No Sad Endings

His breathe came and went starkly. Jaw clenched, his feet smacked the snow hard. He kept going. Arms thrown out to catch his balance, Haruka kept running. Blood flooded the material of his clothes – coat lost. Sounds thundered in the abyss behind like the pounding of the soles of his shoes. The wind howled, shadowing his scent from those within the darkness. Hands bloody, shirt marred, he continued. Gasping, Haruka ran a hand through his short brown locks. The strands were pulled from his grip by the wind, droplets of crusting blood gliding off quickly.

Haruka wandered the wood. The taunting murmur of his brother whipped the tips of his ears. The harsh wail of the wind blocked the cries from breaching the drums, but Juuri's tears had ebbed into the fibres of his once white collar and Haruka wept too. The blood on his hands was slowly drying. He held one to his head, trying to push the memory back. Kaname's expression, Yuki… they were all gone, yet their ghosts would not be ignored.

Kneeling, legs numbing in the snow, Haruka laid out beneath the frosting boughs. His glistening eyes slowly shut, as he gave in to fatigue.

The in-between was shockingly hot. His garnet eyes rose from the bleeding snow, as dawn approached. Haruka rose from the ground, shoes stifling in the melting flakes. The blood from his clothes streamed between the valleys of slush and was pulled down into the ground. Looking up, he caught sight of the sun. The star peeked at first and then all at once the land was flooded with light. Grimacing, Haruka halted. He backed into the nearest tree, gasping, listening.

The blood in his body roared like waves against a cliff. As he closed his eyes against the bright blaze, she came to mind. Hair whistling in the wind, she reached out. Haruka rose an arm, palm exposed. The breeze clawed at his fingers. She did not take his hand.

"Juuri," Haruka stammered, "Juu-"

The wind gave way.

Haruka opened his eyes.

The sun rose higher and he could feel his flesh burn. Haruka heavily sighed, raising the open outstretched palm to cover his face. A whimper escaped him, as he leaned forward slightly. Feet stumbling as he wallowed in grief, Haruka sucked in the cold morning air and allowed his knees to crack. He fell to the floor, trousers and shirt sopping from his midnight nap. Still, his trousers seeked to soak up more of the melting snow, blood seeping from the seams and trailing away between the roots of the trees.

Woof!

His head rose suddenly. Shoulders hunched, Haruka listened with bated breath.

Paws boomed. Eyes widening, Haruka rushed to his feet. Spine crackling, he forced his back against the thickest trunk his sore eyes could find.

Woof!

Cursing lowly, he tilted his head out from behind the tree. The bark scratched at his cheek, as he watched a young dog waddle clumsily in the remains of the evening snow. His eyes darted from the creature to the blood that he had left on the floor of the wooded land. Most had been swept away by the waves that over-banked the slush, but enough remained to be suspicious.

Haruka stepped back, refraining from groaning as a jarring pain overcame his body. Limbs aching and head banging, Haruka tried to walk further into the wood. A voice called out and his awkward stride stilled. "Juuri…" he whispered distraughtly.

"Yuki!" the voice called again.

He turned.

A young woman stood before him.

Her mouth was agape. Haruka gaped also.

They stared for quite a few moments then his legs gave way. Haruka uttered no sound, as his knee caps cracked against the rocks under his feet. The woman on the other hand, dashed forward to catch him. She held on tightly, the warmth of her hands bleeding through his stained shirt. "Oh my God," she whispered desperately, "Where are you hurt?"

He laughed.

Her eyes widened. The young woman bit the inside of her cheek, as she watched him holler. Haruka threw his head back and kept laughing. Light brows furrowing, she huffed and reached back her hand.

Slap!

"Get a grip!" She cried out to him, "I know that you've had it hard, but now is not the time to lose your mind!" Haruka gawked at her, as she dragged him up off the ground. "I need to know where you're hurt, so I can help you."

The concern in her eyes almost had him confessing, but instead Haruka grunted with a grim smirk, "My heart miss," he raised a bloodied hand to his chest and leaned his nose close to hers, "My heart is where I am hurt."

"What happened," she asked more quietly, "Do you need my help?"

Shaking his head, Haruka's eyes narrowed. He licked his lips, watching intently as she unconsciously did the same as she gazed up at his dishevelled figure. "You can't help me."

"Surely…" her voice fell away like the soft rock of a cliff.

"Though, perhaps." Haruka wondered aloud. His throat was raw, eyes brightening with undeniable hunger. The pain in his stomach intensified as he realised what stood before him; food.

"You," he softly said, voice cracking slightly, "are likely sweet." His hand rose to her flushed cheek, her pink lips quivering with uncertainty. Her blond tresses licked at the flesh of his other hand, as he pushed them over her shoulder. Palm coming to rest on her back, he swept it down to her waist. She tried to step back, voice struggling to complain as Haruka leaned into her. Eyes closing, he relished the heat of her breath. Her pulsed raced, lungs stammering. He pressed his cheek to hers, as he pulled her close. "I'm so hungry," Haruka told her, lips brushing the lobe of her ear, "With you I could regain some strength and press on for revenge – maybe… yes, Kaien would help me."

Eyes glazed, the young woman breathlessly murmured, "What?"

Haruka took in a deep breath, body jolting as he pressed his nose to her throat. Fangs reaching for her, his grasp tightened and she whimpered.

Woof!

He pulled back.

The dog dashed toward them.

She fell to the floor, gasping.

Haruka watched the dog approach.

The little beast jeered at him, teeth barred.

Shaking his head, Haruka fiercely glowered at the fluffy monstrosity.

The hound shook its head furiously, growling.

The young woman recoiled from him, as his red eyes turned to her.

Rushing forth, Haruka snatched up the dog.

"No!" she screamed, "Please don't!"

He refrained from snapping it's neck, sneering at her.

She took a delicate step toward him, her dog scratching at his arms and chewing on his bloodied shirt collar.

"Yuki is just a puppy." The young woman timidly said, hoping for mercy.

Sighing, Haruka lifted the dog higher and further from her, as she darted forward to retrieve the animal from his grasp. "Ah, ah – ah!" Haruka exclaimed.

"Please," she begged, palms together in prayer, "She was just protecting me because you're a stranger."

Haruka smiled slightly, turning his eyes to the dog. "Actually," he muttered, "This one is quite smart." He dropped the dog. It scuttled away to hide behind the shivering lower limbs of its master. Haruka gazed at her, confessing, "It was trying to protect you from harm."

He reached out his hands to her, "This is not my blood."

"You," she struggled to say, lower lip trembling, "You're going to kill me."

"Yes."

She gulped down a sudden scream. He told her so easily, vibrant blood-red eyes focused on her. The young woman stumbled back a few steps, but he followed. Stopping, she clenched her fists, brows furrowing and teeth gnawing on her lips.

Though she could not stop shaking, the girl lifted her chin and lowly exclaimed, "I'll fight back."

"You didn't before." Haruka simply said. Brushing a hand through his knotted mass of hair, he sighed and expressed with some soft thought, "I could do that to you again if you'd like – it would be easier for us both that way."

"I won't make my death easy on you." She spat.

"Humph, fine – run as fast as you can." He hissed, fangs reaching out. The lass scrambled away, feet barely touching the ridged earth as she ran.

Eyes closing, Haruka listened to the pounding of her heart, the stammer of her pace and the rush of air leaving her lungs. He trailed after her, laughing madly, "I'll catch you."

"Yuki," the girl mustered with glassy eyes. The cold wind rushing by her held the tears back, as she dashed. Her laces caught on the underbrush, sleeves of her coat catching on branches. The trees were growing closer together and she cried out distraughtly as she realised – she had strayed from the path. Instead of erupting from the wood and finding the road back into town, the woman stumbled deeper in. The trees rose up higher, trunks thicker and eventually the wind died down altogether. The light breeze from her pace was all to keep her tears from falling.

Drums… the soles of her shoes, the beating of her heart, the pounding in her head. His steps following?

She stopped. Her lungs gave out. The lass choked on the frosty air. The snow did not reach down from the treetops here, the wood too closely packed. She looked left and right, up and down, but could not see the man. Chest heaving, her clammy hands reached behind for a tree trunk to rest against. She kept her feet shifting, hoping to be ready to run further if necessary.

Her breathing was laboured and incredibility loud to her own ears. That and the roaring rush of her blood blocked the world from her mind and instead of hearing squirrels and the soft rustle of leaves, she could hear only waves crashing against a cliff. The rock eroded, falling into the sea as the water pulled back out.

As her lungs and heart calmed, soles of her shoes brushing the soil this way and that as she shook, the young woman could not hear any other sound. He was not out there, nothing was out there. No birds above chirped. Yuki did not come bounding toward her. She slammed her eyes shut, swallowing sorrow as she thought of Yuki. "Please be okay," she hissed to herself, "Please Yuki, be okay… God, tell me you ran home to get help." The tears began to flow, careening like the rush of a waterfall. Gasps escaped her, as she stood against the tree trunk.

There would be no one though, no one to come running in to save her. Her fiance was long gone and Yuki had fled for her own good as well.

She had no one no more.

Squelching those thoughts in moments, she took a deep breath. Eyes opening, hair as frantic as her mind, the lass muttered to herself with disgust, "Come on Letha, you can do this – you can get out of this alive."

Fists hitting the trunk, she peeled herself away from the tree and started wandering. Letha removed her shoes, hoping to quieten her jogging pace with socks instead of soles. She also took off her bright red skirt, relying on her thick black leggings to keep her from the man's sight. "No," she whispered, staring at the skirt in her grasp, "That wasn't really a man, but a… I can't bring myself to say it." She whined, "That thing, maybe I can confuse it."

Grabbing one of her shoes, she started walking. As she meandered through the wood, hoping to work her way back around to the path, Letha dropped the laces from her shoe, ripped the inner folds of her skirt and threw them into the foliage. She did this repeatedly and then changed direction.

"I will not die in this wood," she murmured to herself timidly, "I will not be dinner for a monster that doesn't really exist – I won't be some madman's meal."

"This isn't as fun if you don't run."

She screeched, Haruka winced at the sound as it echoed.

Ears ringing, he reached his hands up to massage the oncoming headache away. He grunted indignantly, "Really now, was that necessary?"

Letha threw the last of her skirt at him and turned to run. Mumbling incoherently, Haruka latched onto her left arm, dragging her back into him. She screamed again, his hands reaching round her body to try and smother the sound erupting from her roughened lips. The dry cold air was corroding the soft plush texture, as she breathed. Haruka turned her round to face him, pushing her against one of the trees. "Come now, is your life really worth all this fighting?" he questioned with a gruff laugh. Letha threw her arms out at him, catching his jaw and shoulder. Still, despite the pain and soreness of his joints, Haruka held on.

The screaming, she would not stop.

He shook his head, eyes fluttering as he gazed down at her flailing form.

"Stop," Haruka ordered, "Stop screaming this instant!"

"No!" She cried out, "Please, please don't hurt us – Yuki!"

Haruka pushed away from her. He grasped his head, ear drums shattering under the strain of her screams. Her screams… Juuri!

"Not the same," Haruka mumbled to himself, scoffing. He looked back at the woman, as her legs gave way. He sneered, "You are not my Juuri."

"Please," she begged, maroon eyes tearfully pleading with him. Haruka whined, reminded of her eyes. "I don't want to die."

Her hair was blond, clothes all wrong... yet that voice and those eyes.

Mind made up, Haruka relinquished the idea of a meal. He let go of the idea of reaching out to Kaien. The thought of revenge when he was already so tired. Haruka knew that it wouldn't bring back his family. His garnet eyes returned, the vibrant hunger for chaos dissolving over the presence of this woman, this hopeful chance of a future.

He marched forward, pulling her up from the floor. Hearing her breath rattle, he hastily brushed her golden locks from her pale neck.

Lips to her throat, Haruka closed his eyes and thought deeply of her.

"I will make do with you," he hoarsely whispered to Letha, "You could be my Juuri, couldn't you?"

"Anything," she replied desperately, fingers numb from the cold, "Anything to live."

Tears fell upon his cheeks, as she cried. Letha tipped her head back, lips quivering and lids closing. Haruka sucked in her scent, the salt of her tears rubbing against his memory of the night just passed. Juuri cried like that. This could be good, this replacement. Could it be good? He frowned, nose lightly brushing her soft skin as he pulled back a little.

Letha gulped, breathing out, "I'll do my best... if you will as well."

Smiling slightly, Haruka brushed up against her small frame. He brought his eyes to hers. They stared at one another, noses locked and lips brushing. He pushed forth and she grunted at the force with which he tumbled into her embrace. Breaths hot and hurried, they grasped at each other roughly. His tongue tugged at hers, teeth bruising and lips lapping.

As he pressed into her, Letha raised her hands up and clung to him. They reached under the remains of his shirt, nails biting into the flesh of his back. Haruka groaned, fangs embedding into her throat. She gasped, surprised. Warm blood flowed down. They gripped tightly, breaths rising together. Letha pressed her nose into his dark brown mane, as he fed.

Finally withdrawing, Haruka dug his teeth through his arm.

Letha latched on, mind swimming with realisation.

She would live... in a way.

They would live together.

Haruka swallowed the mesh of blood swirling round in his mouth. They even tasted like one another, but he knew... this girl was no vampire. As she fed from him, he tried to brush away the far off future that laid ahead. She would fall.

Those turned always fall to Level E.