Bloodless
Chapter One
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for this story and the OCs in it.
Boredom.
That was the thought that ran through my mind as I slowly stride down the third year hallway of Kuoh Academy. I had to admit, the school was quite massive and well-designed, but compared to a certain all girls academy I've frequented, Kuoh could not compare. Then again, this was an ordinary private school that doesn't contain any prodigy child teacher or a wanted chibi vampire.
Fighting back an army of yawns, I ran my hand through my black hair, making sure a good portion of it covered my ears—and my seven piercings. I would normally let them be visible, but humans are quick to judge others' appearances, making them a pain to deal with. Not only that, but anyone with a magic background here can easily tell that they are seals...my identity could then be exposed. Truly a pain.
On my right, a long haired brunette with a ponytail neatly running down her left and light brown eyes gave me an amused side-glance like she was reading my negative thoughts before snickering. She was a beauty with a flawless face, an average height and a tempting body that any male would die for. She was also clad in Kuoh Academy's uniform that consisted of a white long-sleeved, button down pinstriped shirt, a black ribbon on the collar, a black shoulder cape with a matching button-down corset and a magenta skirt with white accents. Beautiful was the only word needed to describe her.
"The uniform looks good on you, Uzume," I said while smirking.
My compliment earned me a light blush and a delightful smile from said person.
"You look good as well, Rainy," was her reply.
Looking down at my clothes I sulked somewhat. I was clad in the male version of her uniform: the same pinstriped shirt covered by a black blazer with white accents, black pants and brown dress shoes. It felt confining. Something more casual certainly would've been better.
Our destination was soon reached and we stopped before the closed door of Class 3-A. The sound of gentle chatter from students, the scraping of chairs and desk along with the teacher's order for silence could easily be heard through the walls. A single thought came into my mind when I heard these noises of normality.
'Would she be happy to attend school if she was still here? Making friends with individuals her age and—'
My thought was broken when I felt a finger playfully poking my cheek. Taking a small glance at my companion, I knew immediately that she has once again read my thoughts by the concerned expression she made.
'I've made her worry.'
Taking her poking hand with my own, I give it a light squeeze before letting ago and once again face the closed door. Now was not the time to get lost in the past; I am about to walk into my personal hell after all.
"You two may come in now," the teacher's voice called out.
With those I reached for the sliding door and walked in while shedding a tear inside. Life is cruel.
Stepping into the classroom, I casually made my way towards the teacher's podium with Uzume trailing right behind. Countless eyes were directed towards us, watching our every moment and whispering slowly made its way around the room. Ignoring it all, I turned and face the class. The whispering then exploded.
"Transfer students? During this time?"
"Handsome!"
"Check out her body!"
"Look at those enchanting red eyes!"
"She's gotta be a D-cup!"
Ignoring the chattering once again, I eyed the entire class while Uzume tried hiding her laughter from the student's reactions and comments.
Two conclusions were made from my observation—the first is the ratio of girls and boys, it was 8:2. There's no doubt that the females have the higher authority here. The second is the two concealed demonic auras. Demons are attending school here—no surprise there, however the two auras felt similar to Mana and Zazie's, weaker, but still similar. This could only mean that the two demons here are undeniably high ranking.
The first demonic aura, also the closet belongs to a beautiful bespectacled young woman with black hair styled in a bob cut and slender figure. She carried with her an atmosphere of nobility and strictness—just the type I would enjoy teasing. But what really caught my attention were her eyes; those violet eyes were the eyes of a skillful tactician, hawking us for possible openings. Truly mesmerizing.
'She's analyzing us…with a poker face that rivals Sieg's.'
The moment I thought of that, the blue-haired elemental master's scowling face flashed before my mind. Scary, now moving on.
The second aura belongs to another young woman with long crimson hair, blue-green eyes, and a rather developed body. She, too, had an air of nobility. Her crimson hair reminded me of Hwa Ryun, the Red Witch and like the first demon; she eyed us, but with hinted of interest before lightly smirking.
"Please quiet down!" the female teacher sternly instructs.
Her words takes effect after a short moment. She then turned to us and gives us a small nod.
'Introductions huh.'
Taking one slight step forward, I bowed to the students.
"Greetings, my name is Sang Karino. As you can see, I'll be joining this class from today onwards. It's a pleasure to meet you all," and with that I winked at my audience.
"Kyaas" from blushing girls and I think growling (?) from irritated guys was the response I got. A few girls even fainted and I couldn't help but chuckle. Really now, there were so many possible preys to choose from for my pranks here, the excitement made my blood race.
Uzume must've figured out my thoughts again because she gave me a look of amusement and a look of slight pity towards the class before stepping up next to me to start her introduction.
"And I'm Uzume Hikari. You can just call me Uzume. Nice to meet you!" she said in a playful tone before bowing.
Before anyone could make a sound, the teacher quickly voice out her new orders, "Karino-san, Hikari-san, there are two seats available next to Shitori-san. Please have a seat so we can get class started."
The both of us gave her a small nod and I begin rescanning the class for the vacant seats before a slender right hand raised up. What did you know? The hand belonged to the bespectacled demon from earlier.
Giving the demon a slight nod, Uzume and I picked up our bags made our way to the empty desks. I stationed myself in the middle with the Shitori on my left and Uzume on my right. It was the wisest move to make since Uzume lacked knowledge on demons and having one directly next to her could mean greater danger.
After sitting down I grabbed a notebook and pencil from the bag and begin lightly tapping it on the table. That caused my demon neighbor to vaguely arch an eyebrow before she turned her attention back to the chalkboard. Ignoring the prying gazes from the other students, I gave Uzume a glance and she nodded. It was time. The moment the teacher started the lesson the both of us opened out notebooks and started scribbling, letting our imaginations battle.
The sounding of the bell awoken us from our doodling world, it was already lunch time. Looking down at my notebook I couldn't help but feel proud; it was my victory. The pages were crammed with drawings of random objects such as trees, birds, pandas and even angry Siegs. Uzume's notebook looked the same, except some of her pictures lacked detail which was the reason for my victory and her current pouting.
Before either of us could react, a mob of students surrounded us like a pack of hungry wolves eyeing fresh meat. Questions were thrown at us from all directions from where we're from to our favorite things to even our relationship. I paid them little interest and Uzume just chuckled, moving closer to me to avoid some wandering hands.
In the corner of my eyes, I spotted another bespectacled woman at the door. She was tall woman with long straight black hair, split bangs and pointed brown eyes. She too, had a demonic aura, but it was weak compared to the previous two. From the looks of it, she was waiting for someone.
'There are more demons here than I expected...'
My guess was correct the moment the Shitori woman got up from her desk and elegantly strides towards the door. The taller girl turned around and follows closely, one step behind.
'A master and servant relationship?'
Turning back to the students crowding us, I offer them a light smile. Again, blushes and "kyaas" was the reaction.
"My apologies, but Uzume and I must head to the school office now. We still need to finish some paperwork to complete our transfer," I ended that with a fake apologetic face.
Seeing her cue, Uzume also said her apology and we made our way out the door with dazed students behind us.
"This place is mentally exhausting," I whined while letting out a gigantic yawn.
A light hum was the only reply I got from my partner as she stared at the students on the ground level.
The both of us are now on the school rooftop trying to relax a bit after eating our lunches. It was the only quiet place we managed to find without students, and sadly this peace will only last an hour before class starts again.
Feeling my exhaustion building up, I lay down and stared into the cloudless blue sky. It felt calming seeing the never-ending blue hovering above me, like paradise was within reach. I was lost in it.
Soon my eyes drowsily begin closing but snapped open when Uzume positioned her head directly above mine, blocking my view of the sky. Light brown met deep crimson. We simply stared at each other for what felt like eternity before she placed a hand on my chest. It was a gentle touch filled with warmth, with love, with need. A touch that sent a slight spark throughout my body, leaving me yearning for more. A touch that I am unworthy of.
As we continued staring into one another, Uzume slowly inched her face forward towards mine. With the closing distance, the heat of her breaths increased, tingling my skin; a sensation of ecstasy. We were now centimeters apart, our eyes never leaving each others, eyes filled with the yearning for that unattainable end. If I was to move my head ever so slightly, then a kiss would be exchanged. A kiss that would make her mine, forever... if only I had that forever.
Reaching out my right hand, I gently caress Uzume's head, guiding it not towards my lips, but towards my chest. She didn't resist, but I caught a glimpse of hurt and then realization. I was once again staring into the eternal blue, with Uzume snuggling against my chest, listening to my even heartbeats. I did not move my hand away, though, and gave her a small pat.
"Uzume," I lightly called out.
"...hm."
"I am not Chiho; therefore I cannot be your fated one."
She did not reply to that, instead she clutched onto my chest even tighter.
After a short minute, she finally replied, "I know, and I'm sorry."
"Don't be."
'Because no matter what, I'll be here for you—that was my promise.'
After a moment of silence, Uzume detach herself from me, taking with her the blissful warmth.
"Say, how is Ling-tan doing?" she asked, while changing to a sitting position. The desire to change the subject was evident from her tone and I went with it.
Closing my eyes, I focused my senses into the silver pendent hidden under my shirt. The presence of every weapon stored inside the pendant was felt, but I couldn't feel her consciousness within the cross halberds. I tried calling out to her.
"Ling?"
No reply.
Again I searched and called; the result was the same, she did not respond.
"She's still resting from the looks of it," I replied as I open my eyes.
"That's not surprising. That incident took a lot out of all of us," she sadly smiles about, staring into the sky.
"Indeed it did. She actually challenged Karasuba to a duel and even did a worthy amount of damage on her. It was mostly thanks to her that I passed Minaka's little trial and got out of the city," I mumbled, remembering the white haired bastard's annoying laugh. Oh how I want to hurl him into the sun when I meet him again.
"You're thinking about hurling him into space, aren't you?"
I grunted to answer that question and she sniggered, "You slashed apart the capital's tower before you left, and fended off over 1,000 MBI soldiers. The Sekirei Plan has been halted because of your act. You got him good."
"Give Minato and his crew credit too, they did help with the battle. Still...it was somewhat boring and I got lectured by Miya at the end," I said nonchalantly. Miya's lecture lasted five hours and on top of that, she even had her hannya mask out. Just thinking back on that event made me tremble in slight fear.
Feeling drowsiness consume me again I begin closing my eyes only to be disturbed by the sound of wings beating the air. Suddenly a metallic object dropped into my left hand with a light thud.
"Text! Text! Murasame is hungry too!" a voice screeched.
A pitch black crow with yellow eyes came into my view, eyeing me for food, a talking crow.
I stared at my bird friend for a good two seconds before I chuckled, "I saved you a portion over there, but eat it someplace where you can't be seen. This place is roaming with humans and demons after all."
With my words, Murasame quickly picked up a giant piece of shrimp tempura and flew off with a cheerful squawk. Turning my attention back to the phone in my hand, I begin reading the message. It was from Riko, my former travel companion and trustworthy intel.
Riko-rin has found a Rain-kun stalker~! Someone from ( , ) has just searched every government data base for Rain-kun's information! No need to worry Rain-kun, Riko has dealt with it, but Riko wants a hot kiss or date in return~!
P.S. Riko will visit Rain-kun and U-chan soon!
I couldn't help but smile wildly with delight after reading that message.
"What does it say?" Uzume questioned, noticing my excitement.
"Riko just discovered someone trying to look into our backgrounds. From the looks of it, it's someone from this school."
"Hm… That was quick. I'm guessing she denied their access?
"Yes, she did," I responded as I let out a laugh, slipping the phone into my pocket.
'Things will get interesting now.'
The bell finally rang. Class was starting again. It was time to observe those demons.
The school day has ended at last. Uzume and I are now walking to our new quarter with Murasame flying above us. It has been a tiring day and the crap load of homework given by the teachers did not help. The lessons were not difficult, but it was just plain boring since I've learned them long ago. The only subject that wasn't dull was history. It's always entertaining to see how fragments of the past are still being repeated today.
Throughout class, the two demons would steal small glances at Uzume and I. Both of their gazes held wariness and curiosity, and it was understandable. I am certain that they felt Uzume's aura and realized she wasn't human. She is a Sekirei, and no matter how similar a Sekirei is to a human, the power radiating from them can still be differentiated from normal humans.
Then, there was me. Sieg and the others, especially Eva, had told me many times that I was abnormal. My aura was human, but something else lingered within that aura and beings of the other side always seek out these abnormalities for varies reasons. Either way, the both of us have the demons' attention now.
After a few minutes we've finally arrived at our quarters: a standard house with two stories, four rooms and a decent size yard. I purchased the house some years ago with money I made on the battlefield and it was one of many quarters throughout the world. Most of these quarters serve as a hideout or a vacation home for my group members whenever they travel; others serve as military bases when we take on contracts. To sum it up, the chain of quarters is home to a guild formed by myself.
As we walked through the door, I threw my stuff to the side and made my way to the leather sofa in the living room. Collapsing onto the heavenly, spongy sofa, I immediately close my eyes and let out a small groan of exhaustion. Sitting in front of a board all day has drained every ounce of my energy. Boredom might have even slaughtered some of my brain cells. That place known as school was worst than hell itself, and trust me that place is not that nice.
Sleep. That is what I need right now. Tonight was Uzume's turn to make dinner and I didn't have any clients call for a contract either; therefore I was free to nap away. In a short moment, sleep dragged me into the world of dreams.
The sound of soft breathing roused me from my sleep and I lazily opened my eyes only to find them being poked by strands of dark brown hair. I then realized that I was in Uzume's embrace, with her head resting on my upper arm snuggling against my chest and her hands lighting grasping my shirt, creating small wrinkles. I couldn't help but stare at the beautiful Sekirei before me. With every breath taken, her chest would rise then fall, causing her hair to slightly move, lightly tickling my cheek. With every small movement, a bit of our warmth is exchange, granting the feeling of bliss. With every moment passing, I felt my heart beat faster, and I realized once again, just how much time can rob from you—and how little time there is left for me.
Not wanting to wake up her up, I silently untangled myself from her grip and got up. Seeing me awake, Murasame flew into the living room and sat on my left shoulder, beating his wings noisily.
"Shhh...Don't make so much noise," I ordered the crow.
Murasame gave me a nod in return.
Making my way into the kitchen, the aroma of beef stew soon reached my nostrils and my stomach growled in anticipation. I was much hungrier than I thought and it came to my notice that three spotless bowls were next to the rice cooker and pot of stew, indicating the fact that the cook herself has yet eaten.
'We should eat together once she's up. Think there's enough time for a quick shower too.'
"Murasame, just wait a bit until Uzume wakes up, we'll have dinner then."
"Got it!" he squawked.
With that thought in mind, I pushed aside my hunger and made my way upstairs to my room to grab a change of clothes. Before heading to the shower, I took an extra blanket from my room and journeyed downstairs again to cover the sleeping Uzume.
Returning upstairs, I left Murasame in my room and I made way to the shower while unbuttoning my shirt and belt. Halfway through my stripping, a speck of black was captured by the mirror in front me and came into my line of sight, halting my movements. I simply stared at my reflection and my eyes slowly moved from the three slanting claw marks located on my lower right lateral area to my lower left breast. There, a clock-like seal made its home. It was a black, palm sized circle with an intricate design forming inside, pulsing with hunger. Even now, I could feel it draining away my energy—draining away my life to complete its rotation. Eleven hours have been inked away and only one hour remains, implying the fact that I have no more than a year left.
At that moment, emotions that cannot be described abruptly poured out from within, suffocating then drowning me. Hands clenching into fists, muscles tensing, blood rushing, anger boiling—my surrounding rapidly dropped in temperature as layers of frost begun covering every inch of the bathroom, creating a fine wintry mist floating about. I felt the need to explode, but the flashbacks of that day shackled my anger and it diminished as quickly as it came.
I broke my gaze away from the mirror and silently laughed. Self-pity, anger, regrets—none of these emotions matter now. I've fought and survived every battle so far, I've seen both the world's cruelty and beauty, I've met many and even bonded with a few and I've wandered the path of the lost long enough. If death is the end, then I will struggle till the end; after all this was the price I have to pay for being so weak that day. If I was to lose to death, then maybe, just maybe I would be reunited with them—with her.
Ending my thoughts, I quickly took a failed warm shower and changed into a black casual kimono. I then went down stairs with Murasame in tow to check if Uzume was awake. Sure enough, she started to stir from her sleep and nearly fell off the sofa trying to unravel from the blanket. This is a moment I will forever remember.
"Morning," I greeted her, smirking.
"Hmn~...That was a good nap. What time is it now?" she asked, stretching and yawning.
"It's 18:30 now."
She gave me a weird look.
"I meant 6:30 p.m., so let's eat dinner," I said, striding to the kitchen with a growling stomach.
Dinner came and went peacefully. The three of us are now sitting in the patio enjoying the warm breeze of late spring in silence. Crickets tenderly filled the air with their melody and cherry blossoms danced with the gentle push of the wind. Those dancing blossoms reminded me of my dreams and her, but I didn't ponder it; after all, moments like these can't last forever—nothing does.
During that period of silence I felt myself being lost in the night sky among the flickering stars: the lights that have lived even before the beginning of life and have guided man during the ages of dark. They have seen it all, from man's foundation to the death and birth of each era and even the small specs of unnoticed history. The life of a star is near immortal, yet it will burn itself away one day. Even after its death, its light will still be visible for another near eternality before it finally fades to nothingness. Like a human's life, something so divine like the stars too, is defeated by the concept of time and meets its end.
Sighing inside my mind, I slowly broke my gaze away from the stars and peeked over at Uzume. She was in her own little world judging by her glazed eyes and blank expression; there was no doubt that she was thinking about her beloved, Chiho.
Inwardly smiling, I reached out my right arm and lightly flicked her forehead, catching her by surprise. She let out a noiseless 'eep' before glaring at me with a slight pout, but it soon broke into a smile. I laughed, breaking the silence. Murasame, who was nested on my left shoulder the entire time, launched himself into the air, no doubt wanting to give us some privacy and preparing for his night duty of finding possible threats around the area.
At that moment, a question popped up in my mind. "Say, Uzume, how do you feel about school so far?"
"...It's interesting, you could say. The lessons are kinda' boring and to be honest, I didn't expect so many humans of the same age range to be gathered in one place," she replied with a small smile. There was a sparkle of excitement within her light brown eyes, however a hint of sadness was evident.
Seeing that veiled pain, I could only remember Chiho's contented smile and laughter as she took her final breath that cloudless day. Chiho knew it. I knew it. Uzume knew it, too. Her disease was incurable. Medication may have prolonged the process, but it lost its efficiency overtime. Magic, too, was useless because it can only heal wounds and not diseases; even if it did work, there is no assurance of her being fully cured without side-effects. Her death was inevitable. Her dreams were meant to be unfulfilled. Yet, Uzume never blame me for her Ashikabi's death, she only blamed herself.
"Four months has passed already. We should pay her a visit once we settle in," I suggested.
A moment of silence.
"...Yeah, lets visit her," her voice trailed. "I want to tell her about all the exciting things I've encountered so far. I also want to tell her about my first day school."
That's right, enjoying a normal school life was one of Chiho's many wishes. Normality was something she greatly yearned for and she also wanted Uzume to experience it, together. But now, only Uzume will live to fulfill those dreams in her place.
"She'll be happy to hear it all, but before that I want you to stay cautious at school. I'm sure you felt it too, the irregular auras mingled among the students-those are demons. From the looks of it, a decent amount of demons dwells within the school and there are two in our class: the redhead and the women sitting on my left. If any demons approaches you, inform me immediately. Other than that, you have nothing to worry over. I doubt Minaka would make a move now; if he does, we'll take the necessary actions."
I looked over to Uzume after my lengthy speech only to find her giving me her signature smirk. The hurt in her eyes was gone, replaced with a spark of mischief.
"Rainy, has anyone ever told you that you sound like an overprotective mommy sometimes?" she asked in a teasing tone.
I grinned, "That's Sieg's role. I believe I am the troublesome little brother of the group."
"You're not that young though."
I let out a hearty chuckle at that shot. "True, I am now a retired 17 year old mercenary living in a small town, babysitting a certain Sekirei and a weird-looking crow."
Murasame must have heard my comment because a piece of bird shit suddenly fell from the sky above, falling a few feet away from me followed by an annoyed squawk. It was a threat that stated: I'll shit on your head next if you make another unnecessary comment.
"Weird looking is not bad looking, Murasame," I pointed out to the crow.
Laughter erupted next to me. It was a gentle, sweet laughter that contained happiness, hope, and life. A laugh that has been lost in sorrow for the past four months. It has finally resurfaced, and I couldn't help but smile.
We continued having small talk throughout the night until the stars faded and dawn greeted us. Uzume decided to take a shower before preparing for our second day of school and waltzed upstairs, leaving me with my thoughts. I honestly did not feel like going, but ditching on the second day would gather attention. Then again, Uzume and I will most likely nap through every class, so can't really complain.
"Murasame, fly around and do as you please. Just make sure you stay out of trouble while we're at school," I ordered, giving his head a light pat. "Also, if the demons do anything odd, inform me at once."
As the crow flew off into the distance, I took once last look at the pinkish orange sky before heading back in with a mad grin.
Today I will find prey at school to play with.
A/N: The first chapter is finally done, and I gotta say, it took me way too long to write that. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please give a review so I know I'm going on the right track. Also, I'm sure most of the readers have realized that some of characters mentioned in this chapter are from different anime/games, so try to guess them all!
If you have any questions, please ask and I'll answer it the best I can.
And one more thing, my OC's bio will be posted on my profile, so feel free to read it (there will be spoilers in it so don't say I didn't warn you).