Phase 3: The One Like Me, With Arms Wide Open
5 years later…
Yue wakes up to the cold morning, he leisurely rises up from his bed, shivering at the brisk morning. Looking out to the window, his eyes linger onto the light, serene snow. His expression no longer held the self-distain he had so long ago, but he no longer has the face of his childhood: to him it was all erased that fateful day… Yue's expression had now become more reserved: his eyes were distant and the brilliance of it had dimmed. He never expresses his emotions, they have become almost non-existent. Yue never questioned the decision of the Order, as he did not wish to.
The home that his mother had wanted to live in had been completed within the first 6 months of his stay. His room had been decorated to her expectations; the room that they would've shared together. It was a very large room as it would fit an entire apartment into the spacious glories. The ceiling had been painted with an image of a black, crescent moon; it was to represent the time Haruka and Yue had spent together with the "ladies." "Redi-zu Gekkani," ladies under the moonlight. He had grown fond of the women that he had grown "accustomed" to. To him every second was good memories. Yet, every time he lies awake, Yue stares at the empty rose bed constantly that was meant for Haruko. Still he did not cry, he did not fall into depression, no to him he had moved on.
He steadily got off of his bed. Yue was moderately dressed, wearing a yukata as his sole form of clothing. He got to his feet and grabbed his aunt's black overcoat that hung over his bed. Yue put it on. The leather quickly warming up his body. Walking towards the glass door, Yue gradually opened it and walked to out to the balcony. There was no sun. As the clouds blanketed the sky, below the freshly fallen snow had embraced everything to a frosty white.
"Beautiful…" said Yue. "Luckily I don't have oji-san coming to tutor me today. He's been really strict this past week…" He held some of the snow in his hands and let it drop to the ground below. "I might as well start on breakfast. Kaa-san won't be up for a while." Yue walked out the balcony and wiped off any snow that stuck to his coat. He closed the glass doors behind him blocking out the wintery winds.
Yue exited out of his room and walked slowly down the hallway, towards the staircase. As he strode down the path Yue touched the walls and doors as he passed. So many empty rooms… what was she planning when she designed this manor? The question had no answer. Yue paced down the hollow, wooden steps, echoing with each step. The room was moderate as Yue's room was the only one adjusted to his liking. The kitchen was grandiose, yet it was pretty much empty. The only thing full was the refrigerator.
Before he began Yue turned on the vent. He began to cook. The aroma was sent to the outside as the vent was noiseless, but effective. Yue turned on his music and the loud bass resonated through the manor. He sang along with the lyrics of the song:
"Good morning Yue." yawned Haruka. She sat in a stool across from the cutting board. Haruka drank the tea that Yue had unconsciously set for her.
"Good morning kaa-san." replied Yue.
"Stop calling me that." Haruka gave out a tone of disapprovement.
"I can't help it, you why…" Yue gave out a whimper.
Haruka sighed and pulled out a cigarette and began to smoke.
"That's a bad habit kaa-san; it'll ruin your sense of taste." Yue shot a cold glance at Haruka.
"We're vampires Yue, whatever is bad for humans won't affect our bodies."
"That's not the point, a bad habit is a bad habit and why did you start to smoke anyways? You never smoked around Miyabi-nechan and the others."
Haruka ignored the last comment. " Bad habits die hard."
Yue set down breakfast and began to eat with Haruka, who was right next him. Even though the manor had a luxurious dining hall Haruka and Yue always ate at the large cooking table. They talked to each other, telling each other about what happened the day before. Both had become unusually close to each other. They could tell what kind of mood the other was in, they bathed together, they slept together, and sometimes they would even finish each others sentences. But they were happy and that's all that mattered to them, more so for Haruka as she always tried to make Yue feel accepted around others. Before Yue almost never went outside the family complex, but now, he goes out every couple of days.
"That was a great meal Yue, you keep getting better and better." said Haruka.
"You always say that kaa-san, but I appreciate the thanks." replied Yue. He took the plates to the sink and began to clean them.
"Here I'll do the dishes for once." Haruka shoved Yue out the way.
"Thanks. I think I'll go out to in the snow and walk around for a little bit. Actually I think I'll help Miyabi-nechan at 'Evangeline's Place' "
"Hey! You better change before you go out! I don't want you to be catching a cold or anything!"
"Yeah, yeah I know. I thought you said that 'whatever's bad for humans won't affect us', huh kaa-san?" With that Yue went back upstairs to change out of his yukata. He put on some winter clothing: a long sleeved shirt, leather gloves, black boots, a red scarf, and the black overcoat with 'never say die' on the back. Yue went back down the stairs and walked out the front door. "I'll be back kaa-san!!"
"Take care.. you brat! And tell Miyabi-chan that she needs to go for something higher." said Haruka.
Yue walked down the long frosty steps that led to the manor. "Jeez… I always wanted to know why they made the steps leading to the manor so long…" The snow had already been cleared away, but it was still slippery going up or down. Yue stared at the trees that glistened with glacial beauty. Yue had reached the bottom of the staircase and onto the sidewalk. Across from the street was the actual town. The reason was so that people wouldn't notice the type of people that came to the manor. J-walking, Yue went up the steep hill that separated him from the rest of the people around the town. When he arrived on the street he immediately walked into "Evangeline's Place."
"Good morning Yue-kun." someone reluctantly greeted him. The woman stood over the counter, readying for the cold day ahead.
"Good morning to you to, Miyabi-nechan." he answered sarcastically. Miyabi is part of Haruka's gang called the "Redi-zu Gekkani." She was tall with long red hair, and cherry colored eyes. Her gaze never unwavering.
"Yeah, what's so good about it? It's snowing and I hate the cold. Why couldn't have been a nice unclouded day?" Miyabi was a making two Venti sized hot chocolate.
"You complain too much, Miyabi-nechan." Yue took off his overcoat and put on an apron. He began taking down the stools that was on the counter. "What do expect? We're in mid-winter for crying out loud!" Miyabi gave Yue a little scowl. "You seemed to like it a lot when you hugged me so hard when we went for a ride last week."
"Hey I did that out of necessity! As I remember you and Haruka are the one's who made me take that motorcycle ride! It was freezing! The only way I was going to warm up was human body heat!" Miyabi sipped her warm beverage and handed the other one to Yue. "Besides, you were the obvious choice."
"How the hell does that work? I mean I wasn't the only when there you know." he said tauntingly.
"But you're the one that loves the cold. You're always the one who says 'I love it when it's cold' right?"
A woman walked through the door and a cold breeze came with it.
"What're you two doing? Hurry up and get going, we're supposed to be open by now!" said the woman.
"Sorry Eva-nechan, I'll get right on it." Yue said swiftly. He hastily ran to the closet to pull out a snow shovel. Yue went outside and began to shovel out the snow.
"And you Miyabi, shouldn't you be doing something else? Like getting the groceries for the menu?"
"Ah crap. Was it today?" Eva pointed her finger to the schedule. "I'm so sorry, I totally forgot!"
All Eva could do was sigh. "Well I guess I'll go… but who's going to do the cooking?"
"What's that supposed mean?!" shouted Miyabi.
"You know exactly what I mean, Miss 'Disaster of the Kitchen'!" Eva practically roared those words. The room went unusually silent. At that moment Yue walked back in.
"The sidewalk is all cleared Eva-nechan. Anything else you need me to do?" Both Miyabi and Eva looked at Yue. They came up with the solution…
Yue was walking down the street thinking. "What was that about? They tell me to go get the groceries by myself and expect me to do the cooking to? Holy Moses…" Yue notices a dame walking unsteady on her feet. Her attire was all over the place and she wasn't even properly dressed for the weather. She was wearing a short skirt that was torn, a v-shirt that was leaning on one side, exposing her bra, and she was wearing high-heels.
Yue walked up to her. "Are you alright miss?" The question was moot but he asked just to be polite. She stared down at Yue for a moment and began to fall. Yue opened his arms and embraced her. Yue took off his overcoat and cast if over her. He put her on his back and began to walk back to Evangeline's Place.
"What we're you thinking in sending Yue to get the groceries?! I thought you were going to go and Yue was going to stand in you're place until you got back! Haruka's going to kill me…" Miyabi was cringing at the thought when Haruka was going to get her hands on her.
"Well what did you think I was going to do? Tell him to cook for other people? Haruka would probably bury me six feet under without batting an eyelash. This way I can just explain to her that you forgot to get the groceries and that I couldn't leave you to the cooking." Eva sipped her coffee and sat down at on one the stools.
"Speaking of Haruka… What's the deal with her? She's not as wild as you used to be."
"Well what do you expect? She has a bigger responsibility now."
"Yue-kun…"
"Of course, taking care of a child has the biggest impact. After all taking care of another human life is a big thing. And the way that Yue turned out… it changed Haruka's whole world."
The door opened.
"Hello welcome to…" Miyabi stopped short. "Yue?! What the hell?! What's going on?! Who's that on your back?!" She rushed out the counter. Eva got down the stool and went over to him.
"This woman needs a doctor, fast! Eva-ne please take us to the hospital!" The tone in Yue's voice was very serious. Eva and Miyabi never heard him with such desperation.
"Miyabi close out for the day and tell Haruka where were going."
"Okay!" Miyabi began to close.
"Yue let's go, my van's in the back." Yue rushed to the back door with the woman still on her back. Eva opened the door and Yue sat down in the back with his body over hers to keep her warm. "Hold on, this is going to be a bumpy ride!" Eva stepped on the gas and they were off. The scenery was a blur through the window; everything looked as though you were headed to the light.
They reached there destination, "Hanabishi Hospital." Yue immediately got out the van and bolted for the front door, with the enigmatic woman on his back.
"I need a doctor NOW!!!" His voice resonated through the ears of every person that was in the building. A woman emerged through the already terrified crowd.
"What is she afflicted with?" asked the green-eyed brunette.
"I think it's the flu, but she's in terrible shape. When I found her she wasn't wearing anything appropriate for the cold weather." the tone of Yue's voice seemed to have gained composure.
"What you have no idea who this woman is?" the woman seemed agitated.
"Does it matter? She needs help or she'll die!" Yue was getting frustrated as to why no one was helping him.
"We can't accept patients with no identification or insurance." said another man.
"Excuse me?!" Yue's voice heightened.
"This isn't the ER; if you want help go somewhere else."
"What the hell are you talking about?! A human life is in danger!" Nothing was said. The entire lobby had gone silent.
"Yue? Is that you?" the voice was familiar.
"Oji-san?!"
"What are you doing here?"Kyo had walked over to Yue and noticed the young woman on his back.
"Oji-san, please help her!"
"Get me a rolling stretcher and prepare a room!" All the people just gave him a shocked look. "Didn't you here me?! If you don't do as I say I'll kill all of you!!" The nurses began bringing in the stretcher while others began making preparations in the next room. Yue but the young lady on the stretcher and followed the nurses, but Kyo had stopped him.
"You need to stay here for now. Let me do my job. Well talk later, right now I need you to wait in my office."
"Why can't I wait outside her room?!" Kyo just gave him a fierce stare.
"Do you have any idea where you are right now?! This is a Hanabishi owned building!! If you don't want to make trouble do as I day!!" Kyo ran after his new patient.
Yue looked down at the floor, trying to surmise what he did wrong. The answers did not come; he decided to what Kyo had asked him to do, he went to his office. The room was cast into light. The smell of the brisk winter air was apparent; the windows were all open leaving the frigid air to enter freely. Yue walked to the mess that was Kyo's desk. The scattered papers and books were of medical data that Yue didn't understand. He sat in the big, cold, leather chair then pulled his head back and closed his eyes. All the energy he had expended had caught up with him. He drifted to sleep…
The door had opened. A woman entered with a seductive aura that enclosed around her. She gently walked towards Yue, taken back to who she was looking at. She hesitantly reached out to him. Her fingers began caressing his face, moving his bangs to one side.
Yue was awakened out of his daze. And looked around, but no one was there. "I thought someone was touching me…?" Yue regained his composure and found that the room was dark, it was evening. The windows have all been shut and the room was dimly lit. "How long have I been asleep?"
Kyo had walked in. "So you're finally awake."
"Oji-san? Did you see anybody come out of this room?"
"No, I didn't. Why?"
"I don't know… I felt as if someone was caressing my face… But that doesn't matter right now, how is she?"
"If you mean the patient she's sleeping right now. Her body temperature had finally gone down to a stable 98.7 degrees. Haruka-dono on the other hand… She had contacted me over the phone and I thought I was going to go deaf! That woman is so unreasonable… She told me that if anything happened to you she was going to burn down the entire clinic! Honestly…"
Yue gave Kyo a blank stare. "You want to know why the people here are so-"
"stupid?"
"Well that's one way of seeing it. Yue, this is a clinic for vampires. Vampires that have lived longer than you have… They've all been hurt in someway by mortals. The loathing and disgust they have for humans is understandable.
"But that is no excuse for letting one die! If you have the ability to save a life than why not?!"
"Don't be ridiculous. You sound as if you want to be their savior. Humans will never change Yue. They will always betray you in the end…" Kyo was shivering, not because of the cold, but because of cold memories. The look in his eyes was harsh and filled with suffering.
Yue walked towards the door. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to go check up on her."
Yue had left. Kyo began smoking. "My, my…he's still has that distant and cold demeanor, except when it comes to loved ones… He's just like you, Haruka-dono." He exhaled the nicotine and sat down to enjoy it.
"Kaa-san, I wish that you were here to teach these people a lesson about the human race. People like Miyabi-ne and Eva-ne. To show them the nobility of human hearts…not just the dark side of humanity. " Yue entered the young ladies room, his body shadowed over hers. "You probably can't hear me right now, but when you wake up I want to listen to your story. You don't seem like a bad person; maybe you took a wrong turn at a fork and never looked back. Or you just made a mistake that you want to take back…"
Yue moved to the bed and sat down on the left edge. He was curious about her. She was about 5'8, long black hair, and a modest feminine body. Yue slanted her hair a bit to get a clearer glimpse at her face. She looked pretty in his eyes, but so did everyone else that stared at her. Yet it was the first time for him to actually feel attracted to someone else other than the woman his aunt's gang.
Yue then noticed something under the blanket. He lifted it a little to find that her arms and legs tangled around his black overcoat. He became even more curious as to why she didn't let it go. Yue slowly tried to take it away, but it didn't budge. He became more determined to get it back. Slowly he tried opening a gap between her arms. She then opened her eyes. The awkward situation led to silence. She shrieked.
"Wh-who are you?! What were you trying to do to me?!"
"I wasn't doing anything perverted…" Yue mumbled. "I just wanted my overcoat back, besides I wouldn't want to touch you like that anyway."
She began to blush uncontrollably. "E-excuse me?! How rude! This is why I hate insensitive brats like you; you don't understand the feelings of a young woman!"
Yue gave an annoyed face. "I was trying to say that I wouldn't take advantage of you…"
"What did you say? I couldn't hear your squeaky little voice!"
"Then get a hearing aid grandma…"
The dame grabbed his cheeks and began to pull them apart. "Grandma?! I'll give you grandma!"
" I'g 'orri, 'ease et 'e go. 'Ease 'etty, 'ong 'ady?" (Translation: I'm sorry, please let me go. Please pretty, young lady?)
She let go of his cheeks. "Well at least you know how to flatter a woman. Anyway I shouldn't be giving you a hard time; you're the one that saved me earlier wasn't it?"
"You sure have a FINE way of showing gratitude." Yue was rubbing his face to try and ease the pain. He gave a slight sigh. "My name is Yue, Yue Hanabishi."
"I'm Kitsune, Kitsune K-Konno." She brought her legs to her face, with the overcoat still entangled in her grasp. Her demeanor had quickly changed. Yue moved closer to her on the bed.
"Why were you wandering around with being properly dressed?"
"None of your damn business!" The tone of her voice was unstable.
Yue was taken off guard by her response. "You looked terrible when I found you. Did something happen to you?"
"I said none of your damn business didn't I?!" Kitsune's face was submerged in her legs and her arms stood over her head.
"Were you taken advantage of?"
"Sh-shut up!!"
Yue moved to comfort her, but she slapped away his hand. "So someone tried to have-"
"SHUT UP!!!" She pushed him off the bed. Yue landed hard on his side. She jumped on top of him and began to pummel him. Yue didn't move to defend himself; he just took each and every blow. "Why are you asking such questions?! It's not your problem! So stop trying to figure me out! You can't help me!" Kitsune stopped. "Why aren't you fighting back?! Are you a wimp?! Come on hit me back!!"
"I…refuse…" his tone was steady. No fear or anger left his lips. Kitsune slapped him hard. Yue just turned to face her again. And again she slapped him on the other cheek. "I won't raise my hand against you Kitsune-san… You've already suffered enough…"
Kitsune burst into tears. She embraced him, letting the tears fall over his shoulder. Yue, with his arms wide open, embraced her back. He grabbed his overcoat that had fallen to the floor. Yue cast it over Kirie's shivering body to comfort her somehow…