A/N: Ladies, there are some bad news & good news. Well, I only have one news to tell you, but it could be good or bad, depends on how you look at it. I won't take long, so here it is: my story is coming to an end! I predict that it will be over in the next two chapters. Anyway, I think it's good news because... Hey! Haruna can stop being miserable! That is... if I do give her a happy ending, muaha!
It's been a long journey for all of us, and I think that's my fault. Truthfully, I've stalled a lot in this story. Some things that should've been minor were emphasized for no reason because I'm an idiot. But, just thought I'd let you ladies know so that you all can brace yourselves. I mean, I doubt any of you are that emotionally attached to this story, but meh.
"A New Beginning"
There was an unwavering silence in the air. Aido waited for Haruna's response; he remained as quiet as a leaf, waiting for autumn to arrive. He used to be able to predict Haruna's thoughts, but lately, he couldn't really tell for sure what went on in her head. She just had to bury her ex-fiance and now Aido was proposing? He really picked a bad timing to confess to her.
Still, Aido was somewhat confident that she'd say yes. Mugen, afterall, did say that Haruna still had lingering feelings for him. Though, he couldn't say he really believed the old woman; the two of them never got along too well and she had been known to be a prankster in her youthful days. He swore on his life that he'd get Mugen back for playing him into a trap if Haruna said-
"No," Haruna said without much thought. Yes, Aido would definitely get back at Mugen. Aido's electric blue eyes dulled. How could he not expect this? Haruna was always the stubborn and unwilling type of person; she wouldn't just throw herself into his arms and run off into the sunset with him. "You should get going before the level E's start lurking around."
A weary sigh escaped Aido's thin lips. There she goes again... avoiding the conversation. Haruna worried for him when he gave a burst of laughters that echoed in the night. "Are you always going to do this?" Aido asked, quite serious now. "You're unbelievable - I bet if you found a treasure chest, you'd give it to some rabbit!"
Haruna was really starting to worry about him. "What are you saying?" she asked, not understanding him one bit.
"I'm calling you an idiot!" Aido roared, waving his arms in the air in frustration, "Here I am, the person you love, confessing to you. Yet here you are, rejecting me in the kindest manner - I can't stand you!" He wondered why his heart latched itself onto the most complicated woman on earth. Haruna was driving him insane.
Haruna was quite the dense one. "I'm sorry," she spoke awkwardly; her apology only added to his stress.
Aido looked comical as he clenched both his fists at her. He erupted, "It's final. I'm going to revert you back to your old self Haruna. I didn't want to do this," Aido paused momentarily, grabbing the collar of his white shirt and ripping it open, revealing a beautiful, smooth, toned and pale chest, "but you leave me no choice!"
Instinctively, Haruna's hands reached up to her face to cover her eyes from the lovely eye-candy. "P-pervert!" she accused, feeling the heat in her cheeks escalate in embarrassment. "Aido-san," she warned, stepping back as he caged in on her.
"Bite me," Aido demanded, pointing to his slender neck. "Come on, look at it. It's so fleshy and it's pulsing with blood. You know you want a taste of me," he bent his neck in an angle, exposing all of its wonderful bareness.
Haruna pinched her nose with one hand while the other hand covered her mouth - she gasped as she left her eyesight vulnerable. With Aido's shirt half open and his hair a mess, she couldn't be blamed for accidentally letting her eyes roam across his body.
Haruna, now immobilized and clearly at a disadvantage, couldn't escape Aido's wrath. Her brown eyes turned a ruby red color and she felt her fangs protrude. He smirked, "I've got you now-"
"Ba-ka," a shrilled and feminine voice mocked. "Stop trying to seduce women, Hanabusa," Misha gaited over with a catwalk. Aido sneered at the sight of his soon-to-be-ex-wife. Once the divorce process was done, he would finally be rid of her. Or so he assumed. She had a pretty white coat on with some fancy boots. Her hair was like golden thread, as always, and her complexion was always the best; she looked fit to be the wife of Aido, Haruna thought.
"What are you doing here?" Aido asked.
Ignoring him, Misha turned her attention towards Haruna, who was now covering her cheeks in fear that Misha would slap her again for speaking to Aido. Instead, she gave a radiant smile, "I'm so sorry that my husband is acting this way," she reached over to Aido, fixing his hair and his clothing. "He's always been a wolf."
Aido rolled his eyes, smacking her hands away. "We're not in that husband and wife relationship anymore," he barked at her. Haruna looked around, trying to find a way to escape as the two 'lovebirds' quarreled endlessly. Haruna wondered how many times she'd be made a fool of. Did Aido stage this out? To confess to her and 'seduce' her just to have his wife come and mock Haruna? It was a never-ending cycle, Haruna felt.
"Leaving so soon, Haruna-chan?" Misha asked in a quirky manner. Haruna simply nodded. "Well bye-bye then," she waved without much care to the shy girl. Haruna crossed looks with Aido once more. Something in his eye was telling her that he was sorry. Haruna shrugged it off.
As Haruna returned home, Misha's cold demeanor returned. Aido wondered how it was even possible for someone to master a two-face so perfectly. He and Haruna had seen it so many times now that they were able to read her motives without much effort. "If you came to ask me to change my mind about you, it's futile."
"Darling," Misha cooed, "I'm way over the past now. Do you honestly think that I'd be hung over on one person who isn't even all that great?" Misha mugged Aido and he returned the same look.
"Then why are you still stalking me?" Aido dreaded.
Misha scoffed, "As if. I'm actually doing you a favor right now," she spoke arrogantly, holding her nose in the air.
"By being a nuisance? You're doing a great job," Aido smiled sarcastically, swinging his fist in the air.
"You ought to show me some gratitude, bastard," Misha glared. "Had I came a minute later, you would have sent your precious ex-human spiraling down a hell hole."
"How so? Weren't you the one who did that? You and that pureblood messed up everything; you both sent me and Haruna through hell."
"I did her a favor too. She could've spent a happy life with a fine pureblood, something all vampires dread for. I gave her status and wealth. What did I get stuck with? A bum like you and your son."
Aido stood corrected. Haruna wasn't the most complicated woman in the world; Misha was. Aido couldn't believe the foul mouth this woman had. "You mean our son?" Aido crossed his arms, "You're the worst."
Misha laughed, "I'm the worst? You're the selfish one. You abandoned your father and me for some rat. Furthermore, you're willing to return Haruna's dreadful memories for the sake of your own happiness." She inhaled a deep breath after nearly losing breath in the heat of the moment. "You're a lousy man-"
"What dreadful memories?" Aido asked. "I'm saving her from living a lie-"
"Oh you don't remember? You don't recall that she was raised in a brothel? Raped by men and abused - yeah. You go ahead and give her back those memories; she'll be really grateful to you." Aido bit his tongue, defeated. The last thing he wanted to do was bring painful memories to Haruna; he'd never be able to live with himself if he did that to her. Misha smirked, satisfied to see him put down. "I thought so."
Aido doubt that Misha was here to 'save' Haruna. "I'm guessing since you're not able to live a happy life like you planned, you hope to bring me down with you?" Aido couldn't blame Misha for wanting revenge. The Koga family probably wanted to disown her for ruining her ties with the Aido family; anyone would be upset over that. "That's fine with me, but I won't allow you to hurt Haruna."
Unable to stay calm, Misha's eyes glossed with tears as she realized how deeply he cared for Haruna, a girl so inferior to her. She pouted her pink lips and trembled with her hands to her chest. "We used to be so in love, remember? What happened?" There was a tremor in her heart; she hated the feeling of being forgotten, of being tossed aside. Her white skin and dainty features really made her look like an angel; it was pitiful to see her cry. "You used to protect me, but now you're on Haruna's side... It hurts to know that I no longer have a place in your heart."
Misha was always the type to use a sob story to appeal to someone, but Aido knew that this time, she was shedding sincere tears. "You're not the person I used to love; you changed." Aido watched her flinch, contemplating when she lost him. "But, you're still important to me as a friend." Her green eyes widened, lit with hope.
"You forgive me?" she asked, desperately hoping that he didn't see her as someone with no dignity. All this time, she thought he hated her. Aido nodded; she sighed in relief, smiling in bittersweetness."The first time we met, you said I was beautiful even though I was always teased by my sisters for my dullness. It was because of you that I blossomed into someone beautiful, but I got so carried away that I forgot about you, and I regret that everyday."
"Some day you'll find someone worth holding onto, but that someone isn't me," Aido said. "If you smile a little more, it won't be hard to find someone who'll like you back."
"If I became the person I used to be... would you love me again?" Her eyes begged, hoping he'd show her the adoration he had for her long ago.
Aido found himself in an uncomfortable situation. How could he answer something like that? "I told Haruna one time that she reminded me of your old self, and that's why I felt attached to her. But as I got to know her more, I understood that that wasn't the reason why I loved her. I'm sorry, but you can't change my mind."
Aido feared that Misha wouldn't understand. She'd probably throw a tantrum, but instead, she smiled softly. "I see. I don't think I'll ever find someone like you again, but I'm sure we'll be together in the next life." Misha smirked, determined, "I won't lose to Haruna again!" Aido scratched his head, laughing awkwardly at her declaration. "Oh, and Hanabusa."
"What is it?" Aido asked.
"I have something else to tell you... It's about Mugetsu."
Next Day - Cross Academy
Haruna emptied the closet and drawers of Isley's items. She placed his belongings into boxes that were located in the middle of the now empty room. All that remained were the furniture and bed, including Isley's scent that still lingered in the air.
When Haruna arrived earlier, Yuuki had tried to convince her to go home, saying that she would send Isley's things to her as she didn't want to bring bad memories to Haruna. Of course, she failed miserably.
"I thought I heard a rat crawling up here."
Haruna's ears perked up; she turned around to see a blonde woman. No, it wasn't Misha, surprisingly. Instead, it was another vampire. Like all other higher vampires, she possessed unnatural beauty and a mysterious aura to her. The woman held a warm smile, though Haruna could tell that she was quite a nasty person to be around.
Minding her own business, Haruna ignored the woman. "What a shame to see that another pureblood has died. Our numbers are getting smaller every time." Ah... So that's why the woman had a different atmosphere to her - she was a pureblood. "I'm Sara Shirabuki. I always wanted to meet you; there used to be gossip about how a pureblood was going to marry a human. I thought that you, the ex-human, had to be worthy of a pureblood, but you don't know how disappointed I am right now."
The innocence and sweet tone in Sara's voice didn't suit her insulting words to Haruna. "I'm sorry I didn't meet your expectations," Haruna carelessly.
"Sara-sama, are you bullying Haruna?" Haruna recognized the voice. It wasn't Yuuki's, nor was it Zero's. "I didn't think someone like you with unmatchable grace would be the type to torment others."
Sara smiled pleasantly, "Misha," her voice was soft, "I'm just having a normal conversation with Ms. Haruna, isn't that right?" She turned her attention back to Haruna who seemed surprised with the appearance of Misha. Of all people, Misha was defending her? And for once, she seemed sincere. "I'll be leaving now. My pets must be getting lonely," she bid farewell and disappeared.
Haruna waited for her rival, Misha, to start bashing her too. Of course, it was the only reason why she would seek Haruna. "You're really stupid," Misha rolled her eyes, sneering at Haruna with disgust. Haruna laughed inside her head, thinking she that she really was stupid to think that perhaps Misha had come to her aid. She stomped over to Haruna; Haruna could already imagine Misha's hand whipping her face. "When someone degrades you like that, you have to stand up for yourself!" she exclaimed.
"H-huh?" was all Haruna managed to say.
"It's really pitiful to see you like this, you know? What happened to the Haruna I knew who wouldn't back down?" Misha raised her hand; Haruna flinched, only to feel her soft hands on her shoulders. Misha's eyes softened, "You have to be a strong woman."
Now Haruna was mentally screaming in her head, 'huh?'
"I get that you've suffered from a lot of pain, to which I'll admit that I inflicted it upon you and I'm sorry, but you can't mope around forever!" Misha's eyes looked feral, "I'm speaking to you, woman to woman here. I don't want want to see you crying in a corner because you lost one person - it's depressing! Every lady deserves happiness, so go out there and find it."
"A-are you... encouraging me?"
Misha tilted her head, pondering for a second before saying, "I don't know; I never spoke to anyone like this before. But if that's what you call it, then I suppose I am encouraging you."
Haruna blinked innocently, "Thank you."
"Are you listening to me?" Misha asked, forcing a nod out of Haruna. "Then listen to this too," she continued, "Hanabusa cares about you, I'm sure you've already realized. Now," she spoke in an almost threatening voice, "this you probably don't know, but I do care a great deal about Hanabusa."
Actually, Haruna did know. She realized long ago that perhaps Misha was just like Isley - someone who yearned for love a little too desperately.
"That's why I'm telling you to get yourself together. I'd hate handing Hanabusa over to some woman who can't even love herself; he deserves someone better than that, but since I can't change his mind about you, I thought I might as well try to get through to you."
Haruna, embarrassed at her own flaws, apologized unconsciously.
"There you go again!" Misha groaned, holding her head in pain, "I won't speak anymore nonsense, but just know that if you hurt Hanabusa, I won't be handing him so easily over to you again without a fight, understand?" Haruna, slightly fearing for her life, nodded. Misha eased a little, "He likes you a lot, you know... and I know you like him too. Don't use Isley's death as an excuse to avoid Hanabusa; it's shameful."
Haruna remained quiet. She didn't like how Misha knew more about her than her own self. Though she wouldn't admit it, she did have a place for Aido in her heart. Why had she been running away from Aido, she wondered? The past few weeks, she'd been ignoring the world and had bottled up her emotions - she must've looked like a lifeless doll. It was pitiful, she realized. "Hey, thank you..." Haruna tapped her head with her finger, "for putting some sense back in here."
Misha was a bit stunned, having never been thanked in her life. "Wh-whatever. You're still stupid," she tried to keep her cool, but managed to smile a little before leaving.
A/N: Remember to review! I'm starting to think I have crickets as readers; ya'll are so quiet! I want to hear from you guys! .