The Troubled Mind

Decisions are always difficult.
But the thing is:

How much are you willing to sacrifice?

The surroundings were those of a peaceful nature. Trees swayed along with the light gusts of wind that came by, scattering shades of orange leaves that clearly stated the season of the year. Soft chirping of different flocks of birds echoed in the silent park, along with the sounds of flowing water from the river nearby. It was early in the morning, around 8, perhaps. People could be seen jogging, old folks doing Taichi and businessmen walking to work. Just in the distance you could see a church of modest size sitting behind the trees, forming part of the beautiful scenery. Young Fuyuki was taking a stroll with her father, both of them hand in hand as they enjoyed their time together.

"Fuyuki-chan, do you like your pendant?" Her father asked as he gently smiled at her.

"Yeap!"

By the church was a graceful looking woman with long flowing brown hair and hazel eyes, who turned around to face the father and child.

"Yuki, you wanted a picture of us together, right?"

"Now!" The little girl demanded, pointing a finger at her parents, her blue eyes glinting in excitement.

"Wow, you're so worked up over this!" Her father commented.

"Of course! You guys don't really leave memories behind...so I'll do it for you! If you don't wish to remember...I'll remember them for you!"

Her parents were slightly taken aback by words and her unexpected observance.

"We'll be counting on you, then."

And then she awoken with the touch of warmth on her forehead. The 17 year-old slowly opened her eyes to see a pair of warm brown eyes, looking down at her gently. His hand remained, caressing her soft hair.

"You're off to dreamland again?" Kouji laughed softly.

"I'll be able to catch the mistakes better."

"I see. Well, you're just in time; break time is over."

...

Yuugure no
Namida ga desou na aka
Watashi no naka wo kimi wo
Tokashite, shimae

...

Her singing voice wasn't too far off from what she usually sounded like. Her expression didn't change into one of a passionate singer.

Just as usual, her eyes had a distant look. Terumi was naturally captivated by the soothing sounds of her tone. But for Koujirou, it reminded him of something. The lyrics and the way she sang it, so far yet close to emotion.

"The evening sky seems to be crying red tears, so please melt me into you."

With the moon closing in and the day fading out, she once again holds onto her scythe. The red she spills onto the ground is simply an inconvenience, although they hold so much grief and agony. And that image of her stays on forever like a scar. A foreboding scar the jolly yet grief-stricken man has to remember.

For Terumi, the situation was easy enough to make out. The way Kouji cared for her as she slept. The way she let herself drift to sleep on his lap even when she was in enemy territory. That girl mustn't die, but both sides are definitely not in for a compromise.

A hearty laughter came from black haired man, who smiled pleasantly at Kouji at if he were his own son.

"Looks like you've found something you really enjoy."

But at the back of his eyes was pure suspicion of the girl. Yes, he liked her a lot. But, this wasn't an excuse to not kill her. But if he won the fight and she did die, he wouldn't know what to say to Kouji.

Despite his exterior happiness, Kouji was the first to notice Koujirou's concerns.

"Koujirou, something's bothering you again. Its still about Terumi, right?" He sighed.

The boy didn't like how the other man always brooded over things with a single-tracked mind. Although that mindset was recommended in some situations, currently wasn't the right time for it.

"Kch, not really..."

"I can tell that Koujirou-san really cares for Terumi-san, huh." Momoka bluntly stated.

She could tell that the both of them had the "close friends" relation, but Koujirou wasn't ready to step out of the friend-zone yet. To be honest, she didn't like Koujirou because he clearly disliked Fuyuki-senpai's presence for some dumb reason. Not only that, he seemed like such a killjoy person because he foolishly decided to lie their face into complimenting the performance.

Momoka didn't care whatever he was thinking, be it important or not. If he liked the woman, he should just do something already. Also, lying wasn't going to cut it. The brown-headed girl disliked lies more than anything else. The reason being a story for next time.

Koujirou flinched at the sharp stare he received from the annoyed drummer, who in return ignored him and stared at her drum set again, waiting for the next song. The oldest woman in the room sighed at his behaviour, rolling her wheelchair towards him to pull the man to the side.

"Koujirou, you know this isn't the time to brood over these kind of things. You've clearly ticked of Momoka- she is a perceptive one. I suggest you cool off somewhere else so you wouldn't raise more suspicions." Terumi folded her arms and shook her head slowly. He was usually bright and cheery, but needed to clear his head from this mess.

"You'll be in danger- she's just right there and you're defenceless..." He slightly jumped back when he felt hands slide up to his, being grasped in a protective manner.

"Don't worry. She will probably not bother with me. Also, she wouldn't reveal her identity in such a place where several people are at. And..." She closed her eyes and smiled. "Kouji is around. I bet Fuyuki-chan wouldn't dream of showing him such a horrifying scene."

"Hah... you win, you win." Koujirou waved his hand and sighed in defeat. Even so, he placed a pistol in her hands.

"The bullets in this are special; she wouldn't recover as quick when hit because it steals her mana away. If this hits her brain or heart, she'll be severely damaged."

"... you really have the intention to kill her..." Terumi mumbled in disappointment. She then returned the gun and frowned. "I would like something else that would protect me, but wouldn't endanger her."

"Just take it. Please."

"Eh, that guy left?" Takano, who was silent the entire time, finally spoke. "He was acting very suspiciously, as if he wanted to stab someone or something..."

"Hmph. Terumi-san, don't take such a guy as your man because he'll only bring you to the deepest, darkest depths of hell." Momoka scoffed spitefully, unlike her usual upbeat behaviour. "If you've come to hate him, please tell me. I'll crack his neck for you."

Her menacing smile made everyone (except Fuyuki) in the room shudder. They've only just met him an hour ago and was able to evoke such dark thoughts in people without even interacting much with them.

"All it takes is one stupid lie to make Momo crack." The green-haired boy explained, wagging his finger like a teacher would. "That guy was...familiar. He's that dude from the Sasaki Shrine, right?"

"Ah, yes." Terumi nodded her head. "He has two older siblings who are twins, but they left the shrine for another job. For him, he stayed behind but not to become the head priest, but for another role."

"Then he must be a..." Oddly, Takano's voice trailed off. He looked down at his own feet, shuffling them uncomfortably. "Never mind. Its just a myth..."

"Myth? What myth?" Kouji's head boggled as his friends were acting oddly since they came to his house. To be more precise, after seeing Koujirou.

"It has been speculated that vampires exist in this world. And naturally, there would be vampire hunters. They are humans with blessed blood, passed down through generations. The Sasaki's were one of the last families to receive this power before the demon that blessed them was executed. They then went back to Japan and started their vampire hunting in Asia."

Fuyuki cringed at the detailed explanation given by Takano. With Momoka's suspicion with the vampire hunter and Takano's knowledge about the existence of the supernatural, it was going to be hard to deal with the situation. If anything, it would be a high chance that Takano would be dragged into the hidden world that intrigued him. Admittedly, this is going to be one of the hardest missions she has embarked on.

With the risk of her brothers and friends lives on her shoulders, she had to deal with this as delicately as possible.

"I never knew you were interested in vampire myths." Fuyuki commented, her eyes now tinged with curiosity. They pierce into the boy's heart, causing him to blurt out his answer.

"Well, I thought I saw that man covered in blood and I got shocked, so I decided to research to at least find out more about him. And then I got all this information and got interested...so I..."

"Terumi-san, don't mind if we have a talk outside?" The grey-headed girl gestured the wheel-chaired woman towards the corridor before pushing her outside.

"If a mere high-school boy is able to find such information, where the heck is the security?" Fuyuki questioned Terumi a bit harshly. "And to allow himself to be seen so simply, what is he thinking? You have to knock some sense into him before I leak this to the shrine- they'll assassinate him for sure."

"Don't worry Fuyuki-chan. I will."

The mercenary nodded in satisfaction as she heard the determined answer. With the co-operation from her enemies, the cards are perfecting being set on the field.

Today's client is: Me.

Authors Notes: Late Update! 2 weeks, was it? My bad.

Another short chapter because my mind can't take any more of this. Expect the next chapter to be even later ;_;
Anyway, sorry for making Koujirou look pretty annoying here (with his brooding and all).

Perceptive, Angry Momoka and Curious, Intelligent Takano now enter the plot! I thought that more humans needed to get involved in this. Normal ones.

I don't really want to say this but...I'll probably need a review to improve on this. Really.

BTW: The song is "glow" by Hatsune Miku Append DARK. If you haven't heard it, check it out!