Slight non-graphic trigger warning with mentions of violence, suicide, mental trauma, and grief.
Kazuo Nakamura had been born a healthy, happy baby and grew into a handsome and capable student. As an only child to his parents, who had struggled to conceive for some years after their marriage, he had been a blessed addition. He was raised with warmth and care and loved wholeheartedly by his parents and grandparents.
It was in middle school when he'd met a girl named Megumi. Their friendship had quickly blossomed into a budding middle school romance as their teenage emotions of fondness escalated into adoration and love. She never divulged about the world she and her family belonged too, but back then it hadn't seemed to matter to either of them.
On the last day of middle school, just before their summer vacation, Megumi had reviled that she would be going to a different high school than had originally been decided and wouldn't be able to see him anymore. When he'd asked about meeting up over the summer shed denied, claiming her family had organised summer classes and wouldn't have the time to see him.
However, Kazuo knew his girlfriend and after some probing, Megumi admitted that her family had forbidden her from seeing him again. He'd been upset but Megumi had said she would speak to them to get them to understand and reconsider. Kazuo had felt better after this, Megumi had always spoken highly of her family, though he'd never met any of them. She was quick to assure him, they were just trying to look out for her future, that she could explain to them that a different school shouldn't mean they couldn't be together. So, he'd gone home that day with a happy smile after sharing his first chased peck on his lips with his girlfriend.
It would be two days before Kazuo heard from Megumi. She appeared on his doorstep on that early Sunday afternoon with a bag on her shoulder and dried tear tracks running down her cheeks. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she was red-faced from walking so far from her home to his in the hot Sun. Once he got over his shock at her state, Kazuo ushered her into his home where his mother quickly fretted over her, bringing water and an ice lolly to cool her down. She revealed to him and his parents that day, that she had been forced to choose between her family and their duty-bound honour, and Kazuo, so, she had.
His parents had always been fond of Megumi, so easily offered her to stay as long as she needed, saddened at the sight of the usually cheery young girl who sat so despondent and fragile at their kitchen table. Mrs Nakamura, a generally even-minded person, had been furious after hearing what Megumi had endured. She'd offered to visit Megumi's family and speak with them to "make them see sense" as she'd put it while comically twisting the rolling pin in her hands, she'd been using to roll out pastry for a tart she'd been baking.
Megumi had been touched that Kazuo and his parents would take her in and were so willing to defend her. She knew however, there was no use in trying to reason with Hunters. She thanked Mr and Mrs Nakamura for letting her into their home but asked them not to worry themselves. She'd been told to either stay or go, choosing to leave meant she was no longer part of that family. They'd washed their hands of her.
So, Megumi became a part of the Nakamura household and quickly fell into the dynamic of the loving family and soon, the pain in her eyes dimmed but never truly left them, something Kazuo hated her family for, for the rest of his life.
One day, once the pair were in high school, Kazuo's mother suddenly fainted while at work. It took two weeks for the doctors to come back with the diagnosis of terminal cancer which had gone completely undetected until it travelled to her brain. Her battle had been mercifully brief and somewhat painless, but her degeneration had hit Kazuo's farther hard. The funeral had been held just three months later, leaving Nakamura senior in a devastating depression, and the two, young teens to pick up the slack to pay the bills.
The pair took up after school and weekend jobs while Nakamura senior grieved, making sure to keep the lights on and the water running, but the man was inconsolable. Kazuo leant heavily on Megumi at that time, waking himself in the middle of the night crying to find her in his room, at his bedside, gently soothing him and stroking his face and hair. She'd been kind, patient and understanding to both of them when their emotions overtook them. She was a shoulder for Kazuo to cry on and a reassuring hand for Nakamura senior, when he was able to lift his head out of the miserable fog, he was trapped in.
Megumi had mentioned a few times about seeking professional mental care for his father, but Kazuo had been reluctant. His father had always been a proud man and had always made it a point to never be overemotional. He'd brushed Megumi's concerns away, convinced he would take care of his father, that he was enough. It wasn't until Kazuo came home late from work one night, did he understand his father's true state of mind. Nakamura senior had tried to commit suicide, by hanging himself in his bedroom. Thankfully, Megumi had found him in time and called an ambulance.
The authorities got involved after that. Nakamura senior had been placed in a psychiatric ward for mental health and bereavement therapy and placed on suicide watch. For the most part, the social and support workers left the teens to fend for themselves, with visits every other week during the year Nakamura senior survived in the hospital before he succeeded in reuniting with his wife.
Kazuo's life had crumbled beneath his feet. He feared he would sink into the same darkness that had claimed his father. Bitterness ate at him for not saving his father, for his father not wanting to stay for him. Yet, Megumi, his Megumi, had held onto him and guided him through the terrible darkness. She remained patient, comforting and strong for him when he could not. She'd dealt with the funeral arrangements when they came to be too much, she handled the bills when he lost track of them, she took charge of the shopping, cooking, and cleaning, and eventually, during their last year of high school, the resentment and pain had diminished enough for Kazuo to believed her when she said they'd be ok.
He'd felt so blessed, so lucky to have a love like Megumi, someone he could live with, grow with, and support. He'd proposed on their graduation day, having saved for over two years to afford a half-decent ring. He hadn't planned to propose so soon, but after everything she'd done for him and how much he loved her, he could think of no reason to wait to give the girl of his dreams the devotion and stability she'd missed since she was ostracised by her family. He hadn't been able to afford a diamond, but she'd always liked sapphires and had cried like a baby when he'd dropped to one knee at dinner that evening with a white-gold ring, set with a simple, solitaire-cut, blue sapphire.
After high school, the pair went right into the working world, picking up full-time jobs as soon as they could. They were adults now, living in their own apartment. They'd had to sell Kazuo's childhood home to cover the medical and funeral costs for Nakamura senior. Their marriage had been humble, a small affair with a registrar and a few close friends, and a reception at their local pub. However, Megumi had still had a secret to share with her new husband, one she decided to reveal two days after their wedding.
At first, Kazuo had laughed but at the serious expression on his new bride's face, had tried to reason her claims away as nonsense, myths, folklore no different to the boogieman. She continued to argue their existence to the extend Kazuo even began questioning her sanity, but she took him out that night, spending hours searching in a secluded village north of the city, and showed him a Vampire. She called the creature a Level E, killing it, reducing it to a shower of dust with the use of a beautifully designed yet, lethal-looking dagger.
He'd been petrified and had demanded Megumi tell him everything she'd kept from him, and she had. Patiently, she'd answered every question and explained every aspect from The Hunters Association that she'd been born into, to The Vampire Council, their role, and their influence. She revealed the origin of Vampires, the twist historians wrote in to make sense of Vampire activity in the past, all of it. Naturally, after being made aware of the monsters which hid in the shadows, Kazuo was more apprehensive than most when Megumi told him she was expecting, just after their second wedding anniversary.
Megumi had to constantly reassure her husband that Humans, in general, rarely met Vampires and even more rarely, ones out to cause trouble. They were in the middle of a large city, meaning, any rogue Vampire or Level E would draw the attention of The Hunters Association and would be dispatched quickly. Still, it didn't stop Kazuo pulling his hair out every time Megumi was home late from work, or shopping, or out on a stroll.
The day she came had been the happiest and most stressful day of Kazuo's life! Megumi had been thoroughly agitated for weeks, her hormones sending her emotions into overdrive. But this day had been the cherry on top of an overly dramatic cake. Megumi had complained about being too hot, then too cold, then her feet hurt, then her head and tummy, until finally, she was quiet for a full ten minutes. Kazuo was preparing their evening meal and folding laundry when the silence started to unnerve him, and he curiously walked from the kitchen to check on his heavily pregnant wife in the living room.
Decked out in a frilly, pink apron donned with small yellow flowers that he'd bought Megumi as a joke anniversary present, and spoon in hand, Kazuo found his wife staring in utter shock at the dirty, pink stain on the cream carpet of their newly rented two-bedroom house. Her waters had broken, and she had been too shocked to move or even call out.
Kazuo wasted no time and quickly dashed to collect the hospital bag he'd packed a week ago, then back into the kitchen, plucking all the documents they needed off the top of the fridge and ripped off his apron. He rushed to the front door and threw himself into his coat and shoes, grabbed the car keys from the key bowl by the door then made his way to his petrified wife with her shoes and coat in hand.
The labour had been quick but tiering for Megumi and had left Kazuo feeling less than useless at his wife's cries. By the early hours of the next morning, Akane Nakamura lay in her father's arms while her mother gingerly washed in the shower cubicle in the hospital room. Kazuo had pulled himself away from his daughter long enough to help his exhausted wife dry off and dress, then kissed both his girls lightly on their weary heads and left them to properly rest. The next day, they'd all gone home together and had enjoyed twelve wonderful and peaceful years as a simple trio. Akane's first tooth, first word, first tantrum, all of it, Kazuo had never been more happy or grateful, than in those moments. Then, that woman came.
Megumi had been in the kitchen, getting dinner ready for when Akane came home from school. Kazuo hadn't long got home from work and had just taken a shower. His dark blonde hair was still damp as he padded down the stairs, ready to help his wife in the kitchen despite her insistence that he was more of a hindrance than a help.
There had been no warning, just Megumi rushing from the kitchen, a knife in hand and a panicked look. The front door was thrown open to reveal a tall, beautiful white-haired woman, dressed in a pale, pink kimono. A scream, Kazuo wasn't sure if it was him or Megumi that had cried out or both, but after he looked into the lavender eyes of the intruder, everything turned red. Later his memory of the attack would be nothing but anguished cries, blood, and sirens.
He awoke in hospital the next day and the police were called at once to question him. He endured test after test to decide whether he was fit to be discharged and mentally stable enough to take back responsibility for Akane. They'd clung to each other and wept when she'd come to see him for the first time, both spouting apologies and confirmations of love. He'd been so grateful she was safe and yet, so incredibly sad. Akane looked so much like her mother. The same dark hair, pale skin, button nose and sharp features. Kazuo finally understood the pain his father had endured. When the one person to love you for no other reason, than for being you, when they're gone, it's such a soul-destroying numbness that overtakes you, that you think, how can I feel anything, when my reason for living is gone?
Kazuo had held his daughter close until it was time for her to leave, promising he'd recover quickly. She'd nodded, clinging to the arm of her foster mother who reassured him Akane was safe and to concentrate on getting well. Soon, sooner than his doctors had thought, Kazuo was fit to be discharged. Akane had come to visit him for the first time in over a week and had been so relieved her father would be leaving the hospital.
Akane's visits had been his saving grace. He'd had times of awful grief, but every visit shook him. He had to pull himself together for her, she'd lost her mother and nearly lost her father. He hadn't even been able to be there for her at her mother's funeral. He was all she had, and he was damned if he failed her, damned if he let her feel the way he had after losing his mother. That night, he'd drifted to sleep absently pondering where Akane had gotten that nice new perfume, only to wake up with a start some hours before sunrise.
Kazuo didn't quite understand how, but he could sense her. She wasn't in his room, but she was close and getting closer. That woman, no, creature, who'd invaded his home, killed his wife and nearly killed him, hurting him and his child in a way he could never repair. He just thanked whatever God was out there, that Akane had been dithering with her friends on her way home from school that day, or his world would have been completely destroyed.
Agonising moments past until his door opened, and she glided into the room to stand by his bedside. His heart clenched as his mind buzzed with the information Megumi had told him about this type of Vampire. He understood now. The Vampire was a Pureblood. She'd bitten him, which meant, he was to become a Vampire and would fall to the same sorry state as the wretched thing Megumi had killed all those years ago.
"You know why I am here?" Her voice had been soft, soothing, just a whisper in the dark. He imagined, that if he didn't look at her, he could forget she was a psychopathic, murdering, monster, dragged from the depths of his nightmares. "I need you to do something for me. I can imagine your unwillingness to cooperate," she went on to say, as Kazuo glowered up at her with fiery anger he had not possessed in his life until now. "You are bound to my command."
The monster had graced him with a gentle smile at his furious gaze.
"Tomorrow, you will leave with your child. Where you go is not important. You will control yourself, and not allow her scent to entice you to feed. The pain will intensify the more you deny yourself, but you must protect your child… isn't that right?" His scowl deepened at her pained expression as if she could cry at any moment. "Eventually, the pain will be unbearable. When that happens, come to me, and I will give you your instructions."
Kazuo remained stoic until the thing left his room, leaving him laying for hours in a confused and troubled state. Was she letting them go? No, she said she'd give him instructions when Akane's scent is too much. What the hell does that mean? He'd found out the next day when the social worker had brought Akane to meet him outside the hospital after he was discharged. Akane's scent had intensified, or his senses had become stronger, either way, he was transfixed. Divine but so painful.
He fretted internally over how he was to keep her safe but remembered the command that woman had given him. He couldn't feed on her. For some time, this thought had comforted Kazuo, but all too quickly, he found himself hunched over his daughter's sleeping form as she snuggled up in bed, with the burning rising into an inferno, raging within him. He'd contemplated seeking out these Hunters but easily dismissed the idea. The disdain he had for those people after how they'd treated a child barely older than his daughter now, he could never trust them to keep Akane safe.
They hadn't gone back to the house, too many memories. Still, Kazuo hadn't wanted to simply uproot his daughter from the only place she'd ever known. He found a small two-bed house at the end of a quiet street, some forty minutes from her school on the other side of the city than they'd lived before. Megumi and Kazuo had decided never to tell Akane about Vampires and Hunters, allowing them to remain in the realm of fiction. Now, as he was one of them, Kazuo had to be even more careful to make sure to keep the monsters at bay. He'd have to hunt. He didn't want to hurt innocent people, but if it meant keeping his child free of the disgusting craving he had for her blood, he would slaughter thousands.
Days turned into weeks and eventually months, and Kazuo was becoming increasingly desperate. Even the binding command of a Pureblood wasn't weakening his resolve to hold his bloodlust in for much longer. It was the anniversary of Megumi's death that proved to be the breaking point for Kazuo. He'd found himself becoming more physically dominant over his daughter, grabbing her arm too tightly or having the need to chase her if she moved past him too quickly.
She'd been washing the dishes after their evening meal, a meal he'd spent merely moving the food across his plate while fighting to keep himself seated. He was oblivious to the nervous glances Akane sent him, watching as he played with his food. He had stepped right behind her while she worked, towering over her smaller form. It was so tempting to just give in, to just have a taste. His hand had raised and with every inch gained in her direction the pain intensified. He tore himself away and left the house. That night, he sought out that woman.
End.