Important Note: Unfortunately, the author is currently in an extremely delicate frame of health right now, hence updates for any stories, if any, will most probably be erratic. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
"Tomonori-san."
"Miku-chan!" He turned from his spot before the fireplace, where he had been deep in thought before she had entered the room. Bowing over her extended hand, he kissed it before straightening up. "How have you been?"
"As well as I have always been," Miku kept her eyes on him as he wandered around the room aimlessly, feigning interest in some of the objects in the room. She decided to get straight to the point. "Why are you here, Tomonori-san?"
"Well…" He pretended to think for a moment. "I heard through the grapevine, a rather intriguing story… one that involves you… and a Hunter, of all people…"
"Really?" Miku feigned calm, smiling at him.
"Really…" Tomonori smiled. "Something about a Hunter rescuing you from some other vampires that were sent after you, getting hurt in the process, and you took the injured Hunter in." He fixed Miku with a bemused gaze. "Is that true?"
"I think you already know the answer to that question, Tomonori-san." Miku forced herself to keep smiling. "Don't you?"
"I see that things between you and him are still unresolved, if he is still trying to get rid of you." Tomonori studied Miku closely. "Perhaps you should find yourself some allies-"
He sniffed the air suddenly, eyes gleaming red before he disappeared.
'I told her to stay inside!' Miku instantly knew what had happened and she dashed after him.
"Is this the place?"
He checked the map. "Yes, Master stated it very clearly."
"Well then," He dropped the map as a shovel was pushed into his hands. "Let's start digging."
Luka had been staring out of the window when something crashed into her and slammed her against a wall; and then something else slammed into the thing pinning her to the wall and Luka's newly healed ribs protested at all the abuse.
"Careful." An arm snaked around her waist and kept her steady, preventing her from falling as Luka blinked, trying to re-orientate herself.
"She's my guest, Tomonori!" Miku glowered, all attempts at being nice forgotten. "You don't attack my guests, unless you want to fight."
"Relax," Luka tried to calm Miku, recalling her words about Tomonori from before. "I'm sure that he didn't mean to do that; don't forget that I'm a Hunter, naturally his first instincts would be to kill me."
"I apologize for my behavior," Tomonori wiped the cut on his lip with a finger, staring at the blood on it with mild amusement on his face. "The Hunter is right; I didn't mean to attack her."
Miku forced herself to take a deep breath; fighting the insidious whispers in her mind urging her to rip out his throat. She already had enough problems on her hands; she didn't need another to weigh her down.
'Liar. He wanted to drink her blood!'
Miku had recognized the position, all vampires would. Her hands trembled and her fists clenched instinctively; squeezing her eyes shut as she fought to keep the snarl from escaping her throat.
'Blood that isn't his to drink!'
Somehow, the thought of someone other than her sinking sharp fangs into Luka's lovely neck and drawing blood was enough to drive her wild.
"I suggest that you leave now, Tomonori-sama." Meiko said evenly, as if she wasn't holding a blade to the throat of a vampire who could slash her apart with his powers currently if he chose to. Behind her stood Kaito, wearing a look of confusion on his face, but Meiko knew that he would cover her back if the need arose.
"Miku-sama is especially grouchy today, I'm afraid."
"Of course, of course." Tomonori agreed, his eyes never leaving Miku.
'Luka, can you get her back to her room? Kaito and I will deal with this. And be careful, she might attack you.' Meiko shot her an apologetic glance. 'Sorry.'
'It's okay, I can handle it.' Luka relaxed her tight grip on Miku's arm, relieved at the appearance of Meiko and Kaito.
"Miku…" She nudged her lightly. "Let's go back to your room, okay?" Luka half dragged, half pushed a silent Miku to her bedroom, which Luka miraculously found somehow without much wandering around.
"Are you okay?" Luka asked once she managed to get Miku to sit on her bed. She knelt before Miku, trying to see her face but Miku hid behind her curtain of hair, unwilling to meet Luka's eyes.
Luka took hold of her hand. "What's wrong?"
Suddenly she found herself being pulled up and the next thing she knew, Miku was pinning her to the bed, restraining Luka's arms to her side with a feral look in her gleaming red eyes as she bared her fangs at Luka.
"Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you?" Miku lightly scraped her fangs on the skin of Luka's neck. "I can just plunge my fangs into your neck right now and drain you of every single drop of blood in your body, leaving you as a withered husk!"
'You'll be dead, and I'll be free… free of all these troublesome feelings…'
Luka met Miku's gaze calmly, not minding at all how similar Miku was acting like those vampires that she hunted each night, not minding that Miku was so close to her while acting in such a manner.
"You won't hurt me."
Miku froze, allowing Luka to pull one hand free and rest it on Miku's cheek.
Luka smiled at her.
"You won't hurt me on purpose."
The tension slowly drained away from Miku and her eyes returned to their normal cerulean as she looked at Luka reproachfully.
"Stupid." She chastised. "What if I really do that someday?"
"Then you'll stop before you kill me," Luka answered, still smiling. "Right?"
"Stupid. You shouldn't place all your faith in me." Miku found herself smiling back despite her misgivings. Unable to resist it any longer, she bent down and kissed Luka, quickly drawing back when she realized that Luka was lying stiffly in response.
She stared down at Luka, who had a look of agony on her face. Miku quickly got off her, highly alarmed.
"Luka?"
"My… ribs. Oww."
Miku had a thunderous expression as she scowled fiercely. "I really should have bashed his head through the wall."
Clink! The shovel hit something metallic.
"Hey, I think I've got something over here!" He exclaimed, sending his friend hurrying over to check.
"I think you're right…" His friend stuck his shovel through the dirt. "Let's continue digging."
"If only I could command all the dirt on top to get lost or something." He mused. "You do know that we have more than just a couple of feet to dig if we're on the right track."
"What, think you're a vampire?" His friend snorted. "Get back to digging."
'Oh, just wait and see… when Master bestows me the gift, you'll see…'
"I'm surprised that my ribs haven't been ground to dust by now." Luka groaned. "I think I cracked a few of them around with the whole slamming into the wall thing earlier."
"Idiot! You should have told me earlier!" Miku chided, ready to panic. "What if your lung or something is punctured? You'll die from internal bleeding!"
"You're the idiot. I won't be able to move around if all that really happened… I think." Luka smiled weakly, finding an opportunity to warn Miku. "Besides, he wouldn't have drunk my blood; he only wanted to see your reaction. And-"
"I don't care if he wanted to see my reaction, and I don't care if he saw it." Miku gently probed Luka's side, the scowl still on her face. "Because he can't drink your blood, your blood is mi- I mean, you're my guest! He can't just randomly attack you! I won't allow it!"
Because your blood is mine.
"I know…" Luka absently said, wincing a little when Miku's fingers touched a sore spot. "Vampires aren't supposed to drink the blood of Hunters, am I right?"
"Right…" Miku agreed a little reluctantly. "I think you should…" She tried to change the subject. "Change the bandages!"
"Change the bandages?" Luka repeated questioningly.
"Yup, change your bandages!" Miku nodded her head vigorously, trying to forget how thirsty she felt all of a sudden; studiously avoiding looking at Luka. "I'll leave you alone to do it then, you can find fresh bandages in that drawer-"
"I might need some help." Luka gave her an awkward smile and all thoughts of escaping fled Miku.
"O-Of course I'll h-help! It's n-not like I haven't seen y-you nake- I mean, I'm glad to be of service! Anything to make my guest's stay more comfortable! Ehehehe~~~"
Luka shot her a strange look, but she otherwise didn't comment on the disturbing perverted laughter from Miku.
Locking eyes with Miku, Luka rolled up her shirt slightly.
With trembling fingers, Miku found the knot holding Luka's bandages together and she slowly pulled it loose, noting how Luka's heart rate sped up when her cool fingers brushed against Luka's flushed skin.
'She won't mind… bite her…' The voice in her head suggested. 'Maybe welcome it even… you know how pleasurable humans find it…'
'No!' Miku resisted. 'I-It's… it's rude!'
'Rude? That's a really lame excuse.' The voice laughed. 'You just don't want to scare her away.'
"Hey Miku… Do you take after your mother? I mean, do the two of you look alike?"
If it was possible, Miku turned even paler and her movements stilled.
"No…" Miku's reply was as cool as the air on a winter morning. "We- I took after my father, my mother was… the two of us didn't look alike… but I can't really remember, it's been so long."
What are you doing?
Run!
Sorry mother dearest.
Miku, run!
"I'm so sorry!" Luka apologized profusely, noting how Miku was referring to her parents in past tense. "It's just-"
Miku decided that she could play unfair once in a while.
"Sleep," She ordered Luka, who was in no shape to resist her command; saving Miku from having to answer any more awkward questions.
"How is it?"
"Just a little more Master," He bowed respectfully. "Or will you use your powers to…?"
His master looked at him, amused, before sweeping his arms apart and the earth followed; noting how his servant's eyes followed his every move greedily. 'Fools who lust after immortality…'
"Open it."
"Right away Master!" He hurriedly obeyed and jumped into the hole, using a crowbar that his friend tossed to him to pry open the rotting wood; turning away in disgust when the stench of decay filled the air once the cover of the coffin was off.
"Master?" He said inquisitively when his master suddenly joined him in the hole, walking around the coffin before stopping at the head. He received no answer and he watched as his master slit a wrist, holding it out over the mouth of the withered corpse in the coffin, allowing a few drops of red liquid to fall.
To his surprise, the corpse's eyes shot open to glare at his master.
All of a sudden, cold hands pushed him, causing him to stumble and fall onto the thing in the coffin.
He then heard his master's voice saying, "Enjoy your meal."
The last thing he saw was his friend joining him in the hole, and he saw no more.
Good thing they had been digging in a desolate area.
"Rest well Luka," Miku kissed her forehead affectionately and tucked her securely under the covers once she was done changing Luka's bandages. She felt a little guilty over resorting to such a method, but Luka had unwittingly opened a can of worms that Miku wasn't sure if the both of them could handle.
"Is she okay?"
"She needs rest, other than that she's fine." Miku wasn't surprised at all to see Meiko waiting patiently outside her door.
"You didn't…?"
"I didn't attack her, if that's what you're asking." Miku thought back to Luka's lack of reaction to her threat. "She's… I don't think I can, you know?"
"Ahh…" Meiko noted the small smile on Miku's face. "I don't know much, but what I do know is that someone's infatuated with a certain pink-haired Hunter~!"
"Shut up." Miku scowled to hide her embarrassment, but it only served to make Meiko laugh.
"This seems like one of that instant attraction kind of stuff you see in stories; or especially in shojō manga! To think that the awe-mighty Miku-sama has fallen to such a fate!" Meiko laughed even harder, and then sobered up.
"Still, infatuated or not; don't let it get too serious… After all, she's a Hunter and you're a vampire."
'You might have to fight her someday…' Miku frowned upon hearing Meiko's voice in her head, looking at the taller brunette with a serious expression of her own.
"I know."
Meiko nodded and turned to leave, but Miku grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Meiko… do you find Luka…" She thought of a suitable word. "Familiar?"
"Not at all…" Meiko searched her memory. "We've never really had to deal with Hunters before. Why do you ask?"
"It's nothing important…" Miku sighed. "I just… find Luka really familiar, that's all. Like I know her really well, and... I don't know; it's just a feeling."
"Well…" Meiko scratched her head. "I have no advice for that. And wow, this is really starting to sound like something out of a manga."
"The thought of you reading shojō manga is disturbing," Miku retorted. "I thought your only interest was drinking?"
"Well, that's my main interest. But I also like reading manga, especially those yuri ones involving girls with teal and pink-"
"S-Stop!" Miku flushed, at a loss for words. "That is- I mean, you should-"
"Lend them to you?" Meiko winked. "I don't mind; you know, for someone who's centuries old you really are-"
Miku tuned out the rest of her words. 'Honestly, if she hadn't helped out earlier I would be able to whack her without feeling guilty… oh, that's right… she helped…'
"Meiko? Thanks for the help earlier," Miku said earnestly once Meiko was done with her little speech. "I definitely would have lost control and ruined everything if you hadn't appeared."
"That's part of my job; reining in you idiots from creating chaos and wreaking havoc on the world." Meiko shook her head and faked a sigh. "Really, what would you do without me?"
"Create chaos and wreak havoc on the world, of course." Miku replied sportingly. "But still, thank you."
"Okay, okay, enough already! You're welcome, and please don't say that anymore." Meiko made a face. "You make me feel like the blue idiot after eating too much ice-cream." She winked at Miku. "Well, I've got things to do; hope Luka-chan's having sweet dreams. Ciao teal idiot~!"
'Oh and Meiko?' Miku saw her freeze in her tracks and sweatdrop; having read Miku's mind.
'I'll overlook the first time; but infatuation or not, I don't like to share.'
Meiko smiled weakly and hurried away, leaving a smirking Miku behind.
Luka was, in fact, dreaming like what Meiko had mentioned.
Dream/ Flashback
"Gakkun! Gakkun!" The little girl coughed, trying to expel the smoke that had been drawn into her lungs. "Where are you?"
"Luka-chan!" The boy found her and he pulled her to the ground. "Stay down, the smoke rises. You breathe easier on the ground."
"Gakkun… What happened? There was a sudden explosion and Hiromi-san disappeared-" Luka then noticed that the boy was gripping onto a sword tightly, a sword that she had last seen hanging at the side of the Hunter who had been showing them around their new home.
"Y-You're bleeding!"
"So are you, Luka-chan." Luka wouldn't have noticed the cut on her forehead had he not pointed it out; Gakupo merely grinned at her when she shot him a worried look.
"Just our luck ne? The vampires chose to attack the Hunters' Headquarters on the day we come! Isn't that exciting?"
"Baka! It's dangerous!" She scolded nervously. "And what are you doing with Hiromi-san's sword anyway?"
His face fell.
"Hiromi-san… h-he gave it to me! For… protection, he said!"
"Hiromi-san is dead… isn't he?" She always knew it when Gakupo lied, and he wasn't a very good liar. "And you've… you've been in a fight!"
"There were… some vampires! They wanted to t-tear up Hiromi-san's body!" His grip on the sword tightened. "I couldn't let that happen! They… they…"
"It's okay…" Luka whispered soothingly, finding his hand and giving it a light squeeze. She knew that Gakupo was probably reminded of his parents, who had sacrificed themselves to allow the two of them to survive an attack by vampires.
"They're coming."
"W-What? Who's coming?" Luka panicked as Gakupo let go of her hand and stood; the hefty weapon he held before him defensively an odd contrast with his small frame. "Gakkun, who's-"
Out of the smoke suddenly appeared a gruesome sight that haunted her nightmares; blood red eyes and razor-sharp nails, jagged teeth and pale inhuman features; Luka had lost count of how many people she had seen killed by vampires; this one headed straight for Gakupo without hesitation.
"Gakkun!"
Luka watched as Gakupo effortlessly killed the vampire, putting his previous lessons with his father to good use; yet he seemed to be struggling with the weight of his chosen weapon and another vampire simply pushed him away as it dashed towards Luka, sensing easy prey.
"Run, Luka!"
Luka tried to get up, but her legs wouldn't obey her and she could only watch in horror as the vampire came closer and closer to her, crimson liquid dripping off its nails; from somewhere she heard Gakupo grunt as he abandoned the sword and dived, grabbing its ankle.
The vampire fell, but it shook him off and crawled towards Luka, its hand getting closer and closer-
"You know, you should at least try running away or something." The vampire's head suddenly burst open, splattering bits of body matter all over Luka.
"Name's Lily, Masuda Lily." Her savior, a blonde girl around the same age, struck a pose with the gun in her hand. "Nice ta meet cha!"
"Wow," She took a closer look at Luka. "Don't you need a bath!"
"That's your entire fault stupid!" Gakupo glared as he knelt before Luka, who was extremely close to hyperventilating.
"Luka?" He said gently. "It's alright now, don't worry. It's safe."
An explosion shook the building, contradicting his words.
"We should get your girlfriend somewhere safe," Lily commented. "I think the fight's coming this way."
"She's not my girlfriend!" Gakupo scowled, turning his attention back to Luka. "Luka, you need to find somewhere to hide and stay there till everything's over." He waved his hand in front of her face but received no response. "Luka?
"I think she's in shock. Let me try," Lily pushed him away and sat in front of Luka.
"Hey, your name's Luka right?" Lily tilted her chin up. "You know, you should be really pissed with me right now for getting your clothes all dirty. Come on, scream! Hit me! Or whatever!"
Luka just continued to stare at Lily blankly.
"I expected something like this." Lily sighed and adopted her most serious facial expression.
"Luka, Luka, Luka. If you don't get mad about the state of your clothes, the universe will curse you to ruin your Hunter uniform every time you go out on a mission! Then that old man Ted will ban you from your favorite food or drink as punishment! And he'll purposely eat or drink it in front of you!"
Luka didn't even blink.
"Well… that didn't work either."
"Of course it didn't!" Gakupo exploded. "What kind of stupid persuasion was that?"
"You already said it, the stupid kind." Lily pointed the gun at the empty hallway and fired; there were pained snarls and the sound of bodies hitting the floor was heard soon after. "Besides, I don't see you succeeding either."
"Well-" He had nothing to say. "T-Then you shouldn't have shot it in the head, especially when it was in front of her!"
"To kill a vampire, you either shoot it in the heart, or the head." Lily recited. "And since it was crawling on the floor, the head's a much easier target, don't you think? In any case, it saved her life." Lily smirked. "Which you had obviously been failing at, from how close it was to her."
"I-" Gakupo flushed. "I-"
"Stop it! Stop it!"
"Luka?" Gakupo rushed over to her. "I won't argue with her any more if you don't like it-"
"T-There's so many… my head hurts!" The pink-haired girl complained, clutching her head. "And there's more near us!"
There was a dawning look of realization on Lily's face and she laughed. "Nothing like a good bath in vampire body bits to awaken your Hunter senses, ne?"
"We should head for the underground floors. Hiromi-san mentioned that they are well guarded, so we should be safer there." Gakupo decided and he went to pick up the sword. "Coming with us, Lily-san?"
"No, don't go down! It's even more dangerous!" Luka protested. "Trust me Gakkun!"
"It's easy to get confused Luka-chan," Gakupo smiled kindly at her. "Don't worry, Lily-san and I are here, we'll protect you! I swear on my name as Kamui Gakupo and on my honor as a Kamui."
"Don't I get a say in any of this?" Lily asked jokingly as she helped Luka up, wiping Luka's face with her sleeve. "But since Luka's rather cute; I'll help! And just Lily is fine, Gakkun."
"Whatever." Gakupo mumbled as he held out a hand for Luka to take. "Come on Luka-chan."
"She's with me!" Lily clung onto Luka's arm, shooting Gakupo a devious grin. "I can handle a gun with one hand, but you look like could use two."
"Fine," Gakupo huffed, clearly displeased, but he didn't say anything about it. "You two go first, I'll cover our backs."
"But-" Luka started to say before he cut her off.
"It's okay, the three of us are together, and we'll find a place to hide-"
The sound of rapid footsteps approaching interrupted.
"Gakkun, from the headache I'm having I'm sure that those aren't friendly." Lily broke into a sudden run, forcing Luka to run as well, Gakupo following closely behind. "We gotta get outta here, there's too much for us to handle!"
"I know!" Gakupo sneaked a quick glance back. "They're following us!"
'Damn, at this rate we'll-'
"H-Here… Hiromi-san let me l-look at it earlier…" Lily stopped and stared at what Luka had pressed into her hand, a wide grin growing with each passing second.
"Awesome! You're totally my type of girl!" Lily kissed Luka, much to Gakupo's shock and horror, and she threw the grenade behind them.
"Come on," She grabbed Luka's hand as the grenade detonated, the adrenaline rush sending her into a fit of giggling. "Let's go!"
"Hey, why the hell did you do that for Masuda?"
"Oww…" Luka's vision swam and she rubbed her head. "My head… it hurts like I slammed into a wall headfirst…"
"Good to see that you're awake now Luka!"
'That voice… Lily?' Luka recognized. She looked around. "Where are you?"
"Up here."
Luka looked up.
Hanging several feet above her was Lily and Gakupo, the latter unconscious, trussed up like chickens awaiting slaughter.
"W-What are the two of you doing up there?"
"Oh you know, just hanging around." Lily laughed but stopped when she saw the look on Luka's face.
"Sleeping beauty here," Lily jerked her chin at Gakupo, "Hit his head. All of us hit our heads pretty hard."
"Hit our heads?"
"You don't remember? We went to the underground floors and we bumped into a whole bunch of vampires that were really powerful and… we ended up like this!" Lily beamed, feeling rather relieved that Luka couldn't remember anything. 'This means that she won't remember that all the Hunters in the underground floors have been killed…'
"Are you okay?" The two of them looked none worse for the wear, but it didn't hurt to make sure.
"Other than the fact that I'm hanging from a rope with my arms pinned at my sides and enough rope to keep me warm? Yup, I'm fine!" Lily joked. "Cheer up; at least you aren't hanging around like us! When you itch, you can't scratch. It's pure torture. And we're tied rather securely; the rope's strong, so no worries about us falling on you."
'That means I'm alone…' Luka realized that they were in a cave. "How did they get you up there?"
Lily's face grew serious. "Be careful, there's one vampire amongst them that can manipulate the earth… But I think they are here for something else so you should be fine right where you are, since I'm not sure remaining here or running around is more dangerous."
"But wow, pretty fancy lighting system!" Her expression lightened as she continued talking in an attempt to keep Luka's mind away from the subject of vampires. I never knew that they installed lights down here, Hunters seem more like the type that preferred burning torches."
"True…" Luka looked around. "But it would be easy to get lost in here, I bet." She remembered Gakupo. "How's Gakkun?"
"Well," Lily grinned mischievously. "I think it's time to wake sleeping beauty up, Lily style."
"The two of you are hanging pretty far apart…" Luka glanced around, trembling suddenly. 'So far so good, no vampires around…'
Lily winked. "Playing on the swings at the playground is really educational!"
Luka watched as Lily wriggled about, moving her body forwards and backwards to gain momentum, like how one would when playing on a swing. Surprisingly, it was working and Lily got closer to Gakupo with each swing.
"And… bull's eye!" Lily exclaimed as her feet made contact with Gakupo, dealing him a wobbly kick.
"W-Wha?" Gakupo regained consciousness in time to see Lily kick him on the butt. "I'm awake! I'm awake!"
"Well, what do you know? The third time really is the charm." Lily smirked. "Took you long enough; even Luka woke up before you."
"Even- Luka! Are you okay?" He shouted as he tried to see her. "Luka?"
"Oh yes, I'm totally fine Gakkun! Thanks for the concern!" Lily said sarcastically. "Way to go genius! Start screaming and shouting so the vampires can come."
Right on cue, a vampire with the appearance of an elderly gentleman materialized out of the shadows.
"All of you are awake? What luck! Which should we pick?"
Several others appeared.
"Take the pink one."
"I agree. She looks the most innocent out of the three."
"Don't forget, the other two had weapons."
"Caused quite a ruckus earlier, those two. The pink one seems rather timid so no need to worry about opposition."
Cloth was stuffed into Luka's mouth as a gag, and the elderly vampire placed his hands firmly on her shoulders.
"I'm not going to tie you up, but if you…" Luka nodded her head quickly to show that she understood, fighting back tears. "Good."
"Let her go, you monsters!" Gakupo shouted from above. "You evil fiends!" He spat at them. "All of you should just die!"
A hand reached out and caught his spit before it hit.
"Kid, you're getting on my nerves." The vampire smirked evilly as he wiped his hand on a handkerchief. "My hand is dirty."
He then clenched his fist, and Gakupo found himself gasping for air; no air seemed to be entering his lungs.
"Stop it! He's suffocating!" Lily squirmed about, wishing that she had her gun. "Stop!"
"Gakkun!" Luka pulled out the gag, worry for her friend overcoming her fear. "Gakkun!"
"That's enough; I think he's learned his lesson by now." The elderly vampire stopped him. "We don't have the time, there's only so long that those fools can distract the other Hunters."
"It's your lucky day," The vampire obeyed, walking off; the rest following with Luka in the middle, surrounded by them.
"Luka!" The Hunters are coming! That old man Ted too! He's the best; he'll save you for sure! Don't lose hope!" Lily shouted after Luka. "We'll have lunch together tomorrow so stay safe!"
'Stay alive!'
The only reply she received was the deafening silence.
"It's simple. All you have to do is to go over there and bring the katana over to us. We won't bother you or your friends after that."
"Hey, I wanted to-"
"Silence!" The elderly vampire glared, smiling when he turned back to Luka. "Go on."
'A cave is a really strange place to display a katana…' Luka took hesitant steps forward, uncertain why the vampires needed her to retrieve it. 'Can't they get it themselves? The way they're hiding at the edge… it almost seems as though they're… afraid of it…'
"Don't worry, it's not dangerous." The elderly vampire called out encouragements with every step that Luka took. "There aren't any traps, go on. Just a little more…"
'A l-little more…' Luka wondered what would happen when she grabbed the katana. Would the ceiling collapse? She had heard of such things happening and the cave was rather large, if it was rigged to collapse then what about the building above it?
"That's it… slow and easy…" The elderly vampire said as Luka approached the katana. "Now, pick it up and bring it back."
Luka stared at the katana; it was nothing extraordinary, other than the fact that the blade was still gleaming after so many years out in the air; and the seals to the cave had been remarkably old yet still powerful enough to injure some of the less powerful vampires when they had broken the seals.
Luka placed a hand on the greenish-blue hilt and tried to lift it, but the katana wouldn't budge.
"Use both hands!"
She obeyed; gripping the hilt tightly with both her hands and that was when it happened.
Luka stood frozen for a couple of seconds, her entire body numb and she felt as though hundreds of volts of electricity were passing through the katana to her; then there was a bright flash and she found herself flung far away from the katana, landing a few feet away.
"She failed!" An accusing voice said. "The katana rejected her!"
"It can be… she was doing so well before!"
"I'll go get the other children."
"Stop!" Luka sat up, intending to stop them but her palm caught her eye. There was a strange symbol on her palm that flared brightly before vanishing; leaving her wondering if she had imagined it.
"Are you okay?"
Luka turned towards the source of the voice and instantly tears sprang to her eyes.
"What's wrong? Are you seriously injured?"
"N-No… I-I just…" Luka shook her head, looking at the lady in surprise when pale hands brushed her tears away.
"You've been very brave Luka," The lady had a gentle smile on her face, hidden tears glittering within cerulean depths. "And that's a nasty cut you got there on your forehead."
Luka blushed furiously when the lady suddenly licked at the cut on her forehead before kissing it.
"Y-You're a very nice lady," Luka, her cheeks flaming red, informed as she touched her forehead gingerly; the cut had healed. "You have pretty hair too. It looks just like the hilt of the katana."
"Thank you; I'm glad that you like it." The lady's laughter was like the twinkling of wind chimes and Luka found herself yearning to hear it again, strangely. "Your hair is really nice too Luka-chan!"
Luka's wish was granted when the mysterious lady laughed again at Luka's blush.
"You are sooooo cute!" Arms slipped around Luka and held her close, stunning her momentarily but she soon relaxed in the lady's embrace, she didn't know why.
"Please let me hold you for a while…" The lady said softly, but Luka heard and she smiled, not saying anything.
"Do you always keep your hair like that?" Luka asked suddenly, curious. Her attention had strayed to settle on the lady's twin tails. 'It looks cute on her.'
"Yep!" Came the cheery reply. "My hair's too long."
"But when you get older, won't people laugh and say that you're childish?"
"Well," The lady winked and flashed Luka a wide grin. "I'm one of those people who grow up, not grow old."
"Really?" Luka grinned back and a thought occurred to her.
"Wait! How come the vampires aren't attacking us?"
"Well… that's because…." The lady looked at her guiltily. "No one can see us talking, don't worry."
"You mean…" Luka looked around and spotted herself lying motionlessly on the ground. "That's my… I'm… I'm dead? … then you're…"
"I wouldn't really call myself an angel," The lady released Luka, allowing her to crawl to her body. "But you aren't dead. Really! Don't worry."
"But I-" New arrivals to the cave caught Luka's attention.
"Gakkun! Lily!" She tried to touch them but her hands ended up passing right through them.
"You're currently in between the world of the dead and the living," The lady explained as Luka stared at her hands in shock, giving her a sad smile. "It was the only way I could save you… I promised to protect you, but I couldn't really do anything… it's pathetic…"
"It's not!" Luka ran over to her, grabbing onto her skirts. "It's not!" She didn't really know what was going on, but Luka figured that she didn't really need to know. She looked at the lady with watery eyes. "Don't cry! You can't cry! If you cry, I'll cry too!"
"I won't cry then, because I don't want you to cry," The lady patted her head. "You're a very strange person, Luka."
"You bastards! You killed her!"
"I'm going to kill all of you once I'm free!"
The lady followed Luka's gaze. "Your friends are worried."
"B-But the Hunters aren't h-here! They should b-be here by n-now to get rid of t-the vampires!" Luka looked around frantically. "Why aren't they here?"
"If you don't do anything, your friends won't last long."
"I can't do anything!" Luka covered her face with her hands. "I'm not brave like Gakkun or Lily! I can't fight! I g-get scared all the time… I won't m-make a good Hunter b-but there's nothing else I can do! I'm clumsy and shy and g-generally useless! V-Vampires keep on coming after me so whoever I stay with will die, like how Gakkun's family…"
The lady looked at Luka seriously and flicked her finger at Luka's forehead.
"Oww!"
"You're thinking too much." The lady relented and rubbed Luka's forehead gently. "But for a start, you know where you're lacking, so make up for it! Clumsy? Train! Shy? Force yourself to talk more! There are so many ways to make up for your 'uselessness'. Don't be so hard on yourself!"
"But Gakkun and Lily-"
"Listen," The lady interrupted her. "I want you to rush to the katana as soon as possible once I tell you to, as fast as you can. Just grab the hilt or touch it, it'll be enough."
"T-The vampires are faster than me- eep!" Luka squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation of the lady's forehead flick when she drew near.
"You just have to be faster than them, okay?" The lady smiled as she took Luka's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
"B-But I'm scared!"
"It's normal to be scared," The lady hugged her tightly. "When we're scared, we learn our limitations and are able to further improve ourselves. And…" Her eyes were downcast. "And when we're scared… we learn to cherish things more…"
Luka tugged at the hem of the lady's dress, about to say something when the lady suddenly pushed her towards her body.
"Now Luka!"
Luka opened her eyes and got to her feet instantly, instinct propelling her rather than thought. The vampires reacted fast and she could sense all of them clearer than ever; they were shocked when she had moved but now several of them were reaching her…
Her finger touched the hilt of the katana, then her hand wrapped around it comfortably.
A bright light engulfed the cave.
"You succeeded!" The lady from before greeted.
"Where are we?" Luka looked around; the two of them were in… some sort of garden, standing under a huge tree. She looked down and saw the katana in her hands. "I… did it?"
"Yes, you did." The lady confirmed proudly, looking at her fondly. "Take good care of the katana, Luka. After so long, its owner is back for it..."
"Are you… leaving?" Luka stared at her with wide eyes. "Why?"
"Yes I am," The lady acknowledged with a small smile. "My job here is done, and I-"
"I don't want you to go lady!" Luka didn't know why she felt so attached to her. "Don't go!"
"Luka," The lady knelt before her to look at her in the eye. "This katana is a part of me and I'm a part of this katana. In a way, as long as it's with you, I'm always with you. Besides, you carry me in here." The lady touched Luka's chest. "In your heart."
"O-Okay… I p-promise not to forget you!" Luka had tears running down her face, although she was trying her best to stop herself from bursting into full-blown sobbing. "I won't!"
The lady smiled. "You're such a sweet girl Luka… I'm really glad that I got to meet you when you were young…" She abruptly pinched Luka's cheek. "So cute!"
The lady laughed at Luka's facial expression, looking childish all of a sudden. "Carrying me in your heart in especially important, okay? Don't ever let anyone usurp my place!"
"I won't! I swear!" Luka squeezed her eyes shut only to open them again when she felt a gentle touch on her forehead; in time to see the lady walk away, her figure disintegrating in the distance.
"Keep the katana near you always; it'll protect you…"
I'll protect you…
"Goodbye lady…" Luka said to the air. "I won't forget you…"
"Wow. Crazy recruits this time round Ted! They got rid of those vampires trying to steal the katana!"
"What do you mean?" Ted shot the final vampire and entered the cave; Lily and Gakupo were lying unconscious on the ground; Luka was unconscious as well but she was gripping the katana tightly even when unconscious, a slight smile on her lips.
There was something terribly familiar about that scene.
"Well…" Ted smiled to himself. "Looks like Luka-chan found her katana again."
Luka's eyes shot open.
"Just a dream…" She sighed and rubbed her eyes.
'I never told her my name; but more importantly she looked astonishingly like Miku… an older version of Miku… but… if it wasn't Miku, then who was it?'
~Omake~
"Green is the Enemy"
While in Hatsune Manor…
Luka stared.
She didn't know how it was possible, but apparently vampires were able to ingest food; or rather, one sort of food item besides their traditional 'meal' of blood.
Seeing as she was the only one who really needed to eat; Miku didn't want her to feel lonely so Kaito, Meiko and she often joined Luka at mealtimes.
They would always eat the same thing, at every meal.
Miku would be eating leeks, mostly raw, and Luka always wondered where the leeks came from, and how was it possible to grow enough leeks to supply Miku's needs, for Miku went through leeks each meal at the same rate kids eat cereal to have enough boxes to redeem for some toy; and Luka had seen cereal sold out before.
Kaito always had a gigantic… pile of ice-cream that obscured Luka's view of him when it was placed before him, but somehow he always managed to reduce the ice-cream to a quarter of its original size within a few minutes. He would then mope around for a bit before finishing up the remaining ice-cream, having seconds afterwards and occasionally a third helping, making Luka feel queasy every time she watched him.
Meiko was different, she didn't eat. Instead, she drank. Surprisingly, despite her somewhat serious exterior, Meiko spent most of her time ranging from being in a state of intoxication and nursing a hangover. She downed large amounts of sake and went through bottles of sake like Miku eating leeks, perhaps even worse. Luka always wondered how they had so much sake lying around and why Meiko hadn't gotten alcohol poisoning by now.
Vampires probably had really good constitutions.
"Is there something wrong Luka? Miku noticed that she was not touching her food. "You don't like it?"
"Oh, no! It's fine!" Luka was embarrassed at getting carried away with her staring. "It's just… just that Gumi always eats my carrots for me…"
Luka would sneak Gumi some carrots whenever Ted banned her from them; similarly Gumi did the same for Luka with tuna. Over time, Luka had somehow gotten into the habit of giving Gumi her carrots.
In addition, true to the manor's theme of 'larger than life', Luka had an extremely generous helping of carrots that she could only prod at with her fork and wish that Gumi was around.
Miku was shocked.
"B-By Gumi, you mean as in Gumi, a human? Not Gumi, a dog or a cat or…" She thought of possible animals that ate carrots. "Or a… a rabbit?"
"I'm pretty sure that Gumi is human," Luka laughed. "Although I think she resembles a carrot more than anything. She has lovely green hair and she often wears orange clothes, so she ends up looking like a carrot. Isn't that cute?"
'Cute, she said.' Miku's eyes narrowed. She dropped the poor napkin that had been crumpled at the mention of 'lovely green hair' and whispered to Kaito, who was sitting next to her. "Green is the enemy!"
"It makes me wish that she was around…" Luka smiled wistfully. "This amount of carrots would be nothing for her."
Miku lost it.
Luka blinked and suddenly her plate was before Miku, who was shoveling carrots into her mouth at an alarming rate.
'Cute?' Miku stabbed a piece of carrot fiercely, imagining it to be one Gumi, despite the fact that she had no idea what Gumi looked like; Kaito stared at Miku in amused shock, letting his ice-cream melt.
'And she talks about her with that sort of smile on her face!' Miku viciously speared another piece, chomping hard on it in her mouth.
Swallowing, she muttered. "Green is definitely the enemy."
"But Miku-sama, isn't your hair greenish-"
"Silence!" Kaito was hit by bits of carrot, having interrupted Miku at a bad time.
"And you!" Miku made sure that her mouth wasn't full before informing Luka, jabbing a fork in her direction. "From now on only I, Hatsune Miku, am allowed to eat your carrots! You got that? Only me! You're not allowed to smile and talk about someone else when-"
"Thank you for eating the carrots Miku," Luka smiled warmly. "I appreciate it a lot."
Miku froze.
Thank you for eating the carrots Miku...
I appreciate it a lot…
By now, Miku was in danger of ending up like Kaito's ice-cream.
"I-I… it's nothing…" Miku blushed and lowered her gaze chastely. "B-Besides, carrots are good for your eyesight…"
Only Meiko, who was by then thoroughly smashed, noticed the strange look of triumph on Luka's face that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
Shrugging it off, Meiko thought that she had imagined it.
Later that night…
Luka opened her notebook and began to write…
Vampire Observation Diary
Task complete! \(^w^)/
It was successfully proven that vampires can eat more than one food item. Test subject Hatsune Miku ate carrots with some light persuasion…
~End~