Title: Other Side of the Mirror

Pairing: Vaseshipping/AtemuxMana

Season Seven. Round Three.

Don't own anything!

Her rich and familiar laugh echoed into the night. Laughter of her friends shortly followed after, their arms linking together as they walked down the street.

"You've got to be kidding me, Mana! Are you sure it was actually him who said that?" one of her girlfriends with brown doe eyes asked excitedly, shivering at the cold without noticing.

The one addressed as Mana nodded enthusiastically, her loving smile and laugh shining through the dark surroundings. "I'm serious, honest! He said that he wanted to be a weatherman if he wasn't an actor!"

"I can't believe it, a weatherman of all things! Thank the gods that he's an actor, I would cry if he wasn't!" another girl, this one with green eyes commented quite dramatically, causing the other two into another fit of giggles as they carelessly walked down the street.

Mana smiled her brightest as they quieted down a bit, relishing on the Girls Night Out that she and her two friends had just had. They had gone on a major shopping spree, had gotten ice cream, and flirted with cute guys they saw.

Like any group of best friends, they talked about this and that, but the one thing that Mana took a real liking to was talking about vampires.

Another movie had been released about the evil blood sucking and very seductive creatures of the night, and on chance her favorite actor had starred in it. Mana couldn't get enough even if she talked about it for hours on end.

"Hey guys, wouldn't it be really awesome if vampires really existed?" the brown eyed friend commented, bringing Mana instantly back, excitement already reaching its breaking point.

Mana huffed with a knowing smile. "Of course they exist, don't be silly!" Her accusation caused her friends to laugh; they knew how much Mana was into vampires.

"Oh yeah?"

"You know I'm right!" Mana boasted a smug look on her face. "And when my dream vampire comes for me, you two will be super jealous."

"How hot will he be?"

"Too hot for you guys. And whenever I'm in trouble, he'll come to my rescue, and then he'll sweep me in his arms, and bite me," the teal eyed girl continued, going off into her dreams.

"Ooo, that sounds romantic, then what?" the green eyed girl questioned with a laugh, rolling her eyes at her dreamy friend.

Mana blushed slightly, knowing that it wasn't like her to say such a thing, but her friends would get a kick out of it. She thought of her favorite, newest movie that she had seen, and her heart swelled as she remembered a certain scene.

"We'll make love, and I will be his."

Brown eyes stopped, pulling their chain back. A smile graced her lips, her whole face showing amused shock. Green eyes weren't too far behind. Mana pulled her lips in blushing at her blunt statement.

"Whoa, Mana, who knew?" they both seemed to blurt out, hugging their slightly embarrassed but fun loving friend. Mana burst into giggles, knowing that she hadn't freaked them out.

"You guys will be soo jealous when that day comes, I swear it!" she said enthusiastically, laughing at her own words, listening half heartedly as her girlfriends made silly remarks.

They had started off again, all saddening at the sight of the girl with green eyes' house. They sadly said their goodbyes, and Mana and her brown eyed friend were off, once again looking at each other with pouting smiles when Brown eyes had to retreat back into her home for the night.

"I'd get my brother to drive you home, but you know him," Brown Eyes said, rolling her eyes.

Mana smiled, knowing exactly what her friend meant. "Well I'll be okay. It's only six blocks down."

"Alright." They both hugged like they usually did, as if they weren't going to see one another the next day at school. Mana took off, a smile slipping on her face as she became content without the loud company.

Oh what she would give for there to really be vampires in this world full of fake. Her heart warmed and fluttered at the idea of meeting her dream creature, falling into his arms, and his mouth on her neck…kissing…biting…

"Oh stop it, Mana, you know very well that that'll never come true," she scolded herself, stopping in her place on the orange lit sidewalk. "But it would be nice," she muttered after a moment, looking sadly down at her shoes.

With a heavy heart, the teal eyed teen started up again, and made it to her home. Her parents wouldn't be home for another few days because of their cruise, so she was left to tend to the lovely house. Reaching into her purse, Mana fished for her house key, silently wishing that she had set the motion sensitive light on before she left a couple hours ago.

A smile spread on her face when she finally felt the familiar jagged metal brush her fingers. "Aha! I've found you!" Now to find the keyhole…

However, the moment she was able to slip the key into its proper place, everything went pitch black and a dizzy feeling consumed her.

Teal eyes blinked open hazily, their owner feeling unbelievably drowsy. With a hand to her head, Mana sat up carefully, taking in her surroundings.

First off, it was chilling to the bone wherever she was. Second, everything was rocky and lit up with scattered candles. Mana looked down to see that she was sitting on the stone floor, dirt littering areas here and there.

What the…?

"Hello?" she called out cautiously, using the rock wall behind her to steady herself as she stood up to get a better look. The candles made the walls have an orange glow to them, and looking both left and right, she could see that she was in a cave. And one where she couldn't tell were the entrance/exit were to boot.

"Hey, is anybody here?" Mana tried again, looking around the very plain area she was in to see if anyone was around. Nope.

Suddenly, a loud screech echoed hauntingly down to her ears, and Mana felt her heart skip a beat. Within seconds, the noise came again, and Mana soon found herself screaming in terror when a big black bat made its entrance and instantly took to swarming around the frightened teenager.

"Ew, get away, get away!" Mana cried, frantically running around the enclosed area, shielding her head with her arms. The bat continued to shriek, and suddenly the noise stopped when Mana closed her eyes.

The heavy fluttering had stopped, and Mana felt that it was safe to take a peek. Looking out through her fingers, Mana felt her heart skip in bliss as a handsome man stood before her.

He was…

Wearing tight black pants and a very ancient but classy white shirt, the man merely stared at her in her jeans and punk t-shirt. His skin was flawless, being a rich caramel color, his hair colored black, red and yellow. His exotic eyes were the frosting on the cake, being a deep blood red shade.

"You-you're a…" Mana couldn't comprehend what was happening. A large smile suddenly broke out on her face, her eyes brightening. Before she even knew it, her social skills had taken over.

The vampire said nothing as she floated over, but he did cautiously watch her. Mana gratefully took his hands in hers, gasping at their cool touch.

"Oh…my…god," she breathed, not believing her luck. "You're a vampire, aren't you?"

The gorgeous creature made a small, barely noticeable nod at her. Mana had to contain her squeal of joy. Instead, she bear hugged the man, taking in his wonderful scent. Mana nearly melted when she recognized the scent as rain.

"I don't know what to say…" she said, stepping back despite that she didn't want to. She did however keep close and one of his hands in hers. "Why did you kidnap me?" she asked, that issue popping back into her shocked mind.

If he said that he had kidnapped her because they were meant to be…Mana was sure that she'd die of happiness. She sent a silent prayer to any god above to make this not be a dream.

Yes, he'd admit that he'd been watching her, lusting after her, wanting her love in return. They'd spend eternity together, have a forbidden love. She'd tell her friends and they wouldn't believe her, but that'd be okay. She'd have her own little secret for a while…or at least until she showed him to them, then they were sure to flip out.

Or maybe he could come out into the sun? Surely those old myths weren't true to every detail. Besides, that would be so much better, Mana didn't know if she'd be able to stay out every night with this beautiful man.

Those dreamy crimson eyes were set on her, and Mana searched them, finding that she couldn't read them. Was he this good at keeping his undying love emotions to himself so that she wouldn't see? If that was the case, Mana resisted the urge to squeal again in building exhilaration.

Suddenly, her hand was out of his, and quicker than she could comprehend, Mana found herself crying out as she was forcefully pushed against the stone wall, her back hitting some jagged points quite sharply.

"Wait, what are you-" she started, but a chilly hand covered her mouth with a slap.

His voice was deep, baritone, smooth and…perfect. Even white teeth gleamed, and obviously his fangs showed themselves. Mana would have sighed in pleasure if it weren't for what he had said.

"You're my next meal, my dear."

His fangs looked all the more sharper.

"What?" Mana questioned in confusion when his hand was moved away to pin her shoulders with incredible strength. No, this wasn't supposed to happen, vampires didn't do this, did they? Well, yeah, they did, but not to the ones they thought were attractive, right?

His voice sent chills down her spine. "The only reason you're alive now is because I…have a terrible habit of playing with my food."

Mana's shoulders were beginning to ache. She searched with teal eyes into this beautiful vampire's face, trying to find anything that looked like he was just fooling around with her. He was going to say that they were meant to be, any minute now, she just knew it.

She had been wearing a scarf, and suddenly it was whipped away, revealing her own bronzed neck. His long fingers ghosted over her flesh, and Mana couldn't help but shudder.

"Yes…I can already tell that you'll be delicious," he commented, a small smirk coming to his face, and he pushed against her shoulders even more, rendering her defenseless.

The silence was thick, and Mana dared not to cry out at the pain in her shoulders and back as he pressed her more. She said nothing as he came nearer, his mouth going nearer and nearer to her throat. She took in a shuddering breath when she felt his warm breath spread over her flesh.

He spoke into her throat. "No resistance? Usually my victims are screaming and shouting, how…unusual."

Yes, her heart had begun to speed up in fear and excitement, and Mana was finally able to find her long lost voice. "I know what you're up to, you know," she said bravely, licking her lips.

To her pleasure, he dipped his head back up to look at her. Closely. So close that their heated breaths were mingling. Mana let herself smile in glee.

"Oh? And what may that be, my dear?"

"I know you've been watching me, its all clear as day to me," Mana said, her hopes rising again. "You're attracted to me…you want to be with me forever." She smiled more, her heart warming more. To prove her point, she latched their lips together in a kiss…

This must be heaven.

…only to be roughly grabbed by the hair and forced away from the creature of the night, a snarl exiting his lips as he nearly smashed her against the cave wall.

"How dare you!" the vampire snarled, and Mana felt her eyes widen in fear, realizing her mistake. So it wasn't to be…this vampire was a…vampire. Of the old legends. Not the new fiction that the present had made up.

Vampires were ruthless…hungry…bloodsuckers. He was serious about her being his next meal.

His hand had forcefully been pressed up between her breasts, nearly knocking the breath out of her at the sudden quickness of it. The other hand was still clutching her sandy brown hair to the point it hurt like nothing else.

Realizations dawned on Mana at that moment, and she felt herself shrink and harden. This couldn't be happening…she was going to die, she was going to die.

"Please, let me go, I'm sorry," she begged. This was her last hope. "I'm sorry."

The beautiful and flawless creature said nothing, but his eyes glinted at her fear. He let out a low chuckle, increasing her pain even more by tugging her locks. He bent back down to her throat, smelling the sweet blood only inches away. "Sorry is not going to cut it. You are mine."

Those words didn't mean the same thing anymore. She was his food. Not a lover or anything else. A meal.

"Please…" she choked, tears leaking out of her eyes at everything that had occurred in the last two minutes. If she was going to die then she needed to know… "Let me know your name, please."

His warm breath was tingling against her skin, and she could feel him hesitate biting for a moment. Without looking at her, he muttered just loud enough for her to hear, "Atemu."

Mana screamed.