up towards him, as if to stop him.
He caught her hand, softly squeezed it and whispered, "It'll all be over soon. Goodbye, mother."
A slight movement at the edges of his vision alerted him the man was awaking, probably in response to the strong smell of his mate's blood permeating the air. Quickly he devoured what was left of the woman's heart and then plunged his claws into the man's chest. As he was about to rip the heart out, the man abruptly opened his eyes and grabbed his wrist, stopping him.
"Rido!" The man barked hoarsely. He then glanced over to his mate, saw her fatal injury and his eyes widened with shock before immediately narrowing in fury. "What have you done?!"
"Only what I should have done long ago," he replied. Grabbing the sword with his other hand, he swiftly unsheathed it and stabbed the man in the torso. As the man struggled in the coffin, he quickly yanked the heart out, finally claiming his prize.
"You! You're a monster," the man growled before coughing up blood.
"If I'm a monster, it's only because you two made me this way," he replied before devouring this heart too.
"Hayato…" the woman murmured feebly, cracks starting to appear on her face.
The man turned to his dying wife, reached a bloody hand to caress her face, and whispered, "Akiko...don't worry, I'll follow soon."
The woman smiled sadly, then shattered into a thousand crystal shards.
The man glared up at him. "Rido, we were right to give you neither Juri nor the throne."
In response, he only laughed, an ugly laugh that reverberated through the tomb. "It doesn't matter anymore. From now on, I'll take back everything that belongs to me. Goodbye, father."
The scene suddenly vanished, and he was thrown back into darkness as if he had been yanked out of the memory.
"Found anything interesting, my cute son?"
Senri turned, and saw Rido standing behind him, arms crossed and watching him with those unsettling heterochromatic eyes. Glaring at him warily, Senri took a step back, which prompted Rido to laugh.
"Don't worry, I won't harm you. You're my son after all," Rido said, then paused to observe him. "You resemble me more than my other son, but who knows, perhaps that will change as he gets older. Kuran genes are pretty strong, heh."
Senri ignored his remarks. "What are you trying to do with my body?"
"I just need to borrow it to deal with some unfinished family business," Rido replied, then pointed at him. "You should be glad to have a role in this, as my success would be to your advantage. Despite whatever failings I may have as a father, I do take care of my own. All my bastard children have done pretty well so far."
"You've never done anything for me or my mother. Only my great uncle helped us."
"Really?" Rido chuckled. "Who do you think saved your family's company when it was about to go bankrupt? You really think all that money needed for your mother to stay in that mansion and maintain her luxurious lifestyle comes from your great uncle?"
Senri kept silent and continued to glare at him.
"Don't act like a petulant child, this is your chance to finally bond with your father!" Rido smiled somewhat mockingly. "Perhaps I should give you advice, father to son… Oh, I got a good one. If you want a woman, find a weak-willed one like your mother. Don't marry one that is difficult to tame like I did, it would only cause you trouble."
Why did his mother end up the way she was over this man? Senri gritted his teeth, then buried his feelings and spoke quietly, "I've always wondered what kind of man my father was...but as it turns out, reality is disappointing."
Rido's taunting smile hardened. "And what kind of man am I?"
"A miserable man that doesn't love anyone other than himself." Senri replied stoically. "That's why you're estranged from everyone; your parents, siblings, wife, lovers and children. You're all alone."
Rido stared at him with his disconcerting heterochromatic eyes for a while then gave a small laugh. "Your great uncle said you were quiet...but you actually talk a lot for a puppet."
With a flick of his hands, a rumbling sound started and stones materialized from the darkness, rapidly arranging themselves into a prison around Senri. Alarmed, Senri tried to escape, but was entrapped and could only glower at his father from behind his barred prison door.
"Just stay here obediently, Senri. It would be unfortunate if you got hurt when you didn't have to." Rido smirked, then disappeared, melting into the darkness.
Yuki finished her last assignment and let out a sigh of relief. Somehow, she had managed to complete her winter break homework despite heavy procrastination. Glancing at the clock above her desk, she saw it was just after two at night. Although that was early for vampires, she and Maria were making their return journey to Cross Academy in the morning. That and the fact that she was sleepy after having forced herself through homework the past few hours suggested retiring to bed early was a good idea.
After putting away her pens and notebooks, she briefly glanced over the luggage Aoi had packed for her. Turning off her lamp, she already had one leg in bed when she heard a quiet knock on her door. She leapt out of bed and opened the door to reveal her mother.
"Yuki, can we talk for a moment?"
Yuki nodded and led her mother inside. She flopped onto her bed while Shizuka settled onto the edge and briefly chided her for being unladylike. Yuki smiled toothily and snuggled closer, saying that it was just the two of them, no one else was present to see her inelegant behavior.
Shizuka sighed in resignation before looking over Yuki, who stared back at her with mild curiosity. Yuki was already an adolescent. In four years, she would be considered an adult by vampire standards, and the Senate would no doubt try to engage her to some older fiance. In fact, most purebloods were already betrothed since childhood or early adolescence. The only reason Yuki wasn't already betrothed was because her existence had been a secret until recently.
Shizuka had never understood why their kind pushed their young into engagements so early when they lived such long lives. Since purebloods supposedly lived forever, their spouses should be chosen carefully, or they would end up like her and that man. His parents and her cousin were truly terrible matchmakers...
"Yuki," Shizuka spoke softly. "Your brother will be formally introducing you to vampire society soon, and when that occurs, the Senate and other vampires will push you to get engaged. If that happens, you need to stand your ground and decide for yourself who you will marry. Furthermore, I do not want you marrying until you are at least one or two centuries old."
Yuki blinked, taken aback by the unexpected topic. She had assumed her mother was going to ask her more about school. She certainly had not expected them to discuss her future engagement and marriage, things so remote that she had never really thought much about them. However, she had given plenty of thought to the type of man she wanted to marry. One of her favorite pastimes, besides spying on Yoko, was discussing the qualities of an ideal husband with Maria and the other girls.
"Okaa-sama, one or two centuries is too much, I can't wait that long to get married, I want to fall in love soon." Yuki smiled happily, thinking about the romance movies and dramas she had watched with Maria. How wonderful it would be to walk with her lover in the rain, and maybe even share a passionate kiss under the umbrella. Yuki blushed as her imagination got a little wild and quelled a giggle.
"One or two centuries is nothing to a pureblood." Shizuka frowned slightly when she saw Yuki's blush and barely suppressed smile. All the drama and manga the girl consumed probably contributed to her hopeless romanticism…that and the fact that she was Juri and Haruka's daughter. Shizuka grimaced lightly as she recalled how those two had lived in their own glittery, lover's world.
"Well, since you are so impatient to get married, do you already have someone in mind?" Shizuka inquired teasingly.
Yuki shook her head. "There is no one around me that I am interested in…though I would want someone like Kaname onii-sama, someone so princely."
"What about Shizuku who you seem so close to?"
Yuki's face quickly contorted into a scowl. "Absolutely not him! He's just an annoying friend that I have known for a long time. I would never, ever, be interested in such an immature jerk. No girl would fall for him once they get past his pretty face! Someone like him will be single forever! By the time I'm married with great, great, great, grandchildren, he'll still be as single as the day he was born!"
Shizuka laughed, greatly amused by Yuki's vehement denial and rant about how unpopular Shizuku supposedly was with the ladies. Hearing her mother's laughter, Yuki flushed and calmed herself. She had no idea how her mother could even suggest Shizuku…she needed to change the course of the conversation.
"Okaa-sama, that's enough about me…what about you? What type of men do you like?" Yuki asked, curious what qualities her mother sought in a man. Her mother was rather overwhelming – even her silences could be oppressive, and Yuki doubted most men could handle her.
"You forget I am a married woman."
"Rido oji-sama is clearly insane, you should get a divorce," Yuki replied.
Shizuka chuckled lightly. "There is no divorce among our kind, otherwise vampire society would be overrun with divorced couples and the Senate would have a fit. And for people like us, marriage is just another form of business."
Even engagements were almost never annulled among purebloods, much less actual marriages. Very few purebloods married for love, most simply tried to get along with their assigned spouse and develop a sense of family and affection, if not love. Whereas couples that really could not tolerate one another did their best to produce an heir as expected then lived estranged lives, married only in name.
Shizuka glanced down and murmured, "Even if divorce were an option, I'd rather not deal with another husband."
She had had enough of marriage, and even if she could start all over, she had a feeling that nothing would change. She saw Yuki looking at her with concern, as though having sensed her inner torment, and smiled jestingly. "Besides…I am supposedly insane, so men, pureblood or not, are afraid to even approach me."
"If they're so easily swayed by rumors, they're no good anyway!" Yuki asserted. "Anyway, stop dodging my question!"
Shizuka tilted her head slightly as if sincerely contemplating, then said, "My ideal would be a rebellious man with a well-sculpted body."
Rebellious? Well sculpted? Yuki gasped. Did this mean her mother was into muscular bad boys? Yuki's eyes widened in shock as she imagined her mother in the arms of a ruggedly handsome man with bulging muscles. What a contrast that would be, her mother the epitome of feminine elegance, and the man so...manly.
Shizuka couldn't help but laugh at how flabbergasted Yuki was.
Hearing the laugh, Yuki realized her mother was probably toying with her again and pouted. "Okaa-sama, I answered seriously, so you need to stop joking and answer too!"
Shizuka turned to gaze at the sky beyond the windows as she considered her response. At length, she replied quietly, "I would want someone who I can safely entrust my feelings to."
Yuki frowned as she pondered her mother's response. "That's too vague and easy."
"It is not as easy to find someone like that as you think, Yuki."
"That's not true. I think Okaa-sama is just skeptical of love thanks to my uncle, and that's unfortunate because most men are not like him."
Shizuka playfully flicked her daughter on the forehead. "Is that so? It seems Yuki is quite knowledgeable on the workings of men's minds. You better not have several boyfriends back at school, playing with their hearts."
"Of course not! How can you even think of me that way?" Yuki huffed while blushing. "I would dedicate my heart to one person and one person only."
"Well, talk of marriage and love aside, you should focus on other things first. You should travel and see the world, experience various things," Shizuka trailed off, her eyes suddenly taking on a distant glaze. "But if you do find that person you love and want to be with...then you should do your best to make sure you have no regrets."
Seeing her mother's wistful expression, Yuki wondered if she had experienced that particular regret. While surprising, it was not impossible, as there was so much she did not know about her mother and her past. Suddenly, sleepiness crept up on her and she involuntarily yawned.
"I will let you sleep now," Shizuka said, then embraced Yuki and held her for a while.
Yuki was surprised, as her mother was not usually so physically affectionate. It was mostly up to her to initiate the hugging. Perhaps her being away at school had affected her mother more than she had known. She gently took her mother's hands in her own. "Don't worry Okaa-sama, I'll return to visit soon. We can view the sakura together when they bloom next spring."
"Next spring..." Shizuka murmured and smiled pensively. She finally let go of her daughter, went to the door and looked back. "Goodnight Yuki."
"Goodnight Okaa-sama," Yuki responded as her mother closed the door. She listened to her mother's faint footsteps as they departed down the hall. Lying in bed, she stared at the ceiling and thought how nice it would be to one day picnic under the sakura with her mother, Kaname, and Yoko. It would be even better if Maria and her parents as well as their friends from school were there... even that jerk Shizuku. With a content sigh, Yuki closed her eyes. She was excited to reunite with her siblings and friends at school.
