Toshinori sighed softly as he looked at his reflection. Even though he had plenty of strength to spare, Toshinori knew that his reflection was a little faded, though it wasn't very noticeable. Giving a small smile to himself, the young man ran his fingers through his hair as he let out a soft sigh. What was he to do? He wasn't sure what was wrong with him.
He frowned a little more as he thought back to the park, it had only been two days since then but Toshinori knew that he was about to kiss her. He… he wanted to kiss her.
But why? He shouldn't even want too yet, a part of him, a hidden part of him wanted to kiss her. Covering his face, the vampire groaned a little as he tried to think as to why he would do such a thing in the first place? It just didn't make sense, it felt like everything was against him to the point where he would go mad.
Letting out a soft sigh, Toshinori leaned against the counter in the bathroom, his hands resting on the sink as he gave his reflection a serious look. "What am I missing? Why did I want to kiss Inko? I shouldn't want such a thing, and yet it is the one thing I seem to yearn for more than anything in the entire world." Lowering his gaze sadly, he tried to think what it was that he was missing, what was it that he could do to stop such a feeling in his chest when he was around her. What was he missing damn it?
"What am I to do? Why do I feel such things with a woman I barely know yet I want to know everything about her? I want to keep her safe, to keep her happy and smiling at all times. It hurts me to see her sad, and I want to protect her heart at all costs so, what is wrong with me?" asked Toshinori with a frown on his face.
"Simple, you're in love." Said Shouta, causing Toshinori to help as he whipped himself around and stared at the man before fixing his towel as it hung around his hips.
"Fuck Shouta! Don't do that damn it! I nearly had a heart attack!" shouted Toshinori.
"Can't have one if your heart doesn't even beat in the first place Toshi." Mumbled Shouta before he let out a soft sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. "Anyway, hurry up in here. I need to shower too ya know. I have a date tonight."
"Wait, what do you mean I'm in love? Come on, I don't feel anything remember? Most of my emotions are nothing but phantoms that are from the blood consumption." Toshinori said with a frown on his face.
"Who the hell are you kidding Toshi? You go to her, every single night to walk her home. You even told me about how she reacted to losing you because of that serial killer." Toshinori narrowed his eyes at that, he knew that something was up about that. The way Inko stared at him like she had witnessed his own death before, it had him worried for her mentality and knew that he had to do something to assure her that he would never leave her like that.
If anything, she would be the first thing to leave him first.
Taking a deep breath, Toshinori looked at the raven haired man before he asked "Doesn't mean I love her."
"It does. Think about it, you go so far out of your way to make her happy. Doing everything within your power to make sure that she is happy and always smiling." Shouta pointed out.
"So? I did the same thing for you when you were a child." Toshinori argued.
"Isn't the same thing. I was a child back then Toshinori, Inko is a full grown woman and you, even though you are five hundred years old in the vampire sense, are an adult man and even you have needs." Toshinori knew that if he could, he'd be blushing madly right now. Looking away, he tried to find something to say, anything to say to get him out of this awkward situation but no matter what, he couldn't think of something to say. It had just seemed as if everything that he could say would only back fire on him and he would be left in a corner.
"I'm right aren't I? You are looking out for her yes, but you also have to remember that you are still a man deep down. You can still feel something and for some reason, you can feel things while you are around Inko. I don't know what it is, but I know for a fact that you and her are connected somehow, not just by saving her as a child."
Toshinori started to grit his teeth, he felt like he was stuck in a corner, feeling as if he was trapped like a caged animal. He knew that he wanted to be with her, but damn it all. He couldn't because he… he… he was…
"You want to be with her, more than anyone I have ever seen you want to be with Toshi. I want you happy, if anyone deserves to feel happiness, to feel love it is you above all else! Why won't you give yourself this one little thing?!"
"Because she can never love a monster damn it!" shouted Toshinori as he slammed his fist against the mirror, shattering the glass, it imbedded itself in his hand yet Toshinori showed no signs of physical pain before he removed his fist from the shattered remains of the mirror. His bangs covering his eyes as his body trembled. "She could never love me Shouta. I'm a vampire, a fucking monster above all else. I shouldn't even be here in the first place yet here I am! I'm the living dead here, and I need blood in order to survive and yet I fell in love with a human woman whom I could never have her love me back!"
Toshinori shuddered, his heart, should it have had a beat to it, it would have been going a mile a minute from everything that had happened. He had felt so many emotions in a span of a few minutes and yet he didn't know where it even came from in the first place. It had felt as if he was in another space and time, as if he was in another body. One that he knew that he hadn't or shouldn't have been a part of but he knew that a part of him was.
Closing his eyes, the vampire took a deep breath as if trying to calm his nerves. Toshinori knew that he felt something for Inko, but wasn't it love? Was that really what he really felt for the green haired woman? "Shouta, I can't love her… she has a boyfriend, someone who loves her and who she loves!" Toshinori cried out, he looked up and stared at Shouta only to frown as the man seemed to be staring at him in shock.
"What?" Toshinori frowned at the raven haired man.
"Toshi, you're crying."
What?
Reaching up, the vampire touched his cheeks, his eyes widened as he felt moisture falling down his cheeks. How was this possible? Tears were impossible for him, he shouldn't be able to feel anything like this and yet, here he was. Tears streaming down his cheeks in an endless river as he rubbed at his eyes, trying to get all of this to stop.
It wasn't though.
"Why can't I stop?" asked Toshinori with a frown on his face.
"Because your heart is in turmoil Toshinori. Though, even I find it strange that you are able to cry tears for a change. Or, well cry at all." Shouta pointed out before he rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe it has something to do with your human life?"
"Right a life that I don't remember." Toshinori pointed out with a sigh.
"Now get out, I need a shower." Shouta grumbled before shoving the vampire out of the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
Letting out a groan, Toshinori rubbed at his face again as he felt the tears spilling down his cheeks. Why was it that his body decided to cry now of all times? It had felt as if everything was flowing through him at once, as if some kind of electric current was flowing through his body though it felt as if he was a human being again instead of a monster…
Frowning a little more, the young man reached up and touched his cheeks as he felt the tears streaming down his face still. When would this stop? Why was it happening and was it because he had gotten close to Inko? What next? He'll be able to sleep again? He highly doubted that part, it was amazing that he could even cry.
Closing his eyes, Toshinori knew that everything was happening too fast, at least in Inko's case. To him, it was happening at a slow pace for him, if that was correct. Time flowed differently for him after all, yet for Inko, it was happening too quickly for his liking and he wanted to spend as much time with her as much as he could. Yet, what could he do to stop such a thing? Not like Inko felt the same, he knew that much.
Taking a deep breath, the young man opened his eyes as he looked around and saw that the bathroom door was open again. It seemed that Shouta had finished his shower and was already in his bedroom. So that had to mean that the raven haired man was ready for his date with Hizashi, man that guy hasn't come by for a visit lately.
"Oh, Toshinori, if I were you I'd do some research on the attacks lately. I think you will be shocked at what it was that had been attacking humans lately." Shouta called out from his bedroom. Hm, he had a point in that, the attacks had concerned Inko to the point that she was worried about his own life. While she should have been more worried about her own instead. Taking a deep breath, the young man let out a groan as he reached up and rubbed at his eyes and found that his tears had finally stopped rolling down his cheeks.
Yet, he felt as if his eyes were still filled with tears but had refused to fall.
Hm, so his concern about Inko's safety and reassurance was what allowed the tears to stop. Putting on the TV, Toshinori saw that the news was talking about the murders once again. He saw that the news caster was talking about another victim though.
This time it was a woman that looked similar to Inko. Toshinori felt his body run cold, which he didn't think was possible.
No, he couldn't allow this to happen. The other victims all had something in common as they showed the images. A few of them were women, few were men. All of them all had one thing in common and he knew right away that he now had to protect Inko now more than ever before.
Gritting his teeth, Toshinori felt himself growing angry, the tears having long since forgotten as he snarled. Why? Why did this have to happen to a woman such as her?
Breathing deeply, the young man took a deep breath as he figured it out quicker than Shouta did. Though, that was because he was alive a lot longer than the boy. "Toshi?" called Shouta's voice.
"I know what the connection is. I know what we're facing here."
"But how? I mean I had an idea as to what was killing people but what is the reason for it?" asked Shouta.
"Someone is killing and draining people who have trademarks of Inko. See? Some of the women look like Inko, as do some of the men. While others have green hair or eyes. Inko is the target, and the killer is another vampire."
"So there is one out there."
"Yes. But, we've been lucky so far since Inko's been with me all this time."
"Right, you've been walking with her every night so she's been safe."
"Yes, but it is only a matter of time until the vampire feels brave enough to want to kill me. I'll have to prepare." Toshinori closed his eyes, he did have one weapon that could help him in the battle, though he knew that he still had to be careful with it as it could easily hurt him as well.
"You mean your sword? But that is so old fashioned."
"True, but it is the only thing that can hurt other vampires at our disposal right now. Silver is the only thing that can really hurt vampires besides the sun and we can't be sure the sun will work right now."
"Right."
"So, you keep doing some research on the vampire when you can and I'll protect Inko from any and all danger." Toshinori said with a snarl.
"Got it, just be careful."
"Always am my boy, always am."
Inko sighed softly as she looked at her reflection. Everything had been doing great so far with her and Toshinori, yet… with her and Hisashi. Not so much.
It had seemed as if the more time she spent with Toshinori, the less she felt for Hisashi. It wasn't that she didn't love him. Far from it in fact, yet it just felt as if she no longer loved him like a lover anymore and it upset her more than anything. How could she love a man that she barely knew in the first place? It felt as if everything was going against her heart and she felt like she was being torn in two. One half of her wanted to stay with Hisashi because she knew him longer. The other half, was telling her to stay with Toshinori because she loved him more than she had ever loved Hisashi.
Letting out a soft sigh, the young woman knew that she had to do something for the man at least. To make it a bit easier for him when she tells Hisashi that she was gonna have to break up with him. Yet, at the same time it still hurt her heart to do such a thing in the first place.
Groaning, she buried her face in her hands as she tried to get herself to calm down. Getting herself worked up like this wasn't going to solve anything that much was for sure. Yet, not going through with this as well was only going to hurt the two of them further down the road.
Sighing, Inko lifted her face from her hands as she gazed at her reflection. She knew what she had to do, and it was to tell Hisashi that it was over and done with. Oh if only she could talk to Mitsuki about this, she'd know what to do. Though at the same time she knew that she had to be careful as well, Hisashi was a gentle soul at the very least and knew that she had to be careful with her wording or she'd hurt him more than she ever wanted too.
Not that she did anyway.
Hisashi was home, so she would have to speak to him at the very least and knew that it was better to do it now before he left for the day… He didn't work so he wouldn't have such a hard time at work for the most part, though he would when he went to one of his conventions and that's what would hurt her.
"Hisashi?" asked Inko. Hoping that he was at least awake.
"Hmmm yes?" called Hisashi, still sounding half asleep. It seemed that he was still exhausted and knew that she would have to do this now while she had the nerve. Taking a deep breath, the young woman made her way over to the bedroom and saw the man sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes as he gazed up at her and gave her a sleepy smile. "Something wrong?" He asked with a yawn before he started to stretch his arms above his head.
"I… I have to say that I think… I'm not in love with you anymore." She whispered so softly, she was sure that the man wouldn't have heard her. Hisashi frowned a little before giving her a small smile. Inko was a little confused about that, why wasn't he upset? Why wasn't he crying or yelling at her like she had thought he would? "Hisashi?" She said with a whimper.
The man pushed himself up from the bed and made his way over to the confused green haired woman. "Inko, I know you don't love me anymore." Inko blinked and was about to open her mouth to ask but the man simply held up his hand to silence her. "I've known for a while, the way you talk about your friend, and the way you seem to gush about him as if you've known him forever. Inko, I know you have feelings for him and I want you to do one thing for me okay?"
"What?" asked Inko with a frown.
"I want you to focus on your own happiness, not mine nor is anyone else but yours and the man you have fallen for." Hisashi said with a chuckle, his smile soft yet gentle as he gazed at her. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Hisashi, a man that she had known her entire life was giving her his blessing to date another. To be with another man who wasn't himself.
"Hisashi…" She whispered.
"Inko, I'm fine you don't have to worry okay? Even though we aren't together anymore, I'll always look out for you okay? If he hurts you in anyway, I'll personally kick his ass." He chuckled a little. Though Inko highly doubted that he'd be able to beat Toshinori. The man himself was a giant compared to the two of them. She knew that he meant his words though, Hisashi wanted her to be happy.
Smiling, Inko couldn't help but wrap her arms around Hisashi as she whispered "Thank you so much Hisashi." She felt him hug her back before releasing his hold on her. Looking down at her, he calmly told her to go read something, reading always helped her relax as she seemed to also love reading the story of her ancestor. Nodding her head, the young woman made her way over to the living room before she started to dig around for the book.
It had to be here somewhere, the original was too worn and faded for her to read properly, but the copy should be enough for her to read.
Once she found it, the young woman smiled all the more as she sat down and got comfortable. Though, she wondered what Toshinori was doing. What could he be doing today since she wouldn't be going to her job today, in fact she didn't even start her job until next week but she was okay with the wait. It would be enough for her to collect herself and get ready to start a new job and hopefully a better work environment.
Letting out a soft sigh, the young woman opened the book as she started to read a couple lines from where she left off.
"Today I got my own personal guard, I won't say anything bad about him other than the name he chose for himself. Honestly, I think it was better that he used his real name but I can't force him to do such a thing as it was his choice when he decided to choose this name. He chose the name 'All Might'."
