12 Years Ago:
It was getting harder and harder to earn enough money to support my brother and put him through school. The National Unity Party had just come to power right before our parents died. One of the first things they did was slash the budget for public orphanages and any welfare benefits- for parentless children anyway. Consequently I had to drop out of school and find work to keep us afloat. It was very hard for a young teenage girl to earn anything in these times, even just for herself.
I never told Yuri any of this, mind you. As far as he was concerned, we were doing alright- we were not. It got so desperate one night that I contemplated doing that thing I knew would earn fast money, but I would lose my soul in the process. It was not a happy thought, and I wondered what I should do and where I should go should I get involved in that line of work. It was against the law, but lots of girls did it anyway. I knew Yuri wouldn't like it; he'd probably do anything to avoid having me even consider it. But what other choice did we have? Money was tight, and I could get enough for some food and rent anyway tonight…..
I pondered this sadly while watching Yuri do his homework at the kitchen table; it was the only table in our tiny two-room apartment. He was ignorant of everything, and that's just how I wanted it to stay. A very depressed grin bloomed across my lips when he looked over his shoulder at me. His smile was happy and carefree, as it should be.
"Hey, sis! Did I tell you?! I scored the highest in my whole class on the science test!" This sweet boy….. "That's wonderful! I'm so proud of you. Keep up the good work, Yuri," I have to do it. I might be able to earn enough for his future, get him into a good university. He'll probably never forgive me when and if he ever discovers, but that's ok. I'll know that I did it for him, my beloved little brother.
After I put Yuri to bed, I slipped on the only dress I owned. It was a tad too small but it did the job. My hair was done up in a bun and I put rouge on my cheeks and lips for the first time. Mother wouldn't like that I put on makeup for something like this, but it might help me attract a well-off client. Unsure exactly how to go about this, I exited the apartment and began walking down the street alone. It was dark out and the roads were foggy. We didn't live in the safest part of the city, so I was anxious being out there all by myself and exposed.
Walking cautiously, I tried to figure out exactly how to go about this. Where should I go? Where would be crowded at this time of night, but where there weren't any police? I can't risk getting arrested; that would leave Yuri totally helpless. To be honest, I was shaking; I was petrified and I think planning was my mental way of detaching myself from the situation. I knew it would be horrible; I knew tonight would be the worst night of my life, but I didn't really see any other way. Taking in a deep breath, I winced my teary eyes shut. No, stop crying. Stop crying….. You have to stop crying.
By now I was in front of one of the city's larger downtown parks. It had plenty of benches and tall trees, but nobody was around, or so I thought. I was caught quite off guard and by surprise when all of a sudden there was a man standing there at the opposite end of the park. I knew he was a man right away, though a rather strange-looking one. There was something other-worldly about him, something immediately off….. I don't really know how to describe it. He was tall and slender, but his clothes were….. I'd never seen anything quite like them before. He looked as if he was dressed in a five-hundred-year-old suit. His hair was dark brown and worn in the long fashion, which was weird since the party banned long hair on young men recently. His skin was nauseatingly pale and his eyes….. There was something about those eyes, almost red in colour. They were the kind of eyes that looked at you and through you at the same time. An intimidating figure, to say the least.
For a moment the two of us simply stood there, watching each other. I wasn't sure if he wanted to approach me or not; he definitely wasn't an old man. He was quite beautiful actually, overlooking his pale skin… I'd never seen anyone like him before, nor would I ever again. He didn't make a sound the entire time, but he frowned, as if he was reading my mind and knew what I was set out to do- and he obviously didn't approve. My fingers curled a bit in discomfort and embarrassment. That's the first time I really came to and asked myself what I'm doing? Seriously, what the hell am I doing? Dear lord, how could I have thought to do that to myself? No… No, this is wrong; this is very, very wrong. I know better….. I have to do better for Yuri…. and myself.
The man and I locked eyes for a second longer, me grinning in gratitude to him. He didn't mirror my expression per se, but I could tell he was pleased with my new resolve. The kind stranger, whoever he was, relaxed his posture slightly. A cool autumn breeze blew over both of us, rustling both of our hair. My smile widened only until a dog barking in the distance made me jump a little. I looked in the direction of the barking to see nothing, and when I blinked back, he was nowhere to be seen.
My heartbeat picked up rapidly. "W-Where'd he go?" I heard my voice for the first time since I left the house. No, it was impossible for him to just disappear like this. This park was big but it wasn't massive; I would still be able to see him if he was nearby. But it was like he vanished off the face of the earth, leaving no trace of himself behind. In a mild state of shock and somewhat frightened all of a sudden, I turned right around and headed straight back home.
Somehow, I was able to keep Yuri and I afloat for a few more years before considering that profession again. This time I brought it up to Yuri, who was unsurprisingly horrified and disgusted. He announced that he'd never let his sister do such work and he'd step up to earn more money from that day on. Soon after, Yuri became an assassin and we had more wealth than we could ever dream of. I wasn't happy that he chose that profession, but the political climate was becoming more unstable by the day and I didn't earn enough to send Yuri to university. It was a necessary evil, he told me. I never saw any of his work nor got involved in his affairs career-wise, but Yuri was apparently a very good assassin. Soon enough his boss wanted him to move away, which he did only after securing me in a better neighbourhood and I found a job for appearance's sake. I think Yuri was more worried about the move than I was; I knew by now that he'd be ok on his own. He wasn't so sure about me.
Right before he left though, we went to the history museum together. We entered a large room full of painting and portraits. While Yuri passed them nonchalantly with his hands clasped behind his back, I trailed along, studying each painting.
They were all very lovely. There was one portrait which stuck out to me, however. It was of a man; an earl of some sort, a title which didn't exist anymore. He died in his late twenties apparently, before he was able to marry and produce an heir to his family's line. His manor existed where the park now was in the heart of downtown; burnt down long ago and never rebuilt it would seem. He was an attractive fellow, with longish dark brown hair and piercing eyes, nearly red I'd say.
Yuri paused and gazed back to see that I wasn't following him anymore, rather staring at the painting instead. He re-joined my side, also glancing up at it ponderingly. "Seems like a stiff guy. You like this one?" He asked me. "He looks familiar somehow….." I said perplexed, tilting my head to the side a bit. Yuri nodded and then read the inscription. "Kaname Kuran, died age twenty-eight around five hundred years ago. It says here "loving son"….. Huh, I guess he never married," Yuri straightened his back, gazing up at the portrait again. My eyes glued onto his in the painting; those red eyes which looked so familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on from where exactly….
By the time I was twenty years old, I'd forgotten all about that awful night or that man I saw in the park. It all faded into memory and had completely vanished in my adulthood. Still, every single time I saw that portrait something about those eyes grabbed my attention. There was a nagging feeling in my brain I could never quite figure out. Something about those red, glowing eyes…..
I never saw that man again.