Eyes Red as Blood

Nineteenth Night:

All in all, Arisu decided to stay at the manor instead of going to the Hanabusa residence for the remainder of her time away from the Academy. The two adults didn't question her decision. Rather, they had been ecstatic. Unfortunately for Nathaniel, it meant an extensive shopping trip to the nearby town a couple of days into the vacation.

"Hey, you're the one that offered to drive us," Reiko reminded him when he started to complain on the way back to the manor.

"Yes, but I didn't think you two would take hours!"

Arisu muffled her laughter into her palm as she looked out the car window. It was rather nice to be out of the Academy. I wonder what Kaname is doing. She chose not to dwell on it and closed her eyes as the car's movement lulled her to sleep. They reached the manor when night had fallen.

"So what are you going to do with your remaining day?" Reiko asked as the three got out of the car.

"I might head on over to the lake and just relax," Arisu replied thoughtfully. "Or read. Would you like to come?"

"No, no. As much as I like to be outside during the day, my head hurts," the older woman replied, glancing at Nathaniel. He raised his hands up with his palms facing towards them.

"I see no problem with Arisu going alone," He said.

"As long as one of our familiars goes with her." He added as an afterthought when Reiko looked sternly at him while Arisu smiled.

"I'm fine with that. I'm going to sleep at the moment. I need to replenish my energy." She gathered her bags, refusing Nathaniel's help when he offered to carry them in. In reality she hadn't bought much for herself. Most of what was in the bags were gifts for the others.

Once in her room, Arisu placed the bags near her suitcase before changing into a long sleeved night gown. Arisu slipped into fitful sleep, but she couldn't remember what her dreams were about when she woke up the following morning. The same unsettling feeling stuck with her even as she brushed her hair. She was sitting down in front of her vanity table, looking at her reflection in the mirror. It felt like someone was watching her.

Quietly she placed the brush on the table and glanced around the room through the mirror. Nothing was out of place as far as she could tell, so she shook her head in a vain attempt to get rid of her rattled state.

Arisu screamed when she looked down and recoiled from her vanity table. The mirror had red dripping down, obscuring her reflection. Her nose caught the scent of fresh blood, and she panicked. She frantically stood, smearing her hands with the red liquid in her haste. Arisu leaned against the door frame once she had slammed it shut behind herself.

"Arisu! Are you alright?" Reiki frantically asked as she was running toward her.

"What happened?" Nathaniel wasn't far behind.

Can they not see the blood on my hands? she thought through her panic. When she looked down at her upturned palms, she saw no trace of it. Then that means…

"…In my room... I think I saw a mouse in my room." She schooled her face into a sheepish expression though her heart was still hammering in her chest.

Reiko shifted her gaze to the door, but didn't look convinced. Arisu had looked extremely rattled for it to have only been a mouse.

"That's no good. I had heard about the recent infestations in the city, but I'd never thought the vermin would make their way out here," Nathaniel spoke up from behind Reiko. His voice calm and understanding. "May we take a look in your room?"

"Of course," Arisu replied, turning around to clutch the door knob in her hand. She slowly opened the door and glanced at the vanity table. Everything was pristine white once again. There was no trace of what she had seen.

Reiko hummed to herself as she walked around the room looking for the imaginary mouse.

"Maybe, it went outside," Nathaniel suggested. He walked toward the open french doors of the balcony. He walked out and glanced around before coming back in. "You should probably keep the balcony door closed for if it did scurry outside."

"It must have. I can't find any trace of it anywhere, and there are no holes in the walls either," Reiko said, walking back from the bathroom within Arisu's room.

Arisu stood cradling her left hand in her right. The pain was lessening.

Reiko looked at her worriedly. She would concede to the mouse story, but not to Arisu concealing a possible injury.

"Don't worry. It's nothing. I must have put my weight on it wrong in my haste to get out of the room," Arisu explained. She hadn't felt it when she initially fell, but now that she was over her panic and the adrenaline rush, she could feel the pain. No matter, it will heal very soon. She could already feel the split aligning into place now that she was vampire again.

"Well, that's enough excitement for one day!" Reiko declared. She mused about getting a cat or terrier as she left the room just for show.

Nathaniel reminded Arisu to keep the balcony door shut as he closed the door behind him.

Arisu was left alone once again. Quickly she went over to her vanity and just stared at it. Her reflection stared back. Nothing had happened. She reached out to touch the mirror, but sighed and dropped her hand at her side. Odd dreams and hallucinations all in one day; great. Hopefully they wouldn't get as worse as before. She briskly walked over to her closet and pulled out a black and white tracksuit. Not her most stylish clothing but the most comfortable. And the easiest to move in. Before leaving the room she clutched the Artemis rod in her pocket. Arisu was pleasantly surprised when she saw a warm breakfast waiting for her in the kitchen. There was a folded card next to it.

I am certain that you will want to eat before you leave. Considering your reluctance to drink tablets whenever possible, I decided to prepare breakfast for you. I don't want to see a single thing left!

-Nathaniel

She smiled to herself as she sat down to eat, but frowned as she turned human again. I need to drink blood soon, she thought noting that her wrist felt tender where it had fractured. It should have fully healed already, but hadn't. Arisu shrugged off the dull ache and continued eating until she had finished everything. She placed the dishes into the kitchen sink before grabbing a black overcoat that was hanging by the back door. It was big on her, so she knew it was most likely Nathaniel's. I'm sure he won't mind, she thought as she slipped it on. Arisu stepped out into the patio and headed in the direction of the gardens.

Along the way she stopped to pet a golden brown squirrel that had been following her. Nathaniel hadn't changed his familiar even though she was older now. It squeaked and scurried away.

So silent vigilance it is, she chuckled to herself. Arisu quickly made it out the back gate behind the gardens. A little over half an hour of brisk walking off the trail would lead her to a nearby lake.

Arisu rarely went to there. The few times she had gone to the lake had been a secret when she had snuck out of the manor in order to be completely alone. I wonder how long it's been since I've come back, she thought. The sun was steadily rising when she approached the lake. The birds hiding in the trees were chirping, and she allowed herself to relax despite what had occurred earlier in the morning. Through the trees she could see the sparkling surface of the lake. Arisu settled herself under a large oak tree by the edge of the lake. A while later she realized that she hadn't brought anything with her other than the coat. I should have thought this through. She groaned. Resting her head against the tree, she closed her eyes.

Arisu rejoiced in the warmth from the sun as she opened her eyes once again to gaze at the lake. Maybe I'll go for a short swim. There's no one here. This is technically private property, so no strangers should be coming around.

Deciding it to be a good idea, Arisu removed her clothing save for her undergarments and tentatively stepped into the lake. The frosty water didn't discourage her as she fully submerged herself in it. She could have cast a quick warming charm on herself or the lake, but she would have warmed up eventually as the sun reached its peak. Besides, if it became too cold for her human form, she could always turn vampire. The young woman swam on instinct, without thought, towards the center of the lake. She stopped there and turned around to float on her back. Here, the sounds of the birds were starting to fade away, and the ratting of leaves could only be heard faintly. Arisu stayed there looking up at the blue sky, noting the occasional cumulonimbus. She could have stayed there for hours as her thoughts drifted to others things.

"Kai, would you like tea?" Arisu asked, walking into the kitchen. After the two had come back from their impromptu stroll through the gardens, the adults retired to the game room stating that they too needed to have fun once in a while. Friendly banter started among them as they each declared themselves to be the winner in the imminent pool match.

"If it isn't be too much trouble, Arisu," Kai replied following her into the room.

"It would, but I'll brew you some anyways," she replied jokingly. "Green or Black?"

"Blue," Kai replied. He kept a straight face as Arisu gave him a pointed look.

"Black tea with no sugar or milk it is," Arisu declared giving him no further choice.

"Fine by me," Kai replied as learning against the wall next to the door. He watched her methodically take out the tea set and tray. She poured water in the glass pot and moved to place some tea leaves in it. "But you haven't heated the water."

She smugly smiled at him as vapor rose from the water she had just poured in.

"A simple heating spell," she explained as the tea leaves colored the water an amber color. She placed two chocolate croissants on a small saucer plate on the silver tray with the tea cups and pot.

"So you cast?" He asked. Kai stepped forward to take the tray for her. She let him and walked to the parlor.

"I'm not as learned as my mother was, but I am fairly decent," she replied preparing her own tea by adding a cube of sugar.

"Somehow I'd venture to say you'd be more than decent," he snorted accepting the pure cup of tea she poured for him, "Does the council know of this?"

"They do not. Nor do I want them to know." She looked amusedly at him over the rim of her tea cup, "And you, Kai, what powers do you have?"

"I'm afraid I'm quite average by pure blood standards." He smiled back.

She scoffed. "An average pure blood wouldn't be able to hide he was pure blood from others."

Kai chuckled and took a sip of the tea. "You've got me there. Similar to how you are able to switch between vampire and human, which I want to know how you do, I am able to mask my presence."

"Were you born with this ability?"

"I've had it as long as I can remember, if that answers your question." He gazed at her quizzically, "I assume you didn't have your ability since birth."

"As I said, my mother was an excellent spell aster, could have even been considered a witch," she was smiling, but it soon disappeared, "before my parents passed, she cast a spell on me." Kai was evidently surprised, but Arisu continued her explanation, "It's not an ordinary spell like the one I used today. Given the nature and outcome of the one my mother used, she had to have sacrificed half of her remaining life."

Kai remained silent, unsure of how to respond.

Now Arisu smiled, glad that she came here. Had she listened to Kaname she never would have gained a new ally. She reached up with both her hands to frame the sky over head, but ended up sputtering when she began to sink into the lake. Arisu managed to get her head above water before she could swallow any.

I might as well swim back, she decided and began to make her way back. Casting a quick drying spell on her 'swimming clothes,' she was able to fully dress in her track suit once again. It wasn't until she had laid out the coat on the ground to sit on top of it that she realized just how eerily quiet it had become.

A soft whisper calling her back to the lake caused her to freeze. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the golden brown squirrel scurry out of the tree it was hiding in. It was either reacting to her or to something else.

"I'll be fine," she spoke to it. The squirrel squeaked back, but remained where it was. She reached to get Artemis and cautiously made her way back to the lake edge. Undoubtedly the squirrel ran after her. There was no reason for her to have heard any voices; there was no one there. Arisu felt herself step into the lake and sighed. She was getting worked up over nothing, so she trudged back to her tree. Quickly she gathered her things, and was about to leave when she glanced back.

There were bodies on the ground and pools of blood under them. Bloody footprints led to where she was.

"No. No. No. Not again." She whimpered. Tears blurred her vision and terror seized her. Faintly she could hear the squirrel screeching, but she couldn't focus. She sobbed, clutching at her sides as she sunk to the ground.

The woman with unruly hair was laying down with her hand extended towards the other figure. The white dress she wore was torn and her skin was sickly pale just like his. He was laying not too far away with his hand outstretched to his beloved. They were out of reach. Their blood stained the white snow red.

"Arisu! I told you to stay inside!"

The little girl wailed and tried to get to where her mother was. Her brother reached down and swept her up in his arms. He tucked her head into his shoulder as she continued to wail. "Sh, sh. Don't look. It's going to be alright." He rocked her in his arms trying to calm her down as he walked back to the manor. "Listen to me, Arisu. Everything will be all right."

She tightened her grip on his shirt subconsciously.

He continued to comfort her as he rushed into the ancestors' room. It was the room at the heart of the manor. The small child managed to quiet down on instinct. It was dangerous. They were always told never to go in there as they might awaken the ancestor who was in slumber.

At the moment, however, it was the safest room; it could only be opened by the Kuran. Kaname leaned down and placed Arisu on the ground behind the single stone sarcophagus in the center of the back wall. She refused to let go and whimpered in protest clutching at his sleeves. "Ari... Arisu. Look at me, Arisu." The little girl looked as if she could burst into more tears. "I have to go out there-" her face contorted with panic and fear "-I have to find Yuki, so please just stay here until I get back. You'll be safe in here, I know that."

Her bottom lip quivered, but she slowly nodded and removed her hands.

Kaname smiled sadly. She was so tiny, her hands balled into fists as her side, nose dripping with snot, and tears threatening to spill anew. Even if she looked so fragile and small at that moment, he knew she was strong. He could tell by the way she refused to ask him to stay despite how scared she was, how she refused to cry in front of him now that she knew Yuki was still out there. She attempted to rub the tears away, but to no avail. Kaname ruffled her head before turning around and swiftly exiting the room.

"Arisu..."

Arisu flinched away when she felt something touch her shoulder.

"It's us. Calm down. You're safe."

She finally looked up.

Reiko worriedly looked down at her. The older female knelt down and pulled her into an embrace. Arisu tensed, for a moment before leaning into Reiko without saying a word. Nathaniel was standing not too far away with his familiar sitting atop his shoulder. The squirrel happily nuzzled his master's face, knowing it had done well in alerting them.

"Arisu –

"Don't… don't tell Kaname, please," the girl pleaded to both of them. It had been a while since the last time the hallucinations had been hat vivid. She usually did her best to block out those memories. This was the result.

"It would be better if he knew, you know that," Reiko tried consoling her, but Arisu shook her head as she pulled away.

"No! He can't know." Besides it's not like he can do anything about it.

Reiko said nothing and pulled Arisu back into her arms until she visibly calmed down.

"Let's go back. Can you walk?" Arisu nodded weakly; allowing Reiko to help her up. The three of them walked back to the manor and into Arisu's room. Reiko was about to leave to make Arisu a cup of hot chocolate, but Arisu clutched onto her coat sleeve.

"I'll go. Stay with her," Nathaniel whispered, touching Reiko's shoulder as he left to the kitchen.

"Let's get you out of those clothes," Reiko instructed as she closed the door to the room. She pulled out a nightgown from the closet and helped Arisu into it just like she used to when the teen was but a child.

Wordlessly, Arisu complied and crawled under the covers of her bed while Reiko went to retrieve a bath towel to dry her hair. When Nathaniel entered, Arisu was sitting on her bed, propped up with pillows and the towel draped on her shoulders. Reiko sat next to her. He handed her the warm mug, his eyes softened as she held it close to her..

"Arisu, this morning, it was not a rat that startled you." Her crestfallen expression confirmed their suspicion before she even spoke.

"It wasn't as bad as the lake."

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't tell us," Reiko scolded softly.

"I'm sorry," Arisu stared at the hot chocolate as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

"All right, apology accepted, but you have to tell us what happened," Nathaniel insisted.

"I'm not quite sure myself. Usually the hallucinations don't occur at random. They usually happen closer to the anniversary of… well, you know."

"Was it the same as it usually is?"

"Somewhat," Arisu replied after a moment, "This morning was a bit different. Usually, I can tell when it's a hallucination, but this morning felt strange. Too real. Maybe because it hasn't happened in a while."

"What was it exactly," Reiko coaxed.

"There was blood everywhere… The one at the lake triggered the memories of what happened that night." She ran her hand through her hair, "Seeing my murdered parents did a number on me, huh?" Arisu attempted a weak smile, but was met with worried stares. She sighed and sipped the rest of her hot chocolate.

"Ari –

"How about we talk of something else?"

The two adults frowned, but relented when they saw the desperation in her eyes. They glanced at each other before Reiko turned to face Arisu again.

"Earlier in the day Kaname called. He said he'll be coming to pick you up tomorrow." Arisu fidgeted with her sheets. "So it would be best if you start packing later once you have rested."

"Would you like me to prepare lunch for you tomorrow?" Nathaniel asked.

"It would be greatly appreciated," Arisu replied with a genuine smile this time, "I don't want to intrude on your sleep any longer so…"

"Ah, so this is how she kicks us out, Reiko," Nathaniel joked, further lifting the mood of the room.

Reiko smiled, but they could tell she was still worried.

"I'm completely fine now." Arisu consoled reaching out to the older woman. "Besides, it wasn't as bad as other times."

"What worries me is that they are back in the first place." She took Arisu's hand in hers, "Say something next time. You can rely on us… and Kaname."

Arisu squeezed her hand, "Alright."

With that Nathaniel asked for the empty mug and made his way out of the room followed by Reiko. Arisu sat looking out the balcony window. It was still extremely bright, being only mid-day. She threw the covers over her head, deciding it best if she took a quick nap before packing.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

She woke up much later than she had expected to, but at least she was feeling refreshed, managing to squash any unpleasant thoughts form the morning. Moving over to the balcony doors, she gazed out into the garden before deciding to open the doors to let a slight breeze in. After that Arisu began selecting and folding the clothes she would take with her. She felt accomplished when she was able to fit everything in a single suit case. The clock said it was still only five in the afternoon.

When the sun had set, Reiko found her in a corner of the library room, sitting on the floor reading. "There you are. How long have you been here?"

"Since five something," came the reply. She was still engrossed in her book, so Reiko snatched it away, forcing Arisu to look up at her.

"Will you be dinning with us or would you rather go to sleep?"

"I'll join you two for a meal," Arisu responded after some deliberation. She had come to the conclusion that despite whatever decision she made, she would be forced to drink a blood tablet.

"All right, I will tell Nathaniel. Come to the dining room in an hour." Reiko handed her the book back and walked out of the room.

Arisu went back to reading, and barely made it to the dinning room before Reiko came to look for her. She was indeed forced to drink a blood tablet with her drink. After the meal, she stayed up talking to the two for as long as her human body allowed her to. She woke up to bright light streaming through the window as Reiko pushed the curtains back. Vaguely Arisu registered the woman tell her to get up… Did she just say that Kaname was almost here? I don't know… I'll just sleep a bit more. Her heavy eyelids closed.

"Arisu, are you going to make me wait all day for you?" Her eyes shot open. Kaname's overgrown bangs slipped onto his face as he peered down at her. He was looming over her with his face ever so close to her own.

A/N: Aha, great job in posting chapters often, me. Great job in not starting any new stories, me.