Disclaimer: I don't own Blood+ or any of its characters.
Author's Notes: This will be my second ever fanfiction and this time written in dedication to the Saya/Hagi pairing which I adore after watching the Anime. I still haven't decided whether to leave this as a one-shot or make it a prologue and write a longer story. Please review after reading and maybe let me know if I should continue.
Prologue
He would continue to watch over her.
Until the end of time itself though every minute he lived and every breathe he drew was a constant reminder of his solitude.
Here lies the curse of immortality.
At this time of the night, the streets were nearly deserted. Crumpled bits of old newspaper and white paper were swept through the gutters like countless dying butterflies. In a dark alleyway, a young couple exchanged hasty kisses and passionate vows.
Other than that, only the full moon and its silvery glow gazed down upon the tall slim man with what appeared to be a large cello case strapped to his backside. His hair hung black against his perfectly tailored suit. He used to have a blue ribbon to bind it with but he had left it somewhere ten years ago. It was a token, a reminder and there it would remain for twenty more long years.
The sound of a crash in the distance earned a barely noticeable shift from a pair of slate-grey eyes. Only the shadow of a black cat could be seen slinking past a dumpster.
Yes, he was undeniably weary. But it was the sort of weariness that even sleep could not cure. One could certainly never tell by the steady, determined steps the man took. The average bystander might in fact have taken him to be either an eccentric entrepreneur or a creature transported hundreds of years into the future. Most likely the latter.
But that was the problem with the rest of humanity though. They did not understand him, did not know his secret. Perchance, most might have given up their souls to attain such immortality such as his. But he did not blame them. She had taught him after all the meaning of patience, to hide dangerous emotions under a steady, tranquil exterior.
She, the very being who had killed him and given him life at the same time. She who he was bonded to for eternity and would give his very life to protect. She who had once taught him how to smile again. And she the very reason why he could not smile anymore.
"Saya…" Hagi breathed.
His voice held the chill of winter.
The thin air brought a slight zephyr to trace ripples through his loose hair. It wasn't autumn yet but very close and all around there existed an indescribable tension in the atmosphere. Living things seemed to be holding their breath in waiting for some great change to occur. For change after all was always inevitable.
A particular grove of red maple trees warned Hagi that he was close. Slowly, methodically, almost instinctively he continued to walk. And suddenly almost as if by magic a great number of white steps separated itself from the night and rose stark and naked against a dark backdrop. Saya's tomb. Where she now lay sleeping lulled by the melody of rustling leaves and the footsteps of small nocturnal creatures.
He always made an attempt to visit this spot at least once every six months and leave the fragrant roses she adored. No matter how far his travels led him, Hagi never broke the promise to himself to return where his life had originated.
He noticed upon reaching the top that someone had recently swept the front entrance of the tomb and across the smooth stone now lay a most curious object. A small stuffed rabbit propped up very carefully. Kneeling, he picked up the bauble with his hand. Indeed had a stranger come upon the scene, he or she would had been both initially confused even frightened at the spectacle. Here a grown man with fine features (Indeed calling him beautiful would not have stretched the truth as in many other cases) possessing of two hands wrapped entirely in white bandages and holding a stuffed animal. Yet surely, one would have understood and secretly grieved upon observing the look of suffering reflected in this same man's countenance.
Gently, the stuffed rabbit was replaced with a single long-stemmed pink rose now at its feet. He rose and went to stand quietly beside the low stone building. It felt strangely warm against his touch and seemed to pulse with dormant life and Hagi found himself lovingly tracing the smooth stone with bandaged claws. Then seeing these same hands, seeing himself he abruptly drew away and rose to his feet.
"Sleep well, Saya."
He wondered if she dreamed, if she nightly relived her days spent in the sunshine. After all, what does one dream of for thirty years? He had asked Saya once after her first long sleep and she had lifted up her eyes in wonderment at his question. Of course, she could never remember and if she did, these subconscious thoughts perhaps too horrible to believe were repressed.
He wondered if she would remember him this time upon her next awakening. The chiropteras would not be a threat any longer and this time if she was happier in her current life without him, without her haunted memories, Hagi vowed to himself that he would let her be. He would stay away though the effort itself might at last kill him. And perhaps along with the passage of time, Saya would forget completely of his existence. Finally and at last then, she would be able to have the life of normality he had once seen her so happy in. And secretly in the shadows, he would continue to guide her for as long as she needed him.
That was Hagi's new promise. This time made only to himself.
He descended the steps and let the darkness at the bottom quickly swallow up his shadow. And as suddenly as he had come, he was gone again.