Barairo Akaku ni Chandelier

Chapter Two

It was midnight.

Kamijo liked keeping the lights off in his office, so that the only light that leaked in was the luminescent glow of the moon outside. He sighed as his new 'daughter' watered the roses on his desk and around the room.

He stood up, and gazed out the window. What a pain it was to have this plan going on and on, just waiting for all the humans to become impressed, so they can finally put it into effect. The Project of eternal Life... Kamijo just sighed, and told himself that all this annoyance would be worth it in the end, and that this was only a trial.

Suddenly, the door creaked open.

"You could have knocked, Yuki."

"Yeah, well, you could keep the lights on once in a while, but that's not going to happen either." Yuki scoffed, as he stepped into the room and flipped on the lights. Kamijo winced and sat down at his desk.

"So…you have all the preparations sorted out?" Yuki stared at the file on his desk.

"Yes," Kamijo answered, and handed Yuki the file, "Get the others started. There are a few people in that file that would benefit us to have on our side. See to it that they are."

Yuki took the file and nodded, "I shall see to it right away."

As Yuki left the room, he turned off the lights, and Kamijo turned his desk chair around, and closed his eyes...

He remembered the prophecy of their clan… A legend of a rose that has not withered in a thousand years, and the descendants of its guardians…

They have existed since the dark ages, extending their lives by feeding on humans and drinking their blood. Those who are bitten receive the gift of eternal life; those who carry their blood are known as the Descendants of the Rose.

They have a love for beauty in eternity. But in exchange for this, it is their fate to accept darkness and isolation…

Kamijo raised his head, and sighed again. Only one more day…

Just a few more days, and their plan would be put into effect.

Only a few more days.

Thus, the preparations in Kamijo's plan were carried out.

Late the next day, Teru and Jasmine were sent out to accomplish their part of the mission. Kamijo had provided no other details in his file than that a girl would come this way that night, and to be sure to make contact with her.

And, right on time, a girl's footsteps were heard walking down the alley. She spotted Jasmine and Teru, and stopped. Teru looked up from the ground, to give her a pleading glance. No one could ever refuse the looks Teru gave them. And just as expected, she agreed to have a portrait done of her.

So, she sat as Teru sketched out the outline of her upper body in dark pencil. She was silent, until she felt a hand on her shoulder. As she looked up, into Jasmine's eyes, a feeling of dread swept over her. But Jasmine held her in place, and she leaned down, and spoke in a horrible, frightening voice.

"He is drawing death, which is hidden deep within your heart." Jasmine spoke, while holding the apple, the universal sign of temptation. She saw the fear grow in the eyes of the girl, as she saw the other pictures on display, and recited the last line she was instructed to, "…What is wrong, dear?"

The girl quickly and frantically dug through her purse for some money, which she placed in Teru's hat on the ground.

"I w-won't be needing that picture…" She said, and ran off down the dark alley.

As she left, Jasmine stood up, and Teru ceased his drawing, just as it was finished.

Teru sighed, "I drew this for nothing…" He stared at the picture of the girl, with the red blotch on her heart. She hadn't even taken one look at it.

"Oh relax, Teru. Just put it with the others."

And Teru did. All of the others, in fact, had happened the same way. The two of them were sent to find people, and as Teru drew them, with all their ugliness and sins pasted across their bodies, they ran away. As if afraid of themselves in the way that Teru portrayed them, they didn't even look at their pictures, and Teru was forced to keep all of them.

"Jasmine…" Teru began, "Why does no one ever take their picture?" He sounded truly upset.

"Because, Teru… humans can be filthy creatures, and they fear others and themselves. Most of all, themselves. They are afraid to face what they fear the most, so they hide and are locked away inside their own cruel minds." Jasmine said, though Teru rarely wanted to accept the fact that humans could be cruel.

But suddenly, Teru clutched his pencils, and a scowl of anger grew across his face. "Then… then I'm glad… glad that Kamijo's plan is to teach them a lesson. They..! They've brought this on themselves… They deserve it!" Teru threw his pencils to the ground in rage, and picked up his pictures, and ran down the alley, back towards where they came.

Jasmine sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. This project was getting the best of Teru, he never acted like this. Or maybe, maybe Kamijo needed to stop being such an asshole and cursing the humans whenever he got the chance. Maybe...

Jasmine sighed again.

There were a lot of 'maybe's that would never come true. But Jasmine would be sure to bring it to Kamijo's attention to stop being as cruel as he always says the humans are.

"Jasmine, learn to knock." Kamijo scowled as Jasmine also entered his office, uninvited.

"You need to learn to stop being an ass all the time, Kamijo, and then maybe I'll learn to knock." Jasmine said with just as much spite.

Kamijo turned his desk chair around, with an evil look in his eyes, "What did you say to me?"

"I said to stop being a jackass. Teru's upset because of the way you're always so negative, and the rest of us are annoyed that you walk around with a huge raincloud and an "I hate the world" aura hanging over your head!"

"You have no right to speak to me this way." Kamijo turned his chair around, but Jasmine grabbed it and turned it back.

"I have every right to speak to you this way, Kamijo. But you have no right to take your anger out on all of us. Because of you, Teru thinks the world is a horrible place."

"The world is a horrible place."

"Not really, Kamijo! The world has given us what we needed for our world! If we didn't have them, there would be no us! There would be no Descendants of the Rose! You have yet to realize that the world isn't as terrible as you think it is, Kamijo." Jasmine's voice was pure anger, but she reigned it in. as she left the office, she continued, "Maybe it's you, maybe you're the truly terrible one here, Kamijo." And she slammed the door shut.

As Kamijo stared out the window, Jasmine's words rang true.

Maybe it was him, who was the horrible person after all.

Kamijo sighed again, and turned off the lights.