VitameatavegaminGirl back with Chapter 4 (FINALLY!). Sorry about the long(ish) wait. I was gone two weeks ago and felt stunningly lazy this previous week. *sigh* Anyway, I'm back now and will be able to update every weekend...I hope. Btw: Nai is VERY OOC in this chapter (Hirato is too). Just a warning to Nai fangirls who may want to stab me after this. Also, if there is anyone who has an idea as to where I should go with this please say so because I have no clue as to what I should do with this story. I'm literally making it up as I go.
To Salt-the-Catgirl: Thank you soo much for your reviews. I really, really, really appreciate them! :) Glad you guessed the brothers! Have a internet cookie! ;3
Now I present to you Chapter 4: Black Blood
I do not own Karneval, by the way.
Black blood flowed freely from the large gash in Yuki's arm. Everyone in the surrounding area was frozen to the spot. Only when Yuki ripped the blade from her arm, wiped it off on her black skinny-jeans (choosing to keep her tight black tank top clean), and tucked the knife back into an invisible pocket, did the trio of boys jolt into action. Nai began screeching (loud enough to wake the previously unconscious Hirato and Iva), Gareki bolted toward her in genuine concern, and Yogi fainted on the spot. Hirato was unfortunate enough to be the cushion of Yogi's fall and, consequently, passed out along with the blonde. Iva groggily sat up, before being assaulted by a frantic Tsukumo.
Yuki looked softly at Nai, "It's okay…I'm alright. I did it on purpose." This quieted the boy down quickly and he settled on simply furrowing his eyebrows at her in fear for her life. She giggled gently, "I wanted to put myself on a level closer to that of the two I knocked out." This was the only explanation she gave and she wasn't going to say anything more for the time being. When Gareki got a hold of her he immediately put his medical skills to work. He cleaned the wound quickly, relying on his trusty doctor's bag for supplies, and bound her arm before she could bleed out (he would not, under any circumstances, allow death in his home). After doing so, he leaned the cat-girl or, as he thought of her, cat-brat, against the wall behind her, told her to breathe slowly and relax her body. She did as he said without any hesitation (knowing full well that he was restraining himself from hurting her more).
Yuki took a slow breath before sliding down the wall into a sitting position. She had, before she stabbed herself, blocked out the pain receptors in her brain; doing so guaranteed painless torture. Her master, Uro, had taught her how when she was little. Yuki let out a long sigh. Uro-sama would not be happy with her decision to not run during all of the many chances she was given. Haaaah…He's gonna kill me! I wonder what I should do now. I wonder what Uro-sama would tell me to do in a situation like this?
First of all he'd probably smack me for getting myself in this mess in the first place.
Then he would say, in his frustrated voice, 'Act like you need their help. Pretend to be their friend, then lead them to me and I'll take care of them…they may be more useful than you think.'
But I don't want to let Nai, or any of his friends, get hurt…NNNYYAAAA! What should I doooo?!
"Oi! Cat-brat, you still here?" Gareki's rough speech cut into her thoughts and brought her back to reality.
"I am…" Yuki, still mulling over her options, sounded far away, "Do you need me to do something?"
"Other than get the *&^% off my ship, not much." Hirato had, for a second time, regained consciousness, this time bristling with fury at the cat-girl.
"Hirato-san! Are you okay?" Gareki, oblivious to Hirato's anger, rushed over to attend to him. Hirato simply brushed the dark-haired boy away with a low growl.
"I will repeat myself only once…get off my ship before I personally throw you out by the ears," the normally controlled tone of voice Hirato used was shattered beyond repair. He had never, in all his years, been so furious at someone so much younger than himself.
Yuki looked at him. She smirked and laughed. I've never seen someone so dense! He really thinks he can threaten me…me of all people. Hahaha! Her reaction simply served to tick Hirato off even more. (You could actually see his face turning red and a vein on his head throbbing in rage.)
In response he, literally, roared at her, "GET OFF MY SHIP THIS INSTANT!"
"I can't," she said softly.
"Why not?!"
"Not only do I have nowhere to go, but I also think I should…repay you for having to deal with me in the first place. I also feel bad about injuring you and your friend with the green hair. I promise, on my life, that I will do anything I can to make up for my insolence." The cat-girl was very used to giving lovely sounding apologies, especially when she was in the wrong. Hirato blinked at her. He had been expecting a sarcastic comment, not a request to make up for her actions. What do I do now? I can't throw her out without becoming the 'bad guy.' Hmmmm. I guess dealing keeping her here for the time being is better. I still hate her though. He huffed to himself before looking back to the cat-brat. This is when he noticed the position she was in; leaning against the wall, a bandage wrapped around a large area of her left arm, with an incredibly nervous Nai kneeling next to her.
"Nai, what's wrong? Why do you look so concerned over an enemy? I understand the whole empathy thing, but isn't this going a little far? " Hirato was very confused. Wasn't this brat supposed to be evil? She did call herself a Post-Human…right?
"She isn't an enemy, plus she's injured!" Nai responded, a little too sharply for his character, "How could I not be worried? She hurt herself because she wanted to put herself on even ground with you and Iva. Yet even so will you really make her leave?!" Nai was, abnormally, frustrated with the inconsiderate man, "She's just confused! What would you do if you had suddenly been thrust into an environment where everyone assumed you were inherently evil and tried to kill you the minute you identified yourself? Would you simply roll over and play dead? Or would you fight back!?" The niji-boy was full on shouting now, "What else could she have done, Hirato-san?! You would have killed her if she hadn't protected herself! And if you have the unmitigated gall to continue to think she is a threat after her show of pure, unfiltered, bravery then you'll have to deal with me!"
Hirato, Gareki, Yogi (who had woken up when Hirato dumped him onto the floor), Tsukumo, Iva, Yuki, and Karoku (who had been reading in the library, waiting for Nai to come back, but came to see what the all the ruckus was about; he arrived just in time to hear Nai's unexpected outburst) all blinked in surprise at the albino boy. He was huffing slightly, from exertion, and had stood up to emphasize his point. Now that he was finished yelling he plopped back down next to Yuki and wrapped his arms around her possessively. Yuki looked at him in curiosity. He met her eyes and gave a firm nod, implying that he would follow through with his threat if the need arose. She smiled warmly at him and rested her head on his shoulder. Karoku, thinking that his precious Nai was being seduced by a strange girl, reacted to the gentle gesture rather violently.
"Nai! Come here!" He wasn't in a mood to accept rejection, so when Nai looked up at him, frowned and shook his head 'no,' Karoku narrowed his light blue eyes, before stomping over to his, suddenly rebellious, creation. He stopped directly in front of the two, arms crossed. He began tapping his foot; his body language was demanding a proper response to the order he gave.
Yuki glanced at the frustrated man in front of her. She frowned a little. Where have I seen him before? Oh yeah! He's the person Master told me to...um...anger. I wonder why no one is attacking him. He's waaaay worse than m- Hang on...I thought Karoku had a scar on his face, this guy has no marks on his face, or anywhere else that I can see. They must not be the same person...but, why do they have the same name? It doesn't make any sense?! Haaaah...for the time beingI'm just going to ignore the similarities between them, I'll worry about it later. For now I should probably help Nai. She nudged him and motioned for him to stand up. Nai resisted at first but after she whispered something in his ear he gave a barely noticeable jolt and stood up swiftly, a small blush gracing his colorless features. Karoku raised an eyebrow at the half-niji, wondering what the girl had said to make him obey so quickly.
Nai stepped a bit closer to Karoku and stated, with a hint of worry, "I'm sorry, Karoku. I was worried about Yuki-chan. She said she'd…um…be fine, so…uh…d-do you forgive me for being…defiant?" Karoku was surprised at the question (as was Gareki, who couldn't think of a time when Nai had ever asked for forgiveness). He then smiled softly at his little friend and rubbed his head affectionately, "Of course I forgive you, Nai! I just don't want you to do that again, okay?"
"Well, I can't promise anything, but I will try!" Nai beamed at a, once again, stunned Karoku.
Yuki smiled to herself. She appreciated what Nai was doing for her, but she found it amusing when he said things defiantly or in rebellion. It wasn't a normal thing for him (even she could tell that) and she thought it was sweet of his to try for her sake. She sighed quietly and leaned back against the wall while listening to Karoku (someone she was still trying to figure out) and Gareki scold Nai for continuing to be naughty. The boy was frowning again and trying to explain his point of view. After a bit of arguing between Nai, Gareki, and Karoku, their conversation began to involve everyone, as the subject of 'what to do with Yuki' came up. Gareki wanted to finish taking care of the cat-brat's arm before dropping her off in the nearest town (Nai was against this). Karoku wanted to simply leave the little succubus in the forest (Nai was very against this). Hirato, Iva, and Tsukumo wanted to send the Post-Human/Kitten to the Research Tower and let Akari-sensei perform (painful) experiments on her (Nai was very, very against this). Yogi wanted, unlike everyone else, to give her another chance (Nai gave him a bone crushing hug for this). He reasoned that if Nai felt so strongly that she really was a good person at heart, it must be so, at least for the most part.
"WAAAH! Thank you, Yogi!" Nai was ecstatic over the fact that someone was willing to see Yuki in a non-threatening light.
"Hehe," Yogi gave a small giggle, "Of course, Nai. Though I'd appreciate it if either you or Yuki-chan would explain why she attacked Hirato…that might make me feel a bit better about trusting her."
"I attacked him because he looked like he would give me a good fight. That and he tried to hit me first." Yuki was still sitting against the wall, holding her injured arm to her chest. She was speaking in a slight monotone, like she was bored or tired (it was her way of dealing with pain that she wasn't able to block). Nai tilted his head when he noticed her unusual tone.
"Are you okay, Yuki?" he asked taking a few steps closer to her, "Your voice sounds a little different."
"Don't worry, Nai, I'm fine. Just tired." She smiled sweetly at him. Yogi frowned when she said this. The cat-girl in front of him didn't look weary in the slightest. Rather, she seemed to be concealing a different feeling, one the blonde couldn't exactly identify. He began to worry a bit when he noticed how black her bandage was starting to look.
"Gareki-kun, would you see how much blood Yuki-chan has lost. Her bandage is looking really blood soaked and she is beginning to lose some of her coloring." Gareki, seeing that Yogi was serious about his concerns, responded to his request by striding over to Yuki and, kneeling down next to her, began to give her a preliminary examination.
Yogi's right. She's not looking so good. It also seems that her wound isn't closing up the way most Post-Human injures do. I wonder what's wrong. Maybe self-inflicted wounds don-
He was cut off mid-thought when Yuki suddenly closed her eyes and toppled over into Gareki's lap in a dead faint. He yelped in surprise, which caught the attention of the others, and slid his hands under her body (which, he noted with a tinge of sympathy, was incredibly thin, verging on bony), trying to keep her off the ground.
Nai shrieked and rushed over to Yuki. He hadn't thought she would lie to him like that. Especially since he would, or rather should, have been able to tell if she was being dishonest. The niji-boy mentally berated himself for not paying closer attention to her heartbeat.
"Gareki, is she going to be okay?" The dark-haired boy glanced up at him. For a moment Nai thought he saw a bolt of dread in his friend's eyes but Gareki hurriedly readjusted his mask of indifference and the emotion vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Instead of answering Nai, Gareki caught Yogi's attention and gestured in a way that said 'Distract him so I can fix this.' Yogi nodded before swiftly scooping Nai up (despite his thrashing) and flying him down the hall to the library, which he promptly locked, where he began a one-sided game of 'catch' with the boy (the game mostly consisted of him darting all over the room avoiding the flying projectiles Nai was hurling at him in fury).
While Yogi and Nai were…playing…Gareki was carrying Yuki to the ship's infirmary. Even though he didn't trust her too much, his compassionate side (something he'd cursed all his life) wouldn't let him simply do nothing while she suffered. When he got to his destination he gently laid her on the examination table. His patient gave a slight moan as her skin met with the cold metal. After unwrapping her arm he frowned at it in frustration. It was still bleeding and was starting to ooze a strange liquid he didn't even want to identify. Carefully, so as not to get any of her blood directly on his skin, he cleaned the wound, bound it tightly, and thought about what he should do next. He wasn't used to helping Post-Humans; actually he'd never even had a normal conversation with one, up till now of course. As he pondered his next move, Yuki shot into a sitting position, eyes wide with terror. He, again, gave a yelp (adding a startled jump for good measure) before stepping hesitantly closer to her.
"You okay?" he questioned nervously.
"Wh-where am I?" her eyes were darting around the room and her breathing sounded slightly labored.
"You're in the infirmary. Right after you told Nai you were fine you passed out. How do you feel?" he fired off his replies, and question, quickly, in an attempt to get to the bottom of things.
"I feel…like I just stabbed my own arm…then passed out," the cat-brat shook her head to clear it before slowly placing it in her hands, "NYAAA! Why didn't I run when I had the chance?! Uro-sama's gonna kill me."
Gareki blinked at the familiar name, "You know Uro?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," came the miserable sounding reply, "He owns me. I'm not like my brothers, he simply controls them. I was bought from some newbie slave-trader who actually threw up when he saw how we were handled."
"Slave?" the dark-haired boy stiffened at the horrid word, remembering the time when he was called that too.
"That's right. Slave…such an ugly word, huh? I've always hated it. I think I remember actually cursing at it when I got my first brand…" she was about to continue, but Gareki had other plans.
"BRAND!" he shouted, "You were branded?! How old? Where? Who did it?" Once again his questions were practically fired out of his mouth making it a little harder for Yuki to answer him.
"Umm…Yes, 7, none of your business, and..." she tilted her head in thought for a bit, "No idea."
"You seriously don't remember who?" Gareki raised an eyebrow at her, "If something as painful as that happened to me I'd remember exactly who did it!"
"I didn't say anything about not remembering him, I just said I didn't know who it was," she paused for a few seconds, "Actually, I could probably describe his features, and voice, perfectly…however, I couldn't tell you his name 'cuz I never heard it." She said this last part in a mater-of-fact way, as if she was talking to someone stupid. Gareki hated that.
"Cat-brat!" he hissed.
"Goggles!" was her retort. He growled at her and yanked a strand of her black hair.
"NYAOUCH!" she cried, "You'll pay for that, JERK!" she threw herself at him and they began rolling around on the floor locked in furious battle (it was more like wrestling, but Gareki would kill me if I called it something so…weak).
Well there you have it folks, Chapter 4. Hope you liked it! I'll try to have Nai act more like himself later...but I don't know if I'll be successful (Please don't kill me!).
If you are wondering about the brand, think of a burn scar in the shape of the numbers 2521119 (kudos to whoever figures out what they mean, it should be relatively simple). Where it is will be revealed later. Oh and the title picture is what my character looks like. I found this great website ( game/?game_id=421) where you can make your own anime characters. It's awesome! Anyway, thank you for reading! VGirl out. :)