The Story of Amara Kuran | Mariah Bryant

Book One, Chapter Five

My Brother

"Here," a pale hand gave me a blue sling. I positioned it very carefully, then sat back to gaze upon my best friend.

"Come on." my brother's voice urged in Japanese.

"We have to take him. There is simply no way . . ." my voice trailed off.

My big brother considered. He understood. He, too, was in love with a human. He said the words we both knew everyone that knew about Yuki thought: "It is frowned upon for a pureblood to marry a human."

"That is not the most of my worries, but there is simply no way that I could leave him."

"Don't leave me," Mike, somehow, got the gist of what my brother and I were talking about.

I smiled at him and traced my fingers down the side of his face one more time. "I won't." I lifted him into my arms very carefully and gave my brother a meaningful look. He nodded, then took off running. I sped behind him.

Behind us, Botan's body cracked and shattered, then disappeared. My friends started wobbling around like drunkards, asking each other what had just happened.

***

On the way, my brother bought a bag of ice for Mike. When we got to my apartment, I was breathing a lot harder than my brother, and handed Mike to him so that I could unlock my door and open it for them. Once inside, I locked the door behind me and dashed for the kitchen while my brother laid Mike down on the mattress in my living room. Shaking horribly, I drained a glass of blood tablets and water. Hugging my arms to myself while I calmed down, I knew my eyes were slowly returning to their natural color.

I walked into the living room and sat on the floor next to Mike, who smiled at me.

"I am glad to see you are conscious." I smiled back at him.

"Yep. And watch this," he used his one good arm to prop himself up. He sat very rigidly, but at least he sat up.

The bag of ice slid into his lap, and he gritted his teeth against the cold.

I laughed lightly. "You know, it would stay in place if you would lie back down."

Mike grinned. "A little help?" his tone was almost breathless. It was hurting him. I leapt to the rescue, positioning my arms under his back and slowly helping him lie down again. When the job was finished, Mike sighed.

"What's his name?"

I turned to see my brother lounging on my bench, his arms crossed. At one point he had been looking out of the window. Now his eyes searched my face knowingly. My brother and I had been apart for over ten years (not counting the day that he brought me a literal ton of blood tablets), yet it felt like just yesterday he was leading me around town, telling me things about the people he had met and I told him things about the people on the street, because I was gifted with immense psychic powers.

"Michelangelo Thomson." I said, unable to control my face enough not to smile like I had just told him the best secret in the world. "You can call him Mike."

My brother cracked a smile, something that I had rarely seen since the murder of our parents.

"You love him." It was not a question.

"Yes." I nodded once.

Mike was smiling and craning his neck to see my brother. "What's your name?"

My brother grinned. "My name is Kaname Kuran. I am pleased to meet you."

Mike looked a little shocked to find that my brother could speak English. I was, too. There were a few more things that had happened since I had last seen him than I had thought.

"It's nice to meet you, too." Mike agreed. "Are you two related?"

"Yes. Kaname is my big brother." I said.

"From Japan." Mike stated.

I nodded. My smile fell.

"So . . . I guess . . ."

"Maybe not right now. Amara has had a lot to deal with today." Kaname said.

"Yeah." Mike looked away sadly.

Kaname resorted to looking around my apartment. It had three rooms: a kitchen, a bathroom, and a multi-purpose room. His eyes caught on my bookshelf. It did, indeed, have books in it. Most of the books were mangas or graphic novels, or romance books in both Japanese and English. Kaname's eyes then fell upon my 'bed', which was a mere mattress with sheets and pillows.

"You have been without many material things." he observed unhappily. "Why did you not tell me you needed money during my last visit?"

I shrugged. "You do not have money, yourself. If you borrowed money from Ichiro or even used our inheritance and he noticed you had not bought anything with it, he would become suspicious."

Kaname smiled very slowly. "I used a substantial sum of money to pay for a ball gown for Yuki this past year." he spoke in Japanese.

I smiled. "What is the reason you decided to speak so that he could not hear you?" I asked, also in our language.

Kaname shrugged. "I am still not completely sure of what you plan for him, so I want to be safe."

I grinned. "You know what I want for him . . ."

Kaname smiled at Mike now, and Mike returned the expression.

Kaname took a deep breath, and then frowned sadly. "Mike, my sister will have to move away tomorrow. She is needed in Japan. You have a decision to make." Kaname paused to gauge Mike's now perplexed and worried expression. "You have until tomorrow at six o'clock to make up your mind."

A cold electricity ignited in my heart. I was needed in Japan? Things were far worse than I had suspected. Things were far, far worse. I had not anticipated anything like this. I needed to find out the extent of the situation.

I looked away so that Mike could not see my horrified and agonized expression. Mike, who could now kill me with one word: No. My fate was just as much lying on his shoulders as his own. I absolutely hated that he had to now endure mental torture. No one should have to make a decision like his. And it was my fault.

"Amara, let us go talk somewhere." Kaname nodded toward the door. "Mike, will you be alright? We will not be gone long."

"Sure, you both go talk." Mike said. I could tell that the pain in his chest this time was more than physical.

I gave him a grateful smile, then looked away quickly before it could break. I stood, and as did my brother. Then, with his arm around my back, we walked out of my apartment without locking it and onto the street. We took a right down the alleyway separating my apartment complex from the one next door. Once we were far from the street and shaded from the sun, Kaname backed away from me and motioned for me to sit down on a crate lying on the ground. I did.

Kaname looked like he was hurting. His teeth were gritted, and his arms were folded as if they were the only things keeping him together. Staring into my eyes seriously, he began.

"He's come back in his sons's body."

I nodded grimly. "I have been seeing him in my dreams. I thought that it was just my childhood nightmares returning."

"What childhood?" Kaname sounded angry very suddenly. In a flash, a crater appeared in the building behind him. Kaname turned back to me very quickly. So, there were more secrets?

Kaname laughed to himself evilly. "I am sorry, Sister."

I smiled sadly. "You have nothing to be sorry about. So, when you are finished briefing me, do explain your sudden increase in power?"

Kaname nodded once. "You must come back to Japan and set things right, and you must do so in time to stop Shiki."

"Even if they execute me."

"Yes. Even then." Kaname looked away from me, fuming. His fists were clenched by his sides.

A tear rolled down my cheek. "That man . . . I wish he had stayed dead . . ."

Kaname recognized the way my voice got softer and higher before I was about to start crying. He dropped to one knee in front of me and pulled me into a hug.

"I am so scared!" I sobbed.

"Me, too."

"Those people want me dead,"

"We won't let them kill you, Amara. This time things will be different."

"Gah! My brother, I am powerless. I hope you have established yourself, because I am completely relying on you. I am so sorry to be putting you in this position again."

"Don't you worry about it." Kaname stroked my back like when I was little. "I have faith in you. And though you will not need it, I have increased in rank dramatically and I can help you. You will not be alone."

I let out a shuddery breath and was again reminded how much like our parents my brother was.

Kaname chuckled. "I am no where near as kind as our parents."

"I doubt that I am as solemn and mentally sound as this 'Yuki Cross'." I said with a smirk.

Kaname laughed now and held me out at arm's length. He sighed, his eyes shining. "You are very kind, and you know it."

"I know I try to be." I grinned.

Kaname rubbed my left arm with his right hand. His lips began to curve down until he was frowning again. "I wish I could treat Yuki like this."

"Why can't you?" I cocked my head, taken a little aback.

"Her heart is undecided about what she wants. I do not wish to hurt her any more than she already is. She is so . . . breakable."

"Yet she is strong. As strong if not stronger than you are. Because deep down, she knows her past, correct?" I smiled sympathetically.

"Yes. There is actually little that my Yuki does not understand, if even vaguely."

I cocked my head. "And what about this Zero character?"

Kaname smiled but did not look at me. "What are you not able to fish out of my head?"

I shrugged. "Your thoughts are alittle jumbled in that area. I want to know what you want to think, where your heart lies when it comes to him. Yuki knows about his shadowy past, or at least she knows about his more than she does yours. She can sense, because she is attached to you, that you have dark and sad secrets but she can not pull them apart. You think that because of this she is more likely to fall for Zero." I chuckled silently. "Even though she is in love with you already, you fear?"

Kaname was silent long enough for me to apologize – laughing was cruel of me.

"I just . . . I am so confused and upset . . ."

"That is another thing we will fix while I am in Japan." I smiled warmly. Kaname grinned up at me, where he had been ducking his head in sorrow. I put a hand on his broad shoulder reassuringly. "And do not worry. You are connected by spirit. There is no chance that she will not choose you."

"Zero does not even fight me back –"

"Kaname, is is confused, too. He probably does not know what he feels and for whom."

Kaname sighed and shook his head, but kept his grin. Then, he met my eyes challengingly. "You have no competition when it comes to Michelangelo."

I laughed. "If only that were true!"

"It is true now."

My humor was zapped out of me with my brother's words. Was it true? Mike was completely mine?

I shrugged. "I wanted him to date one of our single friends. They are all very beautiful and kind. One of them in particular needed someone to be her shoulder to cry on, her assuring glance . . . Mike is perfect for the job, and they would be happy. I do not know how happy Mike will be when we get to Japan and he finds out who I really am."

Kaname was hung on one of the things I had said. "Do you not need a person like Mike?"

I shook my head sadly. "You know I am strong. And I am not alone: I have you. The memory of you, knowing you loved me, kept me going." It hurt my soul to say those words, and I had to struggle to get them out.

"Yet," he prodded me on.

"I feel . . . almost maternal toward him, like it is my job to protect him from the evil we know and the hard times many can scarcely comprehend, even as they live them. It is killing me to drag him into this. But I think that he cares for me the same way, and I like the feeling."

Kaname smiled. "See? Even you need some therapy some times."

I laughed. It did feel good to straighten out my thoughts. That reminded me: "Hey! You completely diverted my attention from the task at hand! How do you think Zero is taking the fact that you killed and drank from his Master?"

"He does not know I drank from her. No one knows. I think it could be very dangerous to show that the Kurans have that kind of power again." At this point, Kaname sighed. "I think I made the situation worse by not letting him kill her, but I needed her blood. You understand."

I nodded, though it was not at all a question. "How is Kaien?"

Kaname smiled sympathetically. "Ah, Amara. Kaien Cross is an amazing man. Truly admirable. Of course he has not fully recovered, but he has made more progress than any vampyre ever could. Cross Academy has seen some uncertain days, but things are doing far better than we had anticipated. He continues to chase his dream optimistically and with beautiful insight and wisdom."

I nearly laughed out loud, and a few tears slipped down my cheeks. "Oh, Kaname! Truly? I cannot wait to see him! I am so happy!"

I did not dare bring up the question still at hand and horribly unanswered: was I forgiven?

I was going to Japan, so I would soon find out.


I really hope it is not obvious that I know relatively nothing about the Japanese language. I try to make it believable that perhaps you are reading a translation from Japanese to English, so I use as few conjunctions as possible unless someone from America is speaking. Amara speaks properly, suggesting that she grew up in a time when conjunctions and possessive nouns did not exist, though I cannot write without possessive nouns . . . Hey, I try. ;)

I was really scared for a long time that "Amara" was a bad word in Japanese. To tell you the truth, I simply made it up. With Botan, I found his name on a Japanese baby names website and chose it carefully because of it's meaning, "peony." I wanted him to have a girly, sort of classy name. But Amara . . . I just put together some sounds that I felt suited her. I found on the baby names website that the name "Amaya" meant "night rain" and it occured to me that "Amara" could have meant anything. So I freaked out. Today I looked it up and found that it meant "immortal" and "steadfast" and I figured that it was close enough. You cannot imagine my relief!

Amara is both immortal and probably steadfast. You will definately see that in the next chapters. Enjoy!