Facts: Guys, just to clear this up, I chose to expand Julia's character making her more active here than the series. I will try my best to keep them in character as this is an AU some small spurts of OOCness are forgiven but overall Julia is still pretty serious especially when she's with David. And please remember that just like the anime Saya is very much the normal teenager at the beginning but will evolve and ultimately become stronger as the story goes.
Reminder: If you have a livejournal accnt. and a fan of the Saya/Solomon, Saya/Haji and Saya/Solomon/Haji pairings please visit my profile and click the link to my solomonsayahaji livejournal community. We could definitely use more members so please join. That is all. Enjoy and thank you to those who left encouraging reviews!
Disclaimer: Must I repeat? Oh, Fine, fine. I do not own Blood+ or its characters. Sigh.
Bloodlust
by: girldisturbed
An Unexpected Visit
Chapter Two
"As I was walking up the stairs,
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today,
Dear God I wish he'd go away!"
- anonymous
Saya…
Saya…
"Saya?"
Kaori poked her from behind, the jab deflating the air from her lungs till it floated out of her lips with a soft 'whoosh'.
She blinked then turned to look at Kaori who was seated behind her. "What?"
Kaori raised an eyebrow. "I've been calling you for the past five minutes and that's all you have to say? What do you keep staring at anyway?" She leaned forward, desk and chair moving along with her and twisted her head trying to catch a glimpse of what Saya thought so interesting but saw nothing - well, nothing out of the norm anyway; White cemented walls, iron fences and an empty soccer field…
"I don't see any-"
"It's nothing."
Raising another brow at her friend's abrupt dismissal she plopped back to place, desk and chair creating an innocuous clunk and pondered.
Hm…PMS maybe?
Turning back to face the front of the class and ignoring Kaori's questioning stare. She read the lines written in the blackboard then whipped out her notebook. Opening it and jotting down the notes Miyako-sensei wrote for them on the board.
Minutes ticked by before the door was slid open then the sound of someone clearing their throat.
She paused from her writing and glanced up.
Standing in front of the class was their dean, Yamagato-sensei, exchanging pleasantries with their adviser and a little ways beside him stood...
"Students may I have your attention please?"
Obediently, everyone stopped copying and turned their attention to the principal.
Yamagato-sensei smiled, pleased at their easy obedience. Gesturing to the man beside him, a student as they could ascertain from the uniform he donned, he said. "I have with me here Mr. Tsukiko Haji the exchange student filling in for Ms. Nabiki Ume and joining your class for the duration of the year."
Haji stepped forward and bowed.
Miyako-sensei beamed. Pleased at his politeness and looking forward to teaching what seemed to be a promising student.
"Students," the dean said. "Please welcome Tsukiko-kun and make sure his stay here is an enjoyable one hm?"
The students chorused their agreement while some of the girls giggled in excitement at the prospect of having a handsome new student for their class.
"Now if you please Tsukiko-kun take the empty seat beside Otonashi-san," Miyako-sensei pointed to Saya. "And let us continue with today's lesson."
Haji nodded and walked towards the empty seat indicated.
Sitting down, ignoring the stares he got from his classmates. He opened his brown leather bag, took out a pen and notebook then turned back to the teacher.
Staring at the blackboard, he jotted down the notes mechanically - never once turning in the direction of the girl seated rigidly on his right, but focusing his whole attention instead on the lesson being discussed.
Kaori poked her again.
Sighing disdainfully and ignoring Kaori's abusive poking of her person. She wondered at her reactions and glared at the notebook now sporting hastily unintelligible chicken scrawls in front of her.
Great, now she'd have to copy it again. Sighing this time in vexation, Saya drew random doodles and signatures on her notebook lamenting about the new student and her own confusing emotions.
What was the deal with that guy anyway? And why was she getting so worked up about this? She barely even knew him and yet…Her eyes slid to the side, glancing at him while he continued writing on his notebook.
Well he certainly looked harmless enough; Bored slate like eyes, a relaxed set of shoulders and an aura exuding typical lucidity…Sure he was handsome but then again there were lots of handsome men in this city and they certainly never affected her as much as this one.
She propped an arm on the table and cradled her head, vaguely staring at the blackboard and all but oblivious to the lesson. She'd never been interested in boys before. She'd simply passed them off as a nuisance and never honestly encountered anyone that intrigued her as much as this Tsukiko.
She thought back on what happened earlier, on how her vision zoomed in so suddenly and suppressed a shiver.
Crazy.
She was definitely going crazy.
The bell rang.
"Okay class, clear out your desks and don't forget to copy the homework before leaving the classroom. Otonashi and Tsukiko come forward before proceeding to your next class please. I'd like to have a word with you two."
There was a chorus of "Hai sensei." that shook her out of her thoughts and back onto present matters; she'd been out of it long enough that she barely caught her teacher's request.
Wondering what Miyako-sensei wanted, she cleared out her desk, nodded to Kaori to go on ahead before placing her things on the bag, hefting it on her shoulders and approached the teacher's table; Tsukiko Haji following silently behind her.
"Saya-chan," Miyako-sensei said. "A favor if you would please."
Saya nodded. "Of course sensei. What is it?"
"I'd like you to show Tsukiko-kun around the campus. Normally I'd have done it myself but I've been really busy and since," She took out a piece of paper from the drawer and showed it to both Saya and Haji. "The schedule for his classes coincides with yours I figured it wouldn't be too much of a hassle."
She placed the paper back into the drawer and turned expectantly to Saya. "Do this for me ne, Saya-chan? I promise to call Julia later and convince her into making those muffins you really like."
Saya hung her head and murmured a resigned "Hai sensei."
It really wasn't fair they dangled food in front of her like this but - she sighed then blew some bangs that fell on her face. "Saa, Tsukiko-san follow me."
Haji nodded and trailed after her obediently; Eyes alighting in vague amusement as she continued leading the way to the next class while mumbling about unfair teachers and her stupid insatiable appetite.
"Saya-chan, there's a customer over table number three."
Looking up from a tray that held two glasses full of coke, two bentou boxes of their dinner deluxe and a large plate of tempura, she answered with a cheery "Hai!" before turning back to her waiting customers and finished placing the dishes to the table.
Plunking the tray back to the counter, she took out a notepad and pen before ambling over to table number three to take their order.
Working at the Omoro was both tedious and satisfying. They'd owned this restaurant by day and bar by night establishment for more than five years and she'd been happily serving as a waitress slash bartender for as long as she could remember. The staff (as of the moment) comprised only of four members: Mao, their manager/cashier, Lulu - a 15 yr. old kid that Julia adopted - herself, and finally Lewis, their chef and sometimes the mildly aggressive bouncer should anyone decide to get fresh with the staff or cause trouble for the Omoro.
Reaching table three, she smiled amiably to the customers – pen and pad raised and ready to jot down their orders.
"Welcome to the Omoro. May I take your orders?"
"I'll have two orders of your bento special, one vegetable okonomiyaki large, two soba noodles and two oolong teas."
Saya nodded and wrote it down. "Will the sobas be regular or large sir?"
"Regular."
She nodded and with a bow left the table to hand the order over to Lewis in the kitchen.
Smiling and patting her head, Lewis pointed her to a tray full of tempura and fish balls. "That's for table number five. And Saya,"
She paused by the door and turned to Lewis; tray already cradled in her arms and ready for serving.
He opened his mouth about to say something then thought better of it. Shaking his head, he turned back to the boiling pot, stirred the concoction and said. "Don't work too hard okay? You've got school tomorrow and I know you'll need the rest."
She smiled. Lewis had always been such a softie.
"Okay."
Julia banged her head to the steering wheel and groaned.
What a disaster.
She'd just closed the clinic and was scheduled for a date with David in a restaurant named Chiyo half an hour ago. She sighed and fished out for the cell phone on her purse. The delay had been caused by an emergency check-up. A patient had showed up five minutes before closing time and she couldn't say no especially since it was one of her most loyal clients.
The check-up had lasted longer than it had to since Mrs. Nita was especially flustered about a possible tumor. It wasn't a tumor though; the skin was too soft indicating fats which she theorized could only mean lypoma. Slightly worried but appeased by the reassurance that it wasn't that serious, Mrs. Nita had thanked her and left, leaving her to finish up clearing and finally close the clinic.
Driving to Chiyo would be relatively short since it wasn't that far but this was assuming that the main bridge needed for crossing was accessible and open to the public. And as her luck would have it - the bridge was closed.
Sighing wearily, she'd accepted it and drove on to a different route - albeit this route would take her longer to reach Chiyo and quite hazardous during the night - Julia was an expert driver and she assured herself that even though she'd be a little late, she would still be able to make it and with David not in the least bothered of a little tardiness.
She'd been so lost in contemplation – mulling over the authenticity of that thought - that when her car gave a sudden lurch she'd swerved the wheel so fast, foot pressed hard enough on the pedal that the tires screeched when she frantically tried to press the brakes and slammed into a tree.
That had been fifteen minutes earlier, now here she was - frustrated, angry, ready to tear her hair out, and agonizing whether or not she should call David and ask for his help.
Sighing in aggravation, she got out of her car and checked the damage, a small dent and a broken headlight; she let out a small sigh of relief. Well at least it wasn't that bad, turning around; her eyes scanned the road, searching for whatever caused the car to lurch in the first place thus, being the cause of the accident.
Nothing.
No roadkill, no sharp rock, not even a single indention on the concrete, just your average empty road.
What on earth…?
She kneeled down, examining the tires and spotted one that looked deflated and a little flat. Examining it closer, it looked like the tire had ran into something sharp, penetrating the rubber, causing the hole that it now sported and resulting with a flat tire.
How...strange.
Ten successive failures and attempts to replace the tire later, Julia finally acquiesced to defeat and decided to call David.
Flipping the phone open and pressing David's number, she waited for him to pick while leaning on the car, simply staring at the grove of oak trees that swayed languorously in front of her.
"Hello? Julia? Is something wrong?"
She smiled, relieved.
She would never say it out loud but being here alone and so close to the woods was starting to creep her out. "Yes its me. No, I'm fine. My car ran into something and I panicked. I hit a tree, got a dent, one broken head light and a flat tire." She could almost slap herself after she finished. It sounded like she was driving under the influence; precisely the reason why she hesitated on calling David.
"Can you pick me up?"
"Of course, tell me where you are."
"The Shukaku Bridge was closed so I had to take the scenic route beside the woods. Nagoya park is up ahead, perhaps a couple of blocks or so. You should take the road on the back from Chiyo."
"Okay. Get in the car, lock the doors and wait for me. I'll be there in twenty minutes."
"Okay and, David?"
"…Yes?"
"I hope you don't think less of me because of this."
She could almost feel the smile on his face when he replied, "Of course not."
"Saya, do you want me to drive you home?"
Saya shook her head. "No thanks Lewis. You need to finish closing the place besides, it won't be that hard getting home. I've done it often enough."
Lewis nodded. "Ja, take care! You brought your cell phone right? Call us if anything happens."
She waved to Lewis, then to Lulu and Mao who were both preoccupied with something in the back.
"See you tomorrow Otonashi!" "Watch out for suspicious strangers Saya!"
"Hai!"
Exiting the Omoro, she clutched her bag tighter and made her way down the street. The winds were quite chilly and as she raised her head to examine the moon, it was a full moon too. Turning left, she trotted down the road, passing by an old abandoned playground then a closed grocery store.
Walking down the concrete she paused when three lamp posts flickered; the light from the houses nearby mimicking the fluorescent's intermittent blinks before it completely died and enveloped the street in darkness.
She clutched her bag tighter; eyes quickly adjusting to the dark and glad that the light from the moon shone enough that she could still see her way.
Of all the rotten--A hair-raising hiss resounded from the dark alleyway to her right; the sound reminiscent of a bristling cat when threatened or a rattle snake when about to strike. Gripping her bag like a lifeline, a million and one thoughts flew in and out of her head pulling her closer and closer to panic.
It occurred to her that she might be blowing things out of proportion or that the cause of the agitation was another oncoming onslaught of those visions but frankly she can't find herself to care because as of right now, warning blares kept ringing in her gut - telling her that danger was near and that something was seriously seriously wrong.
She turned resolute eyes to the road; she'd always been a woman who listened closely to her instincts and she surely wouldn't start ignoring them now.
Hastening her steps, half-jogging, half-running, in her hurry to get home; her head whips left and right, scanning the street before crossing and watching out for any of those suspicious strangers Lulu mentioned while filtering through her schoolbag for her peppermint spray and cell phone just in case.
The street sign to her right read Inori and she inwardly breathed a sign of relief.
Not too far, she could make it. Almost there…
The tip-tapping stacatto of her footsteps echoed loudly against the eerie quiet of the barren street, adding to that the fact that there was neither an animal nor person within sight; Saya's already frayed nerves became even more timorous. Taking note of the oddness of the situation, she put away the thought for examining later, preferably when she was inside the security of her four walls and continued on her way.
Not so far now, just a few more steps away.
Be calm. Be calm, Saya. You can do this.
Really, what was wrong with her? Why does she keep on freaking out about every little thing? Was it beacuse of too much stress? Surely the reason behind those lights going out must've been a power shortage and perhaps the people were simply inside the safety of their own homes, enjoying a quiet dinner, all at the same time...
She rubbed her arms and shivered. Dammit, why was she so paranoid? It wasn't like there was anyone else around to--
"Saya."
She screeched to a halt, eyes immediately shooting forward towards the source of the voice.
Saya barely stifled a groan; the sight that greeted her was far more daunting and fearsome than a thousand hordes of flesh-eating monsters out for her blood.
The grip on her bag loosened and she bowed respectfully.
"Good evening, Uncle Amshel."
Amshel: Be afraid. Be very afraid.
GD: Tsukiko means "moon child." And Inori means "Prayer."
A/N: Reviews are the life-blood of an author. Blood-coated strawberries for those who review. And don't forget to join my solomonsayahaji livejournal community!