Title: La Promessa Immortale

Author: Kamel

Pairing: Haruka/Michiru

Word Count:

Genre: Romance, Drama

Rating: PG-13

Feedback: Please and thank you.

Summary: [AU] London, 1888: To Mamoru, this was all a game; he loved seeing Haruka suffering. Years after playing a losing game, Mamoru finally learns Haruka's weakness: Michiru.

Notes: I'm sorry it has taken a while for me to get this chapter up. School has been more then chaotic and finals are just coming to an end. I should have more time to work on this piece during the summer, but I am still not entirely sure about how quick updates will be since I'll be overseas and probably won't have access to the internet.

Chapter Two

In mid-run through the wilderness surrounding the city, her foot caught in between the damp ground and a stray tree root causing her to stumble onto the ground with the great velocity she had been travelling at. A mouth full of dirt was never pleasant. She pushed herself up from the small trench she had created, spitting the residue away from her mouth – such a disgusting taste but it had cancelled the sweet aroma that had been lingering there. The sweet scent of that girl from the city; she had a faint resemblance, something she could not place – as if she had seen that girl before, but that was impossible. She had not been back to London in so long, or even the country. Anyone she could have been able to recognize died a long time ago, not to mention her human memories had been faded over time.

"Your sense of balance has left you, Haruka."

That voice.

That cold, chilling voice.

Quickly, Haruka was on her feet in a blur of motion, frowning deeply; it wasn't a voice she was too pleased or keen on hearing. She hadn't been able to pick up on his scent and he managed to sneak up on her in a moment of weakness. Granted, she hadn't been able to feel the ordinary pain that was bestowed upon mankind, not for a while, but that does not change the fact she had been flat on her face; he was more than capable of causing anyone or anything pain. It was a ruthless talent of his.

For a split-second, Haruka saw him – his tall structure, dark short hair and icy blue eyes, but he instantly vanished from her line-of-sight. His movement was quick, he was always quick on the move. It was a trait he used to torment his prey, appearing to be in many places at once. It was not a pleasant way to end a life, the last thing being seen was a 'teleporting' monster. However, this time, she had been able to trace his scent to a field not too far from her position; she sprinted to where he was waiting. This was dangerous for the both of them to say the least. The cloud cover wouldn't last long, the storm was just passing through, but if this is how they would both meet their end, then so be it – Haruka didn't care as long as the world was rid of this evil.

"Dracula. Or are you still wanting to be addressed as Mamoru?" she questioned. A reasonable request. He had changed his names plenty of times since they had the… pleasure of meeting. She usually addressed him as Mamoru, the name he had given himself when they first encountered in the streets of London so many decades ago.

A smirk tugged on his thin, pale lips. "By you, my dear, call me master."

"Perhaps in your dreams, but even then I would doubt it – what are you doing in London, Mamoru?" Haruka demanded. She had to give her subconscious credit, even in that state of mind she would never give Mamoru what he truly wanted. "Why leave your precious Romania?"

"A change of scenery, my dear Haruka – Transylvania becomes quite dull after a while don't you agree?" Mamoru replied, bemused. "It's been nearly two centuries since my last visit after all.""

"Over two centuries," Haruka corrected with a snarl as fists formed at her sides. She wanted to rip his head off, she wanted to burn his body piece by piece and rid him from existence. However, the woman had questions, questions that only he could answer – not that he would answer her, he truly had no reason too. He knew Haruka would grow steadily aggravated as the time continued if she did not get her way and that would only serve to Mamoru's amusement. "You are behind the murders. Why?" she questioned. Maybe there was a small chance he would give her what she wanted, one would never know unless they tried.

A small chuckle escaped from the back of his throat; Haruka's skin crawled, she hated that cruel laugh. It hinted that she was not about to get the answer that she was seeking. He was a monster in every sense – a monster who enjoyed to toy around with people's minds and play game, the sick twisted son of a bitch. His arms folded over his chest as he shook his head in a scolding manner. "Do you honestly expect me to take a holiday and not enjoy the foreign cuisine? After all, it has been so long since I've had English blood and you will agree when I say the last I had was not what you would call… fresh-"

Before Mamoru could finish the speaking the last word that parted from his lips, Haruka dashed at him. Mamoru's blue eyes narrowed as he quickly side stepped Haruka's irrational attack. Did she honestly believe she could land a hit on him? As Haruka passed by him in a blur of dark colors, Mamoru struck her back with a swing of his arm, sending the woman flying into the tree standing a few feet away from them. Haruka struck the tree with a great velocity, snapping the truck in half as if it were nothing. The wicked man held up his bare hand towards the falling tree. The bark fell onto his hand, coming to a halt – it should have trampled him had he been a normal human man.

A monster in every sense.

"You are making a ruckus, m'dear," Mamoru smirked, tossing the fallen tree as if it were just a branch. This was a fun game, but… it was growing a bit old and a bit boring. It was always the same – Haruka would confront him, demand the impossible, grow upset and then attempt to land a strike. She needed to change her game plan, needed to be a bit more original and it was not as if she did not have the time to change her attitude. No, they had all the time in the world, the two of them.

Haruka's slender hands clutched into tight fists and she pounded them against the dirt ground, leaving behind small caved in packed tight muck. She shouldn't have been able to walk away from this – she had slammed into that thing with such great velocity, but… she too was a monster in every sense as much as she did not want to admit it. She knew that and it was his fault. It was his fault that she was this way. She also knew that she could have ended this 'life' whenever she wanted, but… then Mamoru would be free to unleash his chaos on the world. Instantly, she was back on her feet with motivation and staring him down – both glares just as icy. "These people are not animals, they are not your meals for the picking!" she snarled.

Mamoru took a step back and held out his arms to make himself a standing target, his smirk growing with Haruka's anger. "Care to take another swing, would that make you feel better?" he teased; it was taking every ounce of control that Haruka had to stop herself from attempting another strike. She wanted nothing more than to see him vanish from this world. "I've made a deal with the devil long ago, m'dear – I have no sense of right or wrong. I feel no emotion, I feel no pain. I am a God among these insects, I decide who lives and who dies – and in what manner-"

"You're a beast-"

"And you are no different from myself."

"I may be a monster, but I am no murderer!" Haruka snapped. She restrained from attacking the morals, they did not deserve something like this – no one deserved this way of life or an end that tragic. "These people have done nothing to deserve an end like this nor do they deserve the fate that you have given me! God does not strike fear-"

"Mortals should fear God, they should fear me," Mamoru replied. Of course he should be feared, Haruka was well aware of the stories that were associated with the name Vlad – Vlad the Impaler as he was once known as during his time as a mortal. When you dined with your enemies staked through the heart, a certain reputation follows you throughout time. He had been a sick man and that much had not changed at all. Just the mentioning of his name struck fear into many still to this day.

"Mark my words, I will stop you!" Haruka hissed through her clenched teeth. At this point, she was not exactly sure how she would manage that feat, but she would not rest until her mission was accomplished; she was determined to stop him. She had to stop him. If she stopped him, she would be sparing many.

He shook his head once more, slowly back and forth – taunting her; he was still amused by the entire situation. She was giving him nothing but empty threats. She did not have the necessary power to stop him, no where near it. "M'dear, before my visit is up, I will show to you, I will prove to you that you are no different from me. You were able to resist the little… mess I left you, for that I applauded you – you have more control then I believed. However, this is just the beginning," he warned.

The dark clouds were rolling through and eventually, the sun would be shining through; Haruka would not move unless he did. If she could keep him distracted, get him into the sunlight and finish him, then so be it. That would be fine by her – any way that lead to his head was fine by her. "I am not like you," Haruka repeated, her eyes narrowing. After all, she had kept her morals unlike him – not that he had any morals to begin with. "Massacring-"

"Such a strong word! Massacring! When these humans hunt down a deer, do you describe it as massacring?" Mamoru asked. He was just doing what was necessary to survive! And, well, he did play with his meals every once in a while; he liked to keep things interesting of course.

"You can't compare the life of a human being to a life of an animal-"

"A superior being compares its existence to that of lower ones, m'dear – take note," Mamoru pointed out, bemused. Even after all this time she still refused to embrace their way of life – the life he had given her. "You really should not become too attached to your food."

"I haven't eaten, not for centuries," Haruka remarked. What they had to do to sustain their being, it was not eating. The two actions should not be placed in the same level; they were in no way the same by any of her means. "I do what I must so sustain my pitiful life, to keep you in check."

At that, Mamoru could not help but laugh openly. So Haruka still honestly believed that she had the ability to stop him? To keep an eye on him? It was pretty pitiful. "Keep me in check?" he repeated, fighting back the chuckles that continued to threaten to escape. This was too rich. "You cannot lay a hand on me," he pointed out, something that had been proven time and time again over the years. "You will learn to embrace what you are soon enough – there will be a being you won't be able to resist."

Soon enough? It had been over two centuries – over two hundred years. Haruka had not tasted human blood for just as long; she admitted her actions during the beginning were not ideal by the standards she had now, but she had been a newborn. She did not have the control she had now. She did not have the power to turn the other cheek when confronted by humans. Things were different now; she now had that control after all that time. She could easily resist temptation; she could resist the sweet smell, the sweet aroma that had teased her just moments before this encounter.

The aroma that she had desperately wanted to taste, the aroma she had to run from to keep herself in check. Haruka's body became tight and rigid as the thought crossed his mind. That girl. She wanted that girl more than any other human being she had encountered; with others, she was able to ignore and not think twice. Every human had their own distinct scent that triggered different reactions, each that she had been able to ignore, but… that girl. She had a hard time with that girl; it had been a scent she hadn't encountered, not for a while. Where had she smelt that aroma before? She glared at Mamoru hard. "Why did you come back to England, Dracula?" she demanded a question he had not exactly answered.

"You have already found her, haven't you?" Mamoru responded, placing his arms behind his back. Once more, the smirk grew; he knew something that she didn't and she knew it was information that he would not give up to her. No, he would use it to torment her further. Of course. That was his nature.

"What are you talking about?" Haruka growled. Found who? That girl? That girl had no importance to her – she was just some random human Haruka had walked past in the city, nothing more. Haruka was positive of it. There couldn't have been a connection between them, it was impossible. Everyone she had encountered in the past, her old life… everything from that time period was gone.

Mamoru's blue eyes travelled up towards the lightening sky. "I believe our time has run out, m'dear," he noted.

"If you think I'm going to allow-" Haruka began, but immediately fell silent when the man in front of her disappeared into thin air – no trace. Nothing. As if he had not been standing there at all. He had powers beyond her league, something Haruka did not enjoy admitting – it meant she would not be able to stop him, that his terror would continue regardless of her actions. He had been right; however, time was running short. The storm was passing and the sun would be out and she still had to sustain herself.

XXX

Working in a clock shop, one would expect to go accustom to the various amounts of ticking and other sorts of odd noises the many clocks produced constantly throughout the small work place day in and day out. She had put nearly three years into this place and she still had been unable to grow use to the noise – if anything the constant ticking was a constant reminded that time was slipping by them and they were sitting here trying to sell clocks to the public when they should truly be doing more. It was a constant annoyance that she had no other choice but to deal with.

They were wasting time here; they should be out there, exploring the world and venturing away from London, from the dull repetitive city life. How long had they been stuck here? It was definitely time to move on, was it not? She wanted to be somewhere near the sea – to see the ocean, that was her dream. It would be relaxing and at the same time exciting. The ocean was always changing, always different; it would be an adventure. There was a house built along the shores of France that was waiting for her and one day she would be able to obtain it.

"Day dreaming again, Michiru?"

The young woman's aquamarine eyes that had been staring out the store front's window absent mindedly before she pulled away and she turned around to face the entrance towards the backroom. It wasn't exactly rare for Michiru to be caught day dreaming about anything and everything under the sun that did not have to do with this small shop. A faint smile tugged on her thin lips as she saw the older woman, her dear friend and employer. "It's been a slow morning, Setsuna," she replied simply, turning back to the corner. She picked up the violin case she had placed on when she entered and tucked it away under. After they closed up shop for the day, Michiru would give lessons to Setsuna's step-daughter. The little girl had been interested in the instrument since Michiru started working; she had been impressed by Michiru's playing and was determined to learn the instrument herself. Michiru was more than happy to share pointers with the young child.

"The weather is working against us," Setsuna replied, folding her arms over her chest as her garnet eyes glanced towards the empty street. "No rain, but the clouds are enough to scare the people into their homes," she grinned. She wouldn't want to be outside either right now and risk being rained on. However, there were other reasons for not venturing out.

"It is rather ominous out there," Michiru commented. It was exactly what Setsuna had been thinking. "And with all the rumors flying about its no wonder really why no one wants to be out – that woman was gutted, nearly beheaded over on Durward Street and the police have no leads." The general public was worried, paranoid that the killer could strike again – it was not just some random killing, not with the fashion of the victim. This murderer was insane, mentally unstable.

Setsuna knew of the spreading rumors of the killings, of the chilling factor that the police had no idea who was behind them. The killer was still out there, probably preparing their next strike. It was comforting to know she did not have to walk the streets during the evening hours; her home was connected to the shop. However, her employee on the other hand, she worried about. Michiru worked until close and gave Hotaru lessons afterwards – the young woman was no stranger to the late night streets. "I would feel safer if you allow Souichi to walk you home this evening, Michiru," she pointed out.

"Being a little cautious, are we?" Michiru responded, casting her attention back over to her old friend. Honestly, it was not a long walk at all. Her house was not even two blocks away from the shop and the path she took was lit by the lamp posts. Not to mention, police security would increase until the killer was found. She was still safe to walk alone, wasn't she?

"And you not enough," Setsuna was quick to come back. They had known each other for the better part of three years now, since Setsuna had moved to London from Spain after her marriage to Souichi; she had been one of the first few friends she made in this new country. She did not want to see the younger woman get hurt or even worse. They could not be too safe, not precaution was too much. "It was a woman who was killed, Michiru – a single woman roaming in the late hours of the evening or early morning."

"I hardly fit in that category-"

"Oh? The last I recall, you finger is still missing a wedding band," Setsuna was quick to reply to her friend's unfinished remark. Michiru had a quick tongue and Setsuna was just put to par with her; they made an interesting pair, the two of them. They were both full of witty remarks and both were more than eager to go neck to neck if things lead to that.

"The other part," Michiru corrected, rolling her eyes slightly. Her married? Honestly. The men here were dogs, most of them did not deserve the time of day – and comparing them to dogs gave the poor animals a bad name. They were so full of themselves, believing that the whole world should bend over backwards for them simply for being born male. She was happily single and that did not appear to be changing any time soon if she remained in this city, not that she minded at all. "I don't walk home late and I'm still fast asleep in those early morning hours," she pointed out. It was the truth, she did not see any risk factors. "Maybe this will make the walk home a bit more exciting."

"Only you would consider having a murderer on the loose exciting," Setsuna remarked, shaking her head in displeasure. There was a trace of annoyance in the older woman's voice and it had every right to be currently present there. Michiru had to take more precautions, especially during this day of age with lunatics on the run, searching to take advantage of young girls such as herself. "Do you honestly consider London to be that boring, Michiru?"

The sunlight was pouring back into the street, the storm was passing without a drop of rain (a rare occurrence in this city); the people would wander out of their houses soon enough – to buy a clock from the shop, probably not. Business was usually slow, usually dull, but as long as she was paid, she really did not complain (not too much anyway). "Every day of the same thing gets rather boring, yes," Michiru replied honestly. "But it is definitely extreme to say a murderer is exactly what this city needs, that's rather barbaric of me," she reasoned and corrected herself. "I would rather being in a foreign country – don't you want to return to Spain?"

"I think about it every once and again, yes," Setsuna answered honestly, walking over to the counter. She leaned up against it slightly, her eyes trailing from clock to clock – some had been hanging off the walls for ages. She knew it was because of Souichi that this place was still running, he made more than enough working as a doctor to keep them afloat. Keeping this shop kept her busy, running it was a hobby and she had Michiru around to keep her company when customers were few. "However, it's only natural, Spain is my home, but I have my family here in London. I have Souichi and Hotaru. Surely you feel the same way about your father, yes?" she asked in return.

Michiru was silent for a moment, but in the end she nodded in respond to Setsuna's question. Her father was all she had left family-wise, her mother had passed nearly two years ago and she was an only child – no brothers or sisters to keep her company. He was the only reason why she had been lingering here in London; she didn't want him to experience a loss of another family member. He wouldn't want to leave London with her. He was attached to the city. "Of course, I do, but… I can only remain here for much longer, Setsuna. My family moved here from France a few years before I was born – I would like to see the country, the beaches, everything," she replied with a faint sigh.

"But you aren't of France decent, correct?" Setsuna asked. If she recalled correctly, her friend came from a family of English men. The family name had been around for a while. "Your family relocated to France in the 1600s, isn't that true?"

"The Black Plague had claimed many, they wanted to stay safe," Michiru replied, nodding. Her family had not been the only one to do so – many families travelled to different parts of Europe to try to escape the plague, but the disease did not just linger in London. It spread throughout the continent, but moving provided scared people with a small peace of mind that had been desperately wanted in that terrible era. "It was a horrible time, people dying in the streets – rotting away, a live, to nothingness. My so many great grandmothers, she kept a diary of the time and she lost her lover to the plague. That's when she decided to relocate."

"A family heirloom? The diary?"

"A discovery I made in the attic one summer day," Michiru said with a shrug. It had been the summer after her mother's passing. Her father had been unable to pack away the woman's belongings. He did not want to accept the fact that she was truly gone. The task had been left to Michiru; she had packed everything away and sorted it within their attic. She had taken the time to explore around a bit as well since it had been years since anyone went through the many belongings they kept up here. "She too had been Michiru Kaioh – family name," she answered before Setsuna could ask.

"Hmm. That's an interesting find – a unique perspective of the past," Setsuna commented. "You have your own piece of history, as bleak as it is."

Michiru gave her a small nod; it was true, her own dreary piece of history. "It reads more of a love story than anything else. She was madly in love with a blacksmith and by the sounds of it, they were destined for each other," she explained, her aquamarine eyes watching the store front window, watching two old maidens walk right on by the shop. "Haruka Tenoh. I looked into the family name, but it appears to be that they were wiped out by the plague."

"Disheartening – the poor girl," Setsuna murmured, shaking her head as she frowned lightly.

To Be Continued