Kaa-sama = Mother
Oto-sama = Father
Iie = No
Onegai = Please
The only people who don't belong to me is Dante and Trish. They're Capcom's, not mine. Could you imagine what kind of game I'd make if they WERE mine?
Anyway, please read and review and most of all, enjoy.
Thank you.
Chapter 11The night still hadn't died to give rise to the dawn of the new day, and for this Reiko was thankful. He paused and stared about, thinking he had heard something behind him. Nothing moved, not even the wind. Silence seemed to deafen him as he stared about. Eventually, the cold of the night forced him to shiver and he moved onwards.
He suddenly felt a heavy weight bowl into him from behind, knocking him to the ground. Acting instinctively, he let himself roll with the blow, somersaulting to his feet straight away, whirling around, his eyes gleaming with anger as he caught sight of his opponent. He brought out his staff again and twirled it before holding it, ready to strike.
A harpy stood before him, blue eyes glittering. Reiko sighed, looked around before rolling his eyes, lowering his guard completely.
'I don't want to fight,' he said, his tone one of utter boredom. The harpy blinked and then narrowed her eyes.
'I don't recall me ever giving you a choice in this matter.' Reiko laughed softly at that.
'I just don't want to fight. Take up your quarrel with the vampires with someone else. This is one vampire who isn't a part of the war between our two races.' The harpy suddenly motioned towards the shadows. Two more suddenly materialized, their dark wings rustling restlessly. Reiko snarled softly, warningly and backed away, his eyes suddenly lighting up with a crimson aura before they reverted back to being hazel.
The harpies hesitated at that before advancing again. Reiko knew only then that they were scared of him, but were willing to fight and die as long as they could take him down with them.
'Why is it that we seem only to settle our disputes with fighting?' The harpy with blue eyes glared at him.
'Because vampires have brains for naught else.' Reiko continued to back away from the harpies.
'I think you'll find...that this is not always true,' he whispered softly. His eyes turned blood red again and his fangs seemed to become more prominent. The harpies shrieked but tried valiantly to hold their ground. Reiko suddenly charged at the three but at the last minute leapt to one side and continued to run.
The harpies snarled angrily and ran after him. Reiko quickly shot a glance back but then carried on running, determined not to fight. If he were to prove a point, he couldn't go around killing harpies, even if it was in the name of self-defense. He was suddenly bowled over onto the floor. He struggled and writhed, twisting out of the grasp but rolling straight into another. He cursed. How could he have forgotten that harpies could fly as fast as vampires could run?
Two of them held him from behind, the other standing directly in front of him. Reiko's eyes darted from one side to another, trying to search for anything that could possibly save him from his predicament. He suddenly sighed and rested against them, as though he had given up the fight.
The third came towards him, smiling, her eyes filled with wicked intent.
'So you see, vampire. You wronged our race and now another of your numbers will fall.'
'That was a long time ago,' he mumbled, more to himself than to anyone else. He said nothing but was only aware of the fact that the grips on his arms were loosening.
He suddenly pulled away from them viciously, causing them to lose their hold on him completely. He bulled towards the third harpy before veering sharply to the left, bolting down an alley. His eyes widened as he saw that there was nothing but a high brick wall at the bottom of the alley. Without slowing down an inch, he dug his staff into the ground and pole-vaulted over it, yanking his staff up at the last minute, taking it with him as he soared over the wall...
And straight into the hands of a harpy.
'I've got him! Eve, I've got him!' The one with the blue eyes joined her sister's side, their wings beating perfectly in synch with each other. Reiko struggled wildly and then took the mistake of looking down. He suddenly started to tremble as his vision swum.
'Well,' said Eve, 'I should have known you'd have caught him, Delia. Fastest flier...' Delia smiled.
'You taught me. It's not my fault I outstripped you.'
'Outstripped me? I think not, sister dear.'
'Let me go!' Reiko suddenly gasped, shaking. 'Please! Let me go!' The two sisters looked towards each other and smirked before they suddenly flew towards the sea. Reiko's heart plummeted to his feet and his fear of heights was momentarily forgotten. 'Not that way!' he hollered. Delia blinked.
'Why not?' Eve stared at her.
'Why are you even conversing with that scum? Don't listen to him!' Reiko kept struggling.
'If you go that way, you'll be killed!' he tried to fight the panic out of his voice with the result that he sounded as though he were being strangled. Delia stopped at that point, wings still flapping but flying in the same spot. She looked towards Eve, who looked back at her scornfully. Reiko whimpered as his fear began to take over again. He screwed his eyes shut and hid his face in her shoulder. Delia screwed her nose up and tried to push his head away but found to her anger that Reiko wouldn't budge.
'Eve...I think we should listen to him.'
'Don't talk shit. He's a vampire. We can't trust their kind.' Reiko gave vent to a kind of low moan.
'If we go anywhere near the sea, the dragon will smell the scent and it shall rise to devour you all.' Eve started to laugh as she heard Reiko's words.
'Please...it's high. The vampire is high. You can't possibly be listening to what he's saying, can you?' The younger sister looked towards Reiko, who was shaking in her arms and then looked towards her elder.
'I think we should listen to him,' she said again. Eve shook her head in disbelief before she suddenly charged at Delia. She squealed before letting go off Reiko. The vampire's cry of panic mingled with Delia's squeal before he fell silent as he collided against the ground.
Eve flew onwards while Delia landed beside the fallen vampire. Reiko slowly opened his eyes and blinked once or twice, trying to clear his vision.
'Are you okay?' Reiko didn't answer her, only blinked groggily, his head spinning and aching, as though there was some kind of creature chewing at his brain. There was a sudden roar and a high pitched scream. Delia recognized it instantly, and ran to investigate.
Eve lay dead on the ground, blood streaming out of various wounds from her body. Delia gasped with shock and moved closer, unable to believe what she was seeing. Her sister's eyes stared up at the sky, blank, expressionless, her mouth hanging open, slack.
Delia stiffened as she heard a sudden roar from behind her. She turned too late, only to see the dragon bear down upon her.
The third sister landed at the scene. Through some miracle, the dragon appeared not to notice her and simply submerged into the water, sleeping off its latest meal just as she landed. She did not ever see it. She swallowed hard as she saw the discarded bodies of her two sisters. A little way away, she saw a third figure. It moved painfully, slowly.
She ran towards it but stopped seeing it was the vampire from before. Blood was leaking out of a few wounds, but he was now conscious and appeared bewildered and disorientated. He croaked and the harpy bent down to try and catch what it was he said.
'Where's Delia?' he groaned. The sister's eyes welled up with tears and she was filled with a sudden unexplainable hate.
'You killed them!' Reiko shook his head weakly.
'I didn't...it was the dragon...' The sister screamed with fury at this remark and brought her foot against his chest. He coughed painfully and curled up, trying to protect himself with strength he didn't have. Darkness washed over his vision and he was only certain that he was in tremendous pain.
He was vaguely aware that the harpy had yanked his head back and was forcing his mouth open, placing her neck against his lips. He groaned and jerked his head away, trying to avoid drinking her blood. The harpy paused, muttered something and let him go before she began to kick and punch him, finally drawing a knife and stabbing him in the chest multiple times, missing his heart whether accidentally or purposely he did not know.
The harpy left him alone, leaving him weak and his blood seeping out onto the ground, pooling around him. He struggled to open his eyes, and everything was hazy and unclear. He slowly, painfully, rolled onto his stomach, gasping harshly with pain and levered himself up, pushing himself from the ground.
He staggered and managed to hobble over to the nearest alley, holding one hand against the wall for support. A cat bolted past him, hissing loudly. The world seemed to sway around him and he staggered again, falling onto his knees. He knelt there, shaking, sweat beading on his face, his hands moving to his chest, to try and stem the flow.
He heard voices at the end of the alley, and could hear the soft footsteps and the voices of people walking past. He forced himself to get to his feet, gasping as he felt hot blood oozing out of his mouth. He staggered over towards the end of the alley and fell heavily, collapsed onto his side, trembling.
He heard distantly the sound of footsteps and a shallow gasp.
'Reiko! Reiko what happened? Who did this to you? Reiko!' His eyes struggled to focus. He opened his mouth to try and speak but blood came spewing out. He felt a hand tenderly wipe away the blood and pick him up, dragging him to a location he was not yet sure of. He gasped again with pain before he finally felt himself losing his senses to the darkness that was engulfing him.
He woke up a little later, to find that Remy was sitting beside him, wiping away blood from his mouth and bathing his forehead with a damp cloth. He swallowed hard and moaned groggily.
'Just rest, Reiko. It's okay. You're safe.' Reiko looked around, recognizing the place he was in instantly. The guild. He was lying on the couch upstairs, with Remy sitting on the table. Remy was right now staring at him in concern. 'What happened?' Reiko shivered softly and struggled to sit up. Remy pushed him back down. 'What happened?' he repeated again, his voice low, angry.
'I was attacked.'
'Harpies did this.' It wasn't a question. Reiko saw the rage in his eyes and groaned.
'They don't know any better. Give them a chance, Remy.'
'A chance to do what? To get the job done properly this time and kill you? The Master must have been mad to set you this task!'
'Don't let anyone else but me hear you say that...I don't want you dead.'
'Neither do I.' The two watched each other steadily. Remy's eyes bored into him, and they seemed alight with something that Reiko didn't recognize. He sighed softly and slowly sat up, this time managing it. The head vampire shivered slightly and curled up on himself to try and stave away the cold. Remy hadn't moved his gaze away from Reiko and suddenly leant forward, capturing his lips in a quick kiss. Reiko's eyes widened with shock and he turned rigid in his arms. He let out a soft whimper, which Remy took as encouragement. He pulled him closer to his body, and Reiko whined softly in his throat before he began to struggle and writhe. Remy frowned slightly and kissed him more forcefully. Reiko trembled in his arms before he suddenly let out a piercing scream and pushed Remy away from him, causing him to crash into the wall heavily.
Remy slowly righted himself and frowned at Reiko, who flinched under his gaze and seemed to shrink into himself, crouching on the couch, his eyes wild and wide, his hands clenched into fists. He looked like a terrified cornered animal. Remy slowly stood up and came towards him, earning him a short whimper and causing Reiko to tremble alarmingly.
'Reiko, I-'
'Don't come any closer!' Remy stopped. Reiko's voice had sounded a cross between a growl and a shriek.
'Reiko, please! I-'
'No!'
'I didn't mean-'
'SHUT UP! I don't want to hear it! JUST SHUT UP!' His voice broke and he swallowed hard, trying to calm himself. The trembling grew worse, his eyes widened even more, and Remy was filled with icy dread as he saw they were tear-filled. Reiko's teeth began to chatter with fear, at which Remy took another pace towards him.
'Reiko...'
'I SAID DON'T COME ANY CLOSER! JUST STAY AWAY!' He broke down completely into harsh sobs, blood running from his eyes down his cheeks. Remy watched, shock robbing him of all speech as Reiko suddenly stumbled to his feet and jerkily dashed towards the door, falling down the stairs in his hurry to get out.
'REIKO!' Remy ran after him but knew that it was too late. The vampire was nowhere to be found. Remy cursed and swore before he crouched down at the door of the guild, feeling as though he'd been stabbed in the stomach. He remembered the look of horror on Reiko's face, the fear that had visibly blinded him. What had happened? He'd been the cause of those terrible expressions that had passed over Reiko's face. It was his fault. He rested his head onto his knees, hiding his face, and wept.
Lorelei sat comfortably in the sitting room, flicking through some magazines that had been thoughtfully placed for her. She munched on an apple as she curled up on a chair flicking through them. She sighed as she reached the last page and looked around for something else to read, her eyes landing on a thick binded book with a leather cover.
She picked it up and flicked to the first page, blinking as she saw photographs. She blinked and smiled. It appeared as though Reiko had left his photo album lying around. Careless...but while she was here, she may as well flick through the pictures. She turned the pages eagerly, noticing that nearly all the pictures were of him. Under most of the pictures, there was a caption stating when the photo was taken, and what the occasion was. It was then that she realized that the captions only appeared under the photographs that had his parents in them.
She blinked when she saw a gap in the photo album, the caption underneath it reading, "Our last time together". Her thoughts flew immediately to the photo frame she had seen in Reiko's bedroom and she knew instinctively that the photo once had been here.
She turned the page and red spots seemed to dance in front of her vision. She stared blankly at the blood stained page before she shut it heavily and put it back where she found it. She chewed her lip and looked around before she reached for the album again and opened it at the last page.
There was blood everywhere. A boy sat by the side of a ruined car, shivering, a blanket covering his narrow shoulders. There were policemen, ambulances, paramedics. The boy sat to one side, forgotten and alone, his eyes wide and frightened. A woman slowly came towards him and crouched down in front of him. The boy looked towards her glassily.
'Where's my Mommy? Where's my Daddy?' The woman looked at him for some time, as though considering.
'They've...gone.'
'Gone? Gone where? Why didn't they take me? I want my Mommy!'
'Do you have any relatives? Any cousins? Grandparents?' The boy shook his head.
'Gran'pa died a month ago...'The woman chewed at her lip but then sighed.
'Come with me...' The boy blinked but then took the woman's hand in his own, his eyes confused. He craned his head to look back towards the car and gasped when he saw a paramedic placing a dead man onto a stretcher.
'Oto-sama! Kaa-sama!' he cried. 'Iie! Onegai!' He ran towards the stretcher but the woman was quick in picking him up. He struggled against her grip and managed to stretchout an arm towards the stretcher, tears streaking his face. 'Iie! Onegai! Kaa-sama!' he screamed.
Lorelei gasped as she heard a sudden knock on the door. She blinked, trying to clear her head from the vision and slowly stood up. She had just walked into the hallway when the front door suddenly flew open, revealing Reiko, crying and shaking. Lorelei's eyes widened and she caught him as he threw himself forward, sobbing pathetically.
She sank down onto the floor, with him cradled in her eyes. He instinctively threw his arms around her neck and cried against her. Lorelei held him close, blinking, chewing her lip out of consternation.
'Reiko...' she whispered at last. 'Reiko, it's okay...calm down...' Reiko raised his tearstained face to stare at her wildly.
'He's going to...'
'Going to what?'
'He's going to hurt me...he's going to...put me through it again...' He swallowed hard, tried to stem his tears but failed, breaking down completely. Lorelei hugged him close, pity washing away any of her old hostility towards him.
'Sssh...' she tried to soothe him. 'No one's going to hurt you. No one's going to put you through anything.'
Rain pattered down onto the ground, mingling with blood...
She shook her head lightly and held him closer.
'Lore...' he whimpered
'It's okay...I'm here...No one's going to hurt you...'
'They're all after me...'
'No one's after you. You're safe. You're home...' She squeezed him lightly and rubbed his back. Reiko nuzzled into her, closing his eyes, exhausted.
He screamed into the night, tears blinding his vision. Blood streamed down his body, all from a wound in his neck. Cruel fangs glimmered in the shadows before a man lowered his head, licking at the wound. His victim turned rigid before a low, pained moan dribbled out. The vampire laughed before moving away, leaving a slovenly haired man twitching on the ground, breathing his last.
She licked at dry lips and looked down at Reiko, who's face was hidden against her shoulder, the pale skin of his neck exposed. She stared at it for a while but could see no marks of the vampire's attack on him.
'Reiko?' she whispered tentatively. Reiko whimpered softly and slowly raised his head. Lorelei stared into his eyes and saw the face of the frightened child again. 'I think you should rest. You've had a great shock,' she murmured softly.
'You don't know what happened, do you?'
'No...no I don't...but I know you're scared...and that you need rest.' Reiko's grip suddenly tightened on her, but not enough to cause pain. Lorelei smiled softly at him and returned the hug, marveling at the fact that in spite of his obvious terror, he was still trying to be as gentle as he possibly could with her.
'Don't go...' he said softly, his eyes suddenly far away.
'I'm not going anywhere,' she soothed. His eyes suddenly drooped and he relaxed against her completely.
'Kaa-sama...' he whimpered, barely audible, his voice breathless. Lorelei stroked her fingers through his hair and cuddled him close as he slept against her, still holding her tightly. She rested her back against the wall and leant her head against it, staring up at the ceiling.
She had thought that Reiko was evil, because he was a vampire. Yet he had cried in front of her, and had shown such familiar emotions as he had held her and sobbed. In some ways, he seemed to be more human than her own family.
It was then that she forgave Reiko completely, and decided to sweep her grudges completely to one side.