Sorry for the really really late update, I've had majors writers block for a while, plus...yeah I'm not gonna get into it. Let's just say some bad stuff went down. I'm really sorry it took so long, but I hope you guys can forgive me. But trust me, I will work towards updating my stories every time I can, and as fast as I can. But I like the chapter to be made of good quality. So I need inspiration, time, and etc.

And I'll be honest, if it wasn't for the nice reviews I get on this story, Courtesy of Angelo Inferno, LadyMizore-LadyKurumusSlave, Karl Skywalker, and FunnyBombs, as well as a few others, this story would be updated slower than you think it would. Same goes for all my other stories as well, yep, I'm a greedy review hound!

On a more serious note, I'm sorry, I'm ranting and rambling again, so anyway I hope you all find this chapter interesting.

Also I just gave this story an image cover, it's not mine, I found it on Tumblr.

Well then, here's episode 11/chapter 11, now please read, enjoy and review.

Ten Days until Summer Break...

Tsukune's eyes slowly opened, as his vision came into focus, he was staring at his wall. He couldn't help but yawn, as he rolled over, and stood up, then he realized, he had slept in his clothes. He scowled to himself, now he had to disrobe, wash his clothes, shower, brush his teeth, redress and have breakfast. The last thing he needed was extra work to do, but he just sighed, as he began.

Nade was once more at the wheel, while Rokuro and Hikaru both slept. Nade couldn't help but sigh, it was still a four day drive to Yokai Academy. And both Rokuro and Hikaru were just about to run out of patience, while Nade's patience was wearing thin itself. But He would be able to make it, Hikaru wouldn't, but he was childish, bratty, and stupid, Nade could handle it. Then there was Rokuro, he might not hold on long enough to get there, and if he runs out of patience, people are going to die, a lot of them, and that would draw much attention. So Nade had to find a way to keep at least Rokuro occupied, otherwise, they would all end up dead when they returned from Yokai Academy.

Nade couldn't help but sigh, he had a bad feeling about all of this. Ever since they had been given this assignment, Nade hadn't been able to shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. But He just didn't know whether it was what would happen when they returned from Yokai Academy, or what would happen when they arrived there that worried him.

School was over for the day, and as Tsukune arrived at the bus stop, he forced himself to push all of the thoughts about choosing one of the Girls and the after effects of the choice out of his head, he needed to train, he would not be distracted this time. But as He arrived, he noticed Vladimir was spaced out, nothing could gain his attention. He was staring right at Tsukune, but it was if he was seeing right through him, like he wasn't even there. Little could Tsukune know about what was on Vladimir's mind that had him acting this way...

The young Girl led the seven foot Stranger to the front door of her log cabin house, which was at the edge of the woods. Dangerously close to the Village. The Prepubescent Girl pushed open the door to her house, and brought the stranger into the house by his hand, as she called for her Mother, "Mama, Mama we have a guest!"

A Woman then walked out from another room, she stood at about five foot five, she had fair skin, long curly brown hair and green eyes. Those eyes were filled with cheer and happiness. But these soon vanished, as they were replaced by panic and fear, as she stared into the blood red eyes of the stranger in her house. She rushed to the young Girl's side, picked her up and dashed back to her previous spot, she turned, and put her back against a wall. As She screamed in desperate panic, "Get out! Get out of here now Demon! Stay away from My Daughter!"

Tsukune was now in Vladimir's face, he raised his right arm and waved his hand in Vladimir's line of sight, he still wouldn't snap out of it. Tsukune was slightly concerned now, Vladimir had been acting distant yesterday as well, but he had started acting distant before Tsukune himself did. Tsukune had let it slide because he didn't know if he would be able to help, but if it was effecting him this much, then he had to try. After all, it was the least He could do as to repay Vladimir for training him. Just as Tsukune was going to speak, Vladimir beat him to it, "K...Kari..."

Tsukune's face had a quizzical look upon it at the mention of the name, it sounded familiar, but he didn't know anyone by the name of Kari. But as He thought about it, he couldn't help but feel as if he had heard the name before, Tsukune whispered the name to himself and as it rolled off his tongue, it felt extremely familiar. Shaking the weird occurrence off, Tsukune looked toward Vladimir and spoke, "Hey Vladimir, Vladimir, are you in there?"

Vladimir did not wake from his trance like state, he was far too deep into his memories.

As the tall Stranger tried to calm the young Girl's Mother, she continued to scream, and soon began lashing out violently. Whatever She could get her hands on was soon being chucked at the red eyed Stranger. "Leave! Get out of here Demon! You won't have my Daughter!"

The prepubescent Girl that was the Woman's daughter was being held with one arm, as she begged her Mother to stop. But the Woman did not concede, so soon, for lack of choice in the matter, the Stranger fled the house, back into the heart of the woods.

All six of Tsukune's Girls, as well as Gin, were quite confused at Vladimir's actions. They had noticed sometimes he would lose focus during Tsukune's training sessions, but this was a bit more extreme. The slightest disturbance brought Vladimir out of it before, but now Tsukune couldn't seem to get his attention. Concerned, and curious as to what was going on, all seven of them quickly got out of their trees and made their way down to the Bus Stop.

The stranger had made his way to the heart of the forest with most haste, he couldn't help but feel he should have know that was going to happen. The village that lay beyond the woods was very paranoid and extremely foolish, always spewing off at the mouth about Monsters, how to kill them, what they look like, and where they might be found. Most of what they say is complete lies, but one thing they had been dead on about, was the fact that one of the greatest Monster species to ever be know had red eyes, blood red, the same color as what they craved, what they feasted upon.

The stranger sighed as he put his back against the tree he had been at a while ago, and slid down into a siting position. As He did this, he muttered to himself, "That's how they always act, I should have known it wouldn't be any different this time."

Tsukune turned around as he heard people coming down the mountain, he wasn't too surprised to see his Girls, and Gin. They made their way over to Tsukune and Vladimir at once. Gin was the one to speak, "Tsukune, what's going on with Vladimir?"

"I don't know I just found him like this, he usually snaps out of it when I try to get his attention, but now he's like a statue."

Vladimir towered over Gin by a good foot, but that didn't stop him from grabbing a hold of Vladimir's arms and shaking him. Once again Vladimir did not react, it was as if he really was a statue. "Hmm, this is pretty serious if that didn't work. We should probably take him to the school nurse."

Kokoa stepped in front of the rest of the girls and Gin at this statement, a small grin on her face, "Or I could just hit him so hard that he has no choice but to snap out of it."

Before anyone could object...or agree, someone else spoke, "There's no need for that, I'm conscious."

Everyone looked towards Vladimir as he spoke, he was finally awake and alert. Before anyone could ask what was wrong with him, he spoke once more, "Before you say it, I know what you eight are going to ask, and nothing is wrong with me. I was just remembering events that transpired before I was brought into the fold the three Dark Lords have created."

Tsukune was the next to speak, "What kind of memories could have you so enthralled like that?"

Vladimir was silent for several moments at Tsukune's question, but he did eventually speak, "It might be for the best that you didn't know, but I suppose I've never tried to do what was best for any of you, so I'll tell you. But be warned it's a long story, and might just be a little too much for you, you in particular Tsukune."

No one had any objections, so Vladimir began, "Alright then, lets see, it was just about three hundred and twenty years ago, back when Vampires where spread so thickly across the globe you couldn't help but bump into one. Of course, this was also back when Vampires killed when they fed, but never mind that. I was in England, and I had the Royal Family so pissed off that I had to go into hiding. So I chose a small village, so small it wasn't on any map you could buy, which meant it was a good place to hide. Although the village was famous among Monsters. Anyway, as I entered the Village..."

Day One

A large man, standing at seven feet tall, walked along a dirt path that led into the village known as Kakariko. The man was dressed in rags, his long gray pants, his short sleeved brown shirt, and his bare style sandals, they were all made of the cheapest material. They were dirty and damaged beyond repair. He also wore a large black cloak, you couldn't see his face or most of his body, even though it was early in the morning.

He payed no mind to the sign with the Village name on it, as he walked into the village itself. There were a dozen or so wooden houses spread about, each big enough to hold a family of three. There was also a building standing at about two stories high way back past the other houses, it appeared to be some kind of lodging, a hotel perhaps. Plus there was a building amidst the others, slightly bigger than the houses, but not as big as the hotel. It was obviously a church with all the religous markings that were carved onto the doors.

There was also a small platform in the middle of the village, not that far from the church in fact, it was wooden and appeared to be only strong enough to hold a few people, but it was clear what it was there for, executions. There were no ropes and there wasn't any guillotine, so they must have used something else to perform the executions. The give away was the dried blood spread across the platform, there wasn't much of it, and it was quite old, but it was blood nonetheless.

Not that the stranger particularly cared, he was quite familiar with death, murder especially. And he knew that the human race was just as familiar as he. As the Stranger entered the village, several sets of eyes were planted upon him, and they followed him as he began making his way through the small village. The stranger could see them all watching him in his peripheral vision, but the one who stood out amongst them was the one dressed in all black, a silver cross hanging from his neck, and a bible tucked under his arm. He must have been the Preacher at the church.

The Stranger payed them no mind, and acted as if he couldn't see them, as he made his way through the village. He made his way all the way to the back of the village, and knocked on the hotel looking building's door. He waited several moments, and knocked once more, still no answer. He knocked for the third time and waited a solid minute, no answer. Just as he was going to reach forward and knock a little harder, he could feel that someone was behind him. So he put his arm down, as the person behind him began to speak, "This village doesn't take kindly to strangers see, ye must take your leave, ye aren't welcome here."

The Stranger didn't hesitate to respond, "Is that so? But I mean you and your village no harm, I am simply looking for a place to rest my weary head for a fort night. And once I have done so, I shall leave this village, and you will never hear from me again."

"We don't care, take ye leave now, or I will be forced to make ye regret it."

The Stranger couldn't help but chuckle at that, as he turned around and came face to face with the preacher he saw earlier. The man stood at about five foot eight, sixteen inches shorter than the stranger. The Preacher man had grey hair, it was slightly slicked back, and his eyes were a dull green, he looked to be in his early fifties.

The Preacher locked eyes with the Stranger as a look of horror came upon his face, at the realization that the stranger had red eyes, the preacher cried as loud as he could, "Demon!"

The Preacher grabbed a hold of the cross he had around his chest, clutched it as if his life depended upon it, and held it towards the Stranger. "Back Demon!"

The Stranger couldn't help but chuckle once more, crosses didn't actually do anything to Vampires.
That's when the Stranger noticed more people appearing, men with pitchforks, men with blades, and men with stakes. The last thing the Stranger needed was to draw more attention to himself, and slaughtering the whole village would do just that. He had no choice but to flee. So flee he did, he dashed past the villagers, knocking a few of them down in the process, as well as losing his cloak, and entered the forest surrounding the village.

Without the Cloak he couldn't hide himself, so he had to stay out of sight, which would be an easy thing to do in a forest. The Stranger made his way through the forest for a while, until he came into a clearing that was located directly within the middle of the forest. It was a really huge clearing, hundreds of feet of room without any trees, just grass. Except for one tree, in the middle of the clearing there was a gargantuan tree, standing at about a hundred feet, twice as tall as the rest of the trees. The Stranger saw it as the perfect place for a nap, after all he had been up for over twenty four hours, he was pretty tired. So He made his way to the middle of the clearing and put his back against the large tree, he then slid down into a sitting position and let sleep overcome him.

The Stranger felt his eyes beginning to slowly open, he had heard a noise, his gut reaction was to wake up. As His eyes fully opened he noticed there was someone only a few feet away, it took a moment for that to sink in. Once it did, once he was ready to pounce upon them, he noticed who it was. It was a prepubescent Girl, she appeared to be ten, perhaps eleven. The Stranger took in the appearance of the young Girl, She had light blue eyes that were filled with innocence, dark brown hair, and pale white skin. She stood at about four foot eight, a whole twenty eight inches shorter than the Stranger himself. Her hands were behind her back, and she had a mild smile upon her face.

Then She spoke, "Hello there Mister, why are you out here all alone?"

The Stranger was slightly caught off guard at the question, but he did answer her, "Because Young one, I have nowhere else to go."

"But what about your family? Can't you stay with them?"

"I would, if I could, I have no family to speak of."

The Girl's smile waned, "Don't you have anyone that cares for you?"

"No Young one, I am afraid I do not."

The little Girl's smile was now nowhere to be seen after that, "You mean that your are all alone?"

The Stranger hesitated for a moment, he never really thought about these things, it had been this way for a long time. But He found he always had a soft spot for children, "I suppose so, but that's the way it has been for a long time."

The Girl seemed quite upset at this, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Once more the Stranger was caught off guard, he didn't understand what he had said to make her upset. Just as he was going to speak again, the little Girl beat him to it. "That's so sad, you must be so lonely."

She sounded choked up, she was doing her best not to cry. The Stranger was still confused at this. "Why are you so upset young one?"

"Because your all alone, it's so sad, it's not fair that you have to be alone. No one should be alone."

Once more the Stranger was caught off guard, he had never, not once in his life, ever received sympathy and compassion from anyone, let alone a human. He was silent for several moments, but finally he spoke up, "What is your name, little one?"

Between sniffles, She managed to answer, as she wiped the tears that were beginning to spill out away, "My name is Kari, Kari Kamiya. Mister, what's your name?"

"I am Vladimir Petovski."

Kari smiled at that, "I have never heard a name like that before, I like it."

Vladimir couldn't help but chuckle, "That is because it is Russian young one. Plus, I could say the same to you, Kari Kamiya isn't an English name."

Kari seemed confused at that, "It isn't?"

"No, it is of Japanese descent."

The Girl didn't seem any less confused, "Japanese? What's that?"

Vladimir couldn't help but chuckle once more, "Never mind."

That's when Vladimir noticed that the Sun was setting, it would be dark soon. "You should hurry up and get home Young one, you wouldn't want your Parents to worry."

Kari's eyes seemed to light up, "That's it!"

Kari grabbed Vladimir by the hand and began to pull, "Come with me!"

Vladimir was confused, but he got up and did as she said, he followed behind her, as she held his hand and led the way. She led him along for several minutes, but eventually Vladimir asked what was on his mind, "Where are we going Young one?"

Kari turned her head to look at the stranger, a smile on her pale face as she answered, "To My House, Momma will take care of you Vladimir, I know she will. She's always liked to help people in need."

Kari began moving again, Vladimir put up no resistance and let her lead the way.

After a little while, Kari and Vladimir reached the front door of her log cabin house, which was at the edge of the woods. Dangerously close to the Village. Kari pushed open the door to her house, and brought Vladimir inside by his hand, as she called for her Mother, "Mama, Mama we have a guest!"

A Woman then walked out from another room, she stood at about five foot five, she had fair skin, long curly brown hair and green eyes. Those eyes were filled with cheer and happiness. But these soon vanished, as they were replaced by panic and fear, as she stared into the blood red eyes of Vladimir Petovski. She rushed to the Kari's side, picked her up and dashed back to her previous spot, she turned, and put her back against a wall. As She screamed in desperate panic, "Get out! Get out of here now Demon! Stay away from My Daughter!"

Vladimir quickly tried to calm Kari's Mother down, "Miss, hang on a moment, I was just-"

But it wasn't working, She continued to scream, and soon began lashing out violently. Whatever She could get her hands on was soon being chucked at Vladimir's head. "Leave! Get out of here Demon! You won't have my Daughter!"

Kari was being held with one arm, as she begged her Mother to stop. But the Woman did not concede, so soon, for lack of choice in the matter, Vladimir fled the house, back into the heart of the woods.

Vladimir had made his way to the heart of the forest with most haste, he couldn't help but feel he should have know that was going to happen. He knew what village this was, it was Kakariko village. This village that lay beyond the woods was very paranoid and extremely foolish, always spewing off at the mouth about Monsters, how to kill them, what they look like, and where they might be found. Most of what they say is complete lies, but one thing they had been dead on about, was the fact that one of the greatest Monster species to ever be know had red eyes, blood red, the same color as what they craved, what they feasted upon.

Vladimir sighed as he put his back against the tree he had been at a while ago, and slid down into a sitting position. As He did this, he muttered to himself, "That's how they always act, I should have known it wouldn't be any different this time. Goddamn Humans."

Vladimir was still drowsy, so he let sleep claim him once more under the giant tree.

Day Two

As his eyes slowly opened Vladimir couldn't help but yawn, it took him a few seconds, but he eventually became alert, and began taking in his surroundings. It was pitch black out, most likely it was about anywhere from three a.m. to four a.m. in the morning. As He surveyed the area, he noticed a small wicker basket, besides that nothing stood out as unordinary. It was only a dozen or so feet away from him, so Vladimir reached over and grabbed it with ease. He pulled it back over to where he sat, and that's when he noticed it was filled with fruit, and there was a small scrap of paper attached to the basket.

He pulled the paper out and read aloud what was written on it, "Hi Vladimir, I brought you some fruit, but you were asleep, so I left it here for you in this basket. I hope you like them, I picked them especially for you. I'm really sorry for all the mean things my momma said to you, she's never mean like that, not to anyone. I'll bring you some more fruit tomorrow, okay Vladimir? Love, Kari."

Vladimir couldn't help but chuckle, Kari's handwriting was basically chicken scratch, and she had misspelled Vladimir two different ways, first she wrote Vlademere, and then she wrote Vladomere. Vladimir put the note back in the basket, and began to eat the fruit, starting with a pare first.

Several hours later, Vladimir had finished eating the fruit, and the Sun was up and shining brightly. Vladimir still sat beneath the largest tree within the forest, he had eaten only five and a half hours ago, yet he was quite hungry. And He knew why, he needed blood. He hadn't drank from any source of blood within the last twenty four hours. He wouldn't last too much longer, he had two days at best, he needed to have a a good drink by then, or it'd be over for him. He sighed as he thought this over, he wasn't supposed to draw attention to himself, but if he was clever about it, he could probably nab someone by tomorrow.

Vladimir's train of thought was derailed by the sound of leafs rustling. He turned to look at what was causing that noise, and that's when Kari entered the clearing, revealing she was the one making the noise. She was carrying another basket, a smile on her face. "Hi Vladimir, I have some more fruit for you."

Vladimir almost grinned at the sight, this girl was different. Kari put the basket down near Vladimir, and then sat beside him, her back against the gargantuan tree as well. There was silence for several moments, but Vladimir eventually broke the silence, "Why are you here Kari?"

Kari gave a slight giggle at the question, "To bring you something to eat, silly."

A scowl came upon Vladimir's face, "That's not what I mean, I have no doubt in my mind that your Mother forbid you from coming anywhere near me. So why are you misbehaving and coming around me?"

Kari was silent for a moment before she answered, "Because no one deserves to be all alone. Everyone deserves at least one person that is there for them through anything and everything. If my Momma won't help you, then I will."

"But didn't your Mother tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Kari then looked over at Vladimir, and as she locked eyes with him, she noticed how menacing they looked, and how he was baring his fangs. "I'm not Human, I am a monster."

Kari didn't cower away from Vladimir, the only thing she did do was stare at his fangs. But after several seconds she looked into his blood red eyes, and then flicked his nose. Vladimir was caught off guard at this, he was confused, and was now crossing his eyes to stare at his nose. While Kari spoke, "That doesn't matter silly."

She then gave him a smile, Vladimir, after he came out of his stupor, couldn't help but smile as well. "I like it when you smile Vladimir, it looks good on you."

Vladimir was also caught off guard at this, he couldn't help but wonder to himself, "I can smile?"

Kari left soon after that, leaving Vladimir to his fruit. He didn't move from that spot all day, and got to see Kari one more time that day. She brought him something he didn't even know was edible, let alone was good for you. He honestly preferred the fruit. He went to sleep that night, knowing he would have to feast upon someone the next day. He would just have to choose who.

Day Three

Vladimir was awake by the crack of dawn, he was really starting to feel the effects of being parched for blood. He felt weak, he was dizzy, and he had a major headache. He was going to be easily agitated today, it would be best to stay away from Kari. Once he had feasted upon someone, then he could talk to her, otherwise he might snap at her. He didn't go through blood withdrawal often, but when he did, he got pissed at the slightest damn thing.

He circled the clearing, hiding in the shadows, as the day went on. Kari had visited twice already so she wouldn't be coming back. He hadn't met her, he just let her think he wandered off somewhere. The Sun was setting, so Vladimir set off in search of his prey, he was starving beyond belief, he needed blood, and soon.

When Kari returned home she was a bit upset, she wasn't sure if he was coming back or not. But She kept her feelings to herself, she didn't want her Mother trying to find out what was wrong. She had forbidden Kari to go anywhere near someone like Vladimir, ever again. Kari played the role of the obedient child pretending like she agreed with her Mother. Although she whole heartedly disagreed with her Mother, she wouldn't let Vladimir be all alone. Not that her Mother would be home very long, she'd be gone soon, like usual.

Kari didn't know why, but she had an uneasy feeling, and it had been with her since she first found Vladimir wasn't in his usual spot. She couldn't help herself, she felt like she had to find him and check on him as soon as possible. So at the first opportunity, she slipped out of her log cabin house and rushed to the heart of the forest.

Vladimir had found his prey, and he now held it against the largest tree in the forest. It was a Woman, she appeared to be in her late thirties, had long curly red hair, brown eyes, and was wearing sleep ware. Vladimir had broke her legs so she couldn't get away, and he now held her against the large tree, ready to take her blood. She struggled, and cried, but he had one hand covering her mouth, preventing her from screaming. It was time to eat. But as he was going to, he heard a gasp. His head quickly turned in the direction of where the noise came from, and that's when he saw Kari.

She looked shocked, her eyes were wide, staring at Vladimir and the Woman. Vladimir growled a she saw her, "Kari."

The Woman's eyes went wide at the sight of Kari, slight hope, that perhaps the little girl would go and get help.

Vladimir stared back at Kari, as Kari stared at him and the Woman in shock. Then she finally managed to squeak out, "Wh...what are y..you doing?"

Vladimir was silent for a moment before he answered, "I'm going to kill her."

Kari seemed to come out of her shock just enough to begin talking back, as tears began to slide down her face, "But why? I thought you were good. You talked to me, I thought we were becoming close, you didn't kill me, so why her?"

Vladimir seemed to ignore her question, "I'm going to drink her blood, I'm going to drain her dry, once I'm done she'll be long gone from this world."

"But why Vladimir, why would you do that?"

Vladimir was silent for several long moments, but after an eery silence, he finally managed to answer, "Because if I don't feed upon her, I will die. I am a monster Kari, I must feed upon some source of blood, drain their life from within them, so that I myself can keep living. All I'm ever looking for is my next source of blood, nothing more. I'm lonely because I deserve to be, I'm a monster, and I'm not the only one. No one is safe around me, you should have listened to your mother and stayed away."

Kari seemed even more upset, "If that's true, then why didn't you feed on me!?"

Vladimir seemed to stiffen at that question, and he was silent for over a whole minute, but he did eventually answer Kari's question, "Because your the first person to ever show me any compassion, your so full of innocence, so full of life, I couldn't bleed that from you, I'd rather die."

Kari seemed taken back by this. That's when Vladimir turned around faster than the eye could see, the Woman he held against the tree, now in a choke hold, as he stared at Kari. He bared his fangs as he spoke, "Now watch Kari, don't turn away, this is what I am, this is what it means to be what I am, and that's a Vampire!"

Vladimir turned to look at the Woman, and violently sunk his fangs into her neck. He tightened the choke hold, as he really bit into her, so hard that there was a bit of blood escaping his lips, and sliding down her neck. The Woman was in so much pain that she couldn't even scream out. Kari watched in horror as this happened, she couldn't believe what she was seeing, it was monstrous. Yet, for the life of her, Kari just couldn't look away.

It didn't take but a mere seven minutes to drain every drop of blood from the Woman's body, and once that was done, Vladimir released the choke hold, and the Woman's body limply fell to the ground, hitting it with a slight thump. Kari looked down at the woman, still horrified at what just transpired. There were two medium sized holes in the Woman's neck, a bit of blood smudged around them, and her face, her face had a look of pure terror on it. It was frozen there, for that was how she died.

Kari then couldn't help but look up at Vladimir, his clothes were raggedy, there was blood all over his lips, and a bit on his cheeks. And his eyes, Vladimir had a violently crazy look in his eyes, that one of a deranged psychopath killer. Kari couldn't move, she felt frozen, she was terrified, appalled, and mystified all at the same time.

Vladimir was still staring at Kari, his breathing ragged, his thirst finally quenched. She was crying that was for sure, and her eyes, her eyes said a lot. Monster, beast, creepy demon, atrocious being, evil predator, vile bottom feeder. Those are the words that came to Vladimir's mind as he saw the emotion in Kari's eyes. Vladimir couldn't stand the look in her eyes, it stung him to the core. Just as Vladimir was going to go to Kari and try to make her understand, she fainted on the spot. Before she could hit the ground, Vladimir was by her side, holding her in his arms. As she lay almost lifeless in his arms, Vladimir uttered two words, "I'm sorry."

Day Four

Kari shot up in her bed, her breathing frantic, her eyes wide and racing around the room. It took her a few seconds to realize she was back in her room. "Was it a bad dream?"

She shook that thought out of her head, it had been so vivid, it was real and she knew it.

The Sun had already set, as Vladimir sat, his back against the biggest tree in the forest. He had gotten the blood off, and cleaned of his face. His clothes were still raggedy, but he didn't have another pair. Vladimir had been lost in his thoughts all day long, he didn't know what to do about all of this.

Day Five

Vladimir still sat under the large tree, he hadn't moved since yesterday. Kari still hadn't come by, not that he expected her to. He just wondered what she was doing. But that's when She entered the clearing, and as soon as she did, Vladimir's eyes were locked on her, no emotion once so ever on his face or in his eyes. He found it was hard to read Kari's emotions this instant, so he just focused on watching her. She ever so slowly approached Vladimir, taking one small step at a time. Vladimir just sat there, as she slowly came towards him. He watched her intently, no matter she did, he wasn't going to hurt her, if she did something drastic he'd just get out of there as fast as he could.

Soon she was standing only a mere foot from him. He still stared at her, and she just stood there, neither of them saying a word. But after several seconds Kari fell straight into Vladimir, burying her head in his chest, while her arms wrapped around him, as she began to cry. Vladimir was taken back by this, he wasn't sure what was going on honestly. But that didn't stop him from embracing Kari, as she was doing the same. As she cried int Vladimir's chest, she tried to speak, but it came out muffled. "Please don't leave Vladimir, don't leave me here all alone!"

Vladimir was taken back once more, he was quite confused. "But Kari, your not all alone. You have your Mother don't you?"

Once more her words came out muffled, by the fabric and her tears, "Momma is never around! She's always at the church with Daddy! When I brought you home, I knew she would be there for a little while, but soon after you left she was gone again! She never stays more than a few minutes everyday! It's not fair! It feels like I'm all alone! And no one wants to spend time with me, I hate being lonely! But you make it where I don't feel lonely Vladimir. Every time I'm with you, you talk to me, you spend time with me. Thank you, thank you so much!"

Vladimir was so stunned, but he did manage to speak, in his usual tone, "But Kari, you remember what happened two days ago. I'm a monster that has to kill to live. Why would you want to be around me?"

Kari began to cry harder, "It's not your fault! You didn't choose this life, right?"

"No I didn't, but..."

"Then it's not your fault! No one wants to die! You still don't deserve to be lonely! No one does!"

Vladimir said the only thing he could think of, "I won't be here much longer though, I'll be leaving in ten days."

Kari seemed undeterred, as she hugged herself closer to him, seeming even more desperate. "I love you Vladimir! Please don't leave me here, don't leave me all alone!"

Vladimir's head was spinning, he had no idea of what she meant, and it really didn't matter. Things were now insane, no matter what. Vladimir had to use everything within his power to keep his cool, "W..what do you mean by, You love me?"

Now Kari was the one who was confused, she pulled her head away from his chest and looked up at him, tears still fresh on her face. By the look in Vladimir's eyes, she figured out what he meant. She couldn't help but blush a deep red as she answered him, "That's not what I meant, u..u...unless that's w...what you w...want, th...then I c...can l...love you that w...way t...too."

Vladimir was close to having a goddamn heart attack, "W..why don't we just discuss that when your older, alright?"

Kari just nodded her head, tears, and her blush still upon her face. Vladimir couldn't help but sigh in relief as she agreed. That was a conversation he wanted to avoid for at least two or three more years. "Alright then Kari, if you really want to go, then when I leave I'll take you with me, okay?"

Kari smiled at Vladimir, "Thank you so much Vladimir!"

She quickly embraced him once more.

Day Twelve

It had been a week since Vladimir had agreed to bring Kari along with him when he left. And not once did she waver in enthusiasm. Of course, when it was time for him to feed, he would find his prey and she would stay home. Vladimir was worried about Kari because of that, if she couldn't stand the sight of him feeding, how would she travel with him? He had to feed at least once every three days. He wasn't trying to hurt her, or trying to question her loyalty, but that didn't stop her from taking it that way. Her exact words were, "Don't you worry about me! I'll be just fine watching you feed. If your so unsure about me, then I'll prove to you that you can count on me, no matter what!"

When Kari had said this Vladimir knew that this wouldn't lead anywhere good. But He hadn't even an inkling of how bad it was going to be.

The Sun was setting, Vladimir was just about to go on his hunt for prey, when Kari walked into the clearing, with her Mother in tow. "Kari where are we-"

When Kari's Mother caught sight of Vladimir, her eyes widened in fear, "Kari, we have to run!"

Vladimir then spoke, "Kari do you know what your doing?"

She just nodded her head. "Are you sure about this, she's your Mother."

Kari looked over at Vladimir, her eyes were emotionless, almost lifeless, as she spoke four words that would be burned into Vladimir's brain for the rest of his life, "It's feeding time Vladimir."

Kari's Mother looked down at her with a fearful, yet questioning gaze, while Vladimir was caught off guard big time. But nevertheless Vladimir rushed forward with unbelievable speed, and got up in Kari's Mother's face. He wrapped his right hand around her throat before she could scream, and lifted her into the air, where they became face to face. Then, in an instant, Vladimir was burying his fangs into Kari's Mother, and began to drink of her life source.

Kari watched as Vladimir did this, and she took it all in, soaked it all up, because this would be her life from now on. She would travel with Vladimir, and help him feed on whoever was unlucky enough to cross their paths. She would finally have someone, finally have someone who really cared, finally have someone who really loved her. And now all that was left to do was cut all the ties that binded her to this village. Her Mother was the main one, they had to at least get rid of her.

As her Mother finally became limply lifeless as Vladimir fed on her, Kari couldn't help but smile. Now that her Mother was gone, Kari could leave the village with Vladimir, and finally be happy.

Vladimir had drained Kari's Mother of every ounce of her blood, so he dropped her, and let her hit the ground with a slight thump. Vladimir wiped the blood on his face onto his sleeve, and turned to Kari, "Are you sure you were okay with that?"

Kari just nodded her head. Vladimir saw what was happening though, he knew she was holding it in. He spread his arms out side to side, so that she could come into his embrace, "It's alright to grieve for her Kari, it's only natural."

Kari just nodded her head, as tears began to slide down her face. She fell into Vladimir's embrace and began to cry into his chest. He did his best to console her, whispering sweet nothings to her, hoping it would make her feel better. In response, she cried into his chest, as she tried to speak, "I love you Vladimir, thank you."

Day Fourteen

Vladimir was awoken by the sounds of people screaming, but there were about a little over a dozen, so with so many Vladimir couldn't decipher what they were saying. But it sounded like it was coming from the village, Vladimir, his curiosity peeked, quickly rushed into the city, hiding in the shadows as he did so.

"Make Her pay!"

"Kill the little bitch!"

"She'll repay who she took from us with her own blood!"

"Burn the Witch!"

These and several other statements were being screamed out by the village folk, as someone was being tied to a ten foot cross, upon the execution platform, by the Preacher himself, Benjamin Kamiya. The person who was being tied to the cross was the Preacher's daughter herself, Kari Kamiya. She screamed at the top of her lungs for them to stop it, as tears descended her face. But they wouldn't, they wouldn't listen to her. Benjamin Kamiya, now that Kari was fully tied to the cross, began to speak, "Kari kamiya, you have been charged with Witchcraft, summoning a demon, and harboring said demon! And for these crimes, you must pay!"

The Villagers shouted their agreements. A Man who wasn't on the platform handed the Preacher a lit torch, and walked away. The Preacher then turned to the small crowd and called out, "We must burn the Witch!"

Kari couldn't stop crying, as she called out for help, "Vladimir, Vladimir help me! Please, help me! Vladimir, where are you!?"

Vladimir had started deciphering what all the screams were, he soon figured out what was going on. He was now rushing through the forest at full speed, and he even managed to push himself beyond that when he heard Kari's cries for help.

The Preacher turned to his Daughter, and lit her and the cross on fire with the torch. Kari cried out in severe agony, "VLADIMIR! VLADIMIR IT HURTS! PLEASE, HELP ME! VLADIMIR!"

Vladimir burst forth from the forest at that exact moment, and began tearing his way through the crowd to get to Kari. Blood was flying everywhere as Vladimir ripped through almost each and everyone of the villagers. The last two raced off, and Vladimir couldn't stop them, he had to get to Kari. There was only one person standing in Vladimir's way, and that was Kari's father himself, Benjamin Kamiya. Vladimir jumped onto to the platform, and quicker than the eyes could see, he had roundhouse kicked Benjamin onto the hard ground below the platform.

Vladimir ripped the ropes bounding Kari to the cross in half, and pulled her off of it. He then held her against him, gripping tight until the flames that covered her died out. He then gently laid her down, getting to his knees as he did so. Her skin was black as night, looking like charred meat. Some of it was cracked, where blood leaked out, looking even darker than usual. Before Vladimir could speak, a stake was slammed through his gut. He cringed in pain, then stood up and turned to face Kari's father, the Preacher. Vladimir was scowling as he spoke, "How could you do this to your own daughter, you scum!?"

Before Benjamin could answer, he pulled out a dagger from his Preacher coat, and slashed high, trying to kill Vladimir. Vladimir tried to dodge, but he couldn't without leaving Kari alone, so he had to take the cut. But it didn't hit it's mark, the dagger sliced down Vladimir's left eye. And when Benjamin tried again, it sliced down Vladimir's right eye. Vladimir didn't give him a chance to cut again, he pulled the stake from his gut, and slammed it through Benjamin's chest, into his heart. He fell to the ground lifeless, dropping the dagger as he did so. While Vladimir turned back to Kari, blood still gushing from his wound.

He knelt down, so as to get closer to Kari. Kari appeared lifeless, but she was still alive, barely, but she would only be that way for a minute or so, her body was burned too bad, she was gone. Vladimir couldn't help begin to cry, as the tears came down his face, they washed off a bit of the blood that cover his face. That's when Kari spoke, "I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise, you'll have to be alone again Vladimir. I'm so sorry."

As Kari's eyes began to close for the final time, Vladimir cried harder, as he spoke his last words to her, "It's okay Kari, I forgive you. I love you Kari, I really do love you."

And then, just like that, Kari was gone, she was no longer breathing, she was just a charred corpse. Vladimir couldn't help himself, he was beyond enraged, and he had so much sadness within him, he couldn't help what he did next. "GODDAMN IT WHY!?"

Vladimir took off his glasses, revealing the sorrowful look in his eyes, as he finished, "And that's how I got these scars. Those are the memories that have haunted me for my whole life. And that's why I'm helping you Tsukune, you remind me of her, Kari. I also don't want you to have to got through what I had to, if you do, it will break you, just like it did me. And to make matters worse, that was how the Witch hunts began. The two guys that I let escape must have spread what happened around, because a few months later the Witch trials in Salem began. Kari wasn't even a Witch. Tsukune, you belong to the most atrocious race of monster there is, Humans."

To Be Continued...