(A/N: Well, I'm back, and it's not to update Night Of The Vampires! -ducks flying objects- BUT I did return to update this, and I'm satisfied so far with the reviews. I seemed to have caught people's interest! That's good, right? -grins egotistically- Well, maybe I shoudl answer the reviews! Hmm...
Nubia: Actually, yes, it is an OC story, as you may put it. But I swear, I do my best to not make it Mary-Sue-ish! -bows frantically- Here's the update!
Moon Phases: Is it interesting? I hope, 'cause I really spend time on my fanfics, a.k.a. losing sleep over them becuase the ideas keep churning around in my head! Good thing test week is over...
Storms-winter: As a matter of fact, I do happen to be a genius, thank you very much. lol Yeah, I know, huge ego, bad for the health. -laughs- Did you really expect me to tell you everything that's gonna happen? Actually, I'd love to (I'm like that, heh heh) BUT the only catch is...I don't really know what's gonna happen either. -all readers fall on floor- Hey, I'm getting to it!
Now, happy readings!
Chapter One: Angel And Shield
The shrill sound of a telephone raced through the vast manor, rebounding off the walls like a rubber ball on asphalt, careening about in every direction, and hurried steps were heard on the floor.
"I've got it! I've got it!"
"Don't shout in the house, Miss Kana!" an elderly voice called from the upstairs floor.
The girl named Kana giggled to herself and grabbed the ringing phone from its seat, bringing it to her ear as she swept her dainty bangs from her face.
"Hello? Hiwatari residence!" she chirped, her small body practically bouncing up and down.
"Yeah, Kai, please," a youngish male voice replied.
"I'm sorry," Kana answered, putting on her sweetest voice, "but my big brother isn't here right now. You can talk to me, though."
"Uh…"
"Kana Hiwatari, you give me that phone right now!"
The girl gave a little shriek, more of surprise than fear, dropping the receiver in the process, so that the boy at the other end yelped.
"Jesus Chr-…"
"That's enough, Kana!"
Kai descended the huge, winding stairs in a hurry, shooting his kid sister a sharp, albeit playful glare, which she only returned with as much ferocity as her small self allowed. The elder laughed, tousling her hair as she zipped by him to dash up the stairs. He bent to retrieve the phone.
"Hello?"
"Geez, Kai, can't you control that…that…that thing?"
"She's not a thing, Tala. Cut her some slack, will you? She's only ten years old."
Kai leaned back on the wall by the telephone table, smoothing his blue locks with a hand and loosening his tie with the other, pulling off the uniform piece with certain disdain.
"You love that little girl too much for your own good," the one named Tala claimed.
"Maybe."
"Yeah, whatever. Anyway…so, the meeting. How'd it go?"
"You really want to know?" Kai asked, his crimson gaze trailing to the high ceiling.
"I wouldn't have called, and suffered through your little sister if I didn't," Tala stated indignantly, "spill it, Hiwatari."
Kai sighed, fiddling with the hem of his shirt that was sticking out, before answering.
"It was okay, I guess," he said heavily.
"Classic reply. Elaborate."
"Look, there's not much to say, okay? It's just a girl in some hospital…"
"Oh, now it's getting interesting! How old is she? Is she nice?" Tala said quickly, and Kai could practically hear him grinning.
"She's sixteen, and yeah, I guess she's kind enough…a bit weird, though…" the other admitted, thinking back to her odd remark.
Your voice sounds nice.
"Kai, you know what I mean. Nice. Is she nice?"
"Have I ever told you how perverted you are?"
"On several occasions."
He sighed again, this time more out of amusement than anything else, and settled his eyes on the top of the stairs, where he was sure Kana was attempting to listen in on the conversation from behind their parents' bedroom door. Instinctively, he grimaced at the door, then craning his ears just in time to hear the slight giggle from within. He smirked.
"I dunno. I wasn't really…"
"Are you mad?" came Tala's infuriated scream, cutting his friend off, "You have the chance to sit, alone, with a girl and you didn't even check her out!"
"Hey, look, not every guy at school is as twisted as you are, Ivanov," Kai replied icily, "it's just for a few hours of community service for that crackpot old Jensen."
The other remained silent.
"Besides, like I said before," the blue-haired teen continued, "she's just weird. I don't think I'd…"
"Yeah, yeah, okay, you got me," Tala interrupted again, causing Kai to roll his eyes, "just…hey, can you help me find someone to serviceably…commute…with?"
Kai smirked.
"Get your rich parents to help you."
"Hey, I'm not the only one with ri-…"
His words were truncated as Kai hung up the receiver with a snap, and upstairs, his sister was laughing again.
The sun was shining still, just peeking over the edge of existence, like a broken, blood-soaked soul hovering on the brink of despair. Its fiery tendrils went high in the sky, but all, the while, as the seconds passed, the red claw marks seemed to fade, leaving place to a melancholy painting of crimson and almost-black.
The natural light in the small, white room was dissolving as well, but she did not react to the change. Her eyes swept around the space, which was more like a cubicle to her than anything else, and her pert, gently pointed nose seemed to twitch, as though sensing something more in the air than the usual breathing material.
"Everyone's gone."
Her voice was soft in the unoccupied room, hardly carrying before it died away. Her features relaxed slightly, then she lay back heavily on the bed, heaving a sigh too weary for her sixteen years.
"Everyone's gone," Carmen repeated.
The moonlight color of her eyes focused themselves on the colorless ceiling tiles, and for a moment she seemed to be contemplating nothing.
A few birds twittered outside the open window, then a voice rang out, low; a young male.
You are tiring, my child?
She gave no response, shifting her weight instead and turning on her side, her gaze vague now. Thoughts eluded her, and yet she heard nothing from the outside. Her world was empty for a moment. Just like her eyes.
My child?
Again, she seemed to not have heard. She settled her head firmly on a pillow, slipping a hand between the linen pillow case and the bed sheets as her raven hair fell freely over her face, obscuring the silver for a moment, before they glinted, momentarily, behind the dark curtain.
My child…Carmen, the voice insisted once more, gentle, like a father's, you do not do yourself well in this state. Please…
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
Her voice was monotonous, like reciting a poem or paragraph, learnt but not understood. The presence seemed to frown, and there, slight but discernable by the sharp eye, was a smile, drawn on her lips in a delicate hand.
A quiet laugh was heard only to her ears; a wave of silent approval swept over her, gentle as the voice that accompanied the intention.
You are beautiful when you smile, my child, he remarked lightly, almost teasingly, why do you hide it so in front of the others?
She felt the brush of a fine, ephemeral hand on her face, its touch cool and soothing. She leaned into it, hearing the being chuckle anew, and she could not help but smile again, just for the childlike benefit of hearing him laugh once more. He did, and she sat up quickly, her eyes sparkling with the silent mirth that she only shared with him.
"You'll stay with me forever…won't you, Tarian?"
He seemed to react profoundly to the sound of his name. His presence stirred a little more, and Carmen smiled again, lying back on the sheets, her eyes fixed on a point of the perfect wall.
Finally, Tarian spoke again, his delicate voice warm with affection.
Of course, little love…I shall remain with you…
…forever…
"Kana?"
The entire mansion tensed at the call, almost as though seeking to protect the girl in question. Kai sighed, running a hand languidly through his hair, shaking out the blue locks before allowing them to settle again. He caught of himself in a large, gilded mirror as he strode down the bedroom hall: deep-set, contemplative mahogany eyes and charmingly roguish hair, combined with surprisingly delicate features.
This was why his mother had called him handsome.
"Kana!"
Again there was silence. The kind that need not be pierced for one to know of concealment and secrecy. The teenager's brows furrowed in brotherly annoyance.
"Kana!"
There was a snort and a giggle, but it was muffled instantly, although the girlish mirth could be felt throughout the entire building. Kai smirked to himself, running his fingers lazily over the elaborate wallpaper before pushing open the next door with the tip of his shoe. It swung open slowly, with an intricate creak. He could just glimpse a sliver of the room now, painted in deep green and gold.
"Kana!" he whispered suddenly into the room, knowing that she would hear.
She loved this room. As a matter of fact, so did he. He could still feel them in it; their warmth and love.
Growing impatient, the crimson-eyed teen pushed the door open and stepped carefully inside. His sister would be disappointed if he did not play the game until the end.
"I guess I won't find her," he called out loudly and deliberately, craning his ears for the tell-tale laugh, "oh well…I think I'll leave here…and lock the door behind me."
He stood there for another short while, listening, but this time, the girl made no sound to betray her presence. Raising his brows, he turned on his heel and left the room, then, smirking again, reached behind himself and tugged on the silver door handle, closing the door with a click. At once, a shout rang out from within the beautiful room.
"Wait, Kai!"
He heard her little feet running towards the door, then she twisted and pulled on the handle, but of course, with her brother's hand holding it secure, she was unable to free herself.
Only when she started to pound on the wood with her dainty fists did he allow the door to swing open, and immediately she dashed to him and gripped herself to his leg, looking up at him with huge, scarlet eyes.
"You weren't really gonna leave me…were you?" Kana asked fearfully, her bottom lip nearly quivering from fright.
Kai laughed and knelt down to hold her, and she pressed herself to him, enjoying the feel of his more mature body against her own.
"Of course not, angel," he murmured in her ear, stroking her hair back in order to kiss her snow-white cheek, "you know I'd never leave you alone…"
She still regarded him with that doubtful look on her face, and for a moment she looked so much older than ten years old. Kai felt like a child.
"I swear," he insisted, then he placed the fingers of his right hand under her chin, tilting it gently upwards towards him, wanting to see her smile, "you're my one and only girl, Kana."
"Really?"
"Truly!" he claimed, grinning and kissing her again, so that she giggled and tossed her slender arms around his neck.
They embraced for a moment, and Kai found himself vaguely wondering what his friends would say if they found him that way. Then, her gentle voice, speaking into his hair like the caress of a morning breeze, ruffling the already ruffled locks.
"I love you, Kai."
He smiled, releasing her lithe body in order to look straight into her eyes. They were so large, and so trusting. Tears almost mounted in his throat.
"I love you too, my angel."
What are thinking of now, child?
"Am I obliged to tell you my every thought?"
Carmen…"I can feel her again."
…what?
Carmen turned from where she had been leaning on the windowsill, and the cool evening breeze swept in behind her, tossing her hair. Her eyes were directed towards him, pinpointing his location with surprising accuracy. Her mouth was set in a serious, though not unattractive, line.
"I can feel her," the girl repeated, raising a thin hand, almost as though beckoning, "you don't have to search for much longer…"
Tarian said nothing. His presence drifted from one end of the room to the other. Anxiety leaked from him, seeping into the very air of the small space. She watched his movements patiently.
Here…now…of all places…of all…times…"She's here, Tarian," Carmen confirmed, nodding slowly before turning back towards the open window, "she's here…"
The sky was completely dark now, and farther away, points of light were appearing, like the stars lighting the heavens; streetlights. The teenager leaned forward on her elbows, allowing the wind to play with her hair as she lapsed into thought.
Will you speak to her? Tarian asked then, coming up behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders.
Hardly feeling his touch, she frowned as she considered her answer. The moon was rising in all its silvery glory, reflected twice in the depths that were her eyes.
"No," Carmen said slowly, placing a hand to her forehead as though in headache or deliberation, "no…"
She turned away from the sky again and leaned instead on the wall, so that her gaze was fixed on the opposite, white wall. She shook her head, then looked up to the ceiling, blindly.
"I'll speak with him, first…"
Him?"Didn't you feel it?"
Carmen smiled then, and once more, Tarian found himself in awe of her beauty.
Feel what?She did not answer for a while, though the smile still remained; everlasting as the colorless tone of the walls.
"The boy, Tarian…"
"…Kai Hiwatari…"
(A/N: I have one thing to say, and that is OH MY GOD! -falls off chair- I actually see a plot line in the distance! Well, tell me if it's satisfactory, and I'll try and update NightOf The Vampires! No promises, though...my week-end is packed. -runs away from the rampaging fans-
Carmen - bringer of theApocalypse)