Bakemonogatari – 'A Thousand Miles, A Thousand Days'
Imagine, being a half vampire with a lonely mother and a faraway father. Imagine spending everyday bearing the pain of the burning sun, while holding tears everytime you felt sorry for your lonely, old mother who would not even budge from her chair, waiting for her beloved to return. Imagine having a father oblivious to you for almost thirty years, yet he showed up like an idiot forgetting his wallet.
That was the life of Senjougahara Kuzuki.
His shocked mother was behind him, watching the immorale battle in horror. His lost father was in front of him, shouting unfamiliar name at his own shadow. Every punch he delivered was never enough to even stop his father's foolish act. He cried, stomped his shadow, pleading for help, as if he could contact someone through his shadow. Kuzuki was infuriated.
Araragi Koyomi kept yelling at his shadow in desperation. He could not even imagine losing a person important to him, a person who started his aberration story. A being, to be exact. The legendary vampire known as the aberration abolisher, who had her vampire power taken from her, who had reside in his shadow for such a long time, was dying. No, she was dead.
"She depended on you; if you died, she died."
He remembered someone saying that to him. The grim reaper, who had realized what she had done, was terrified. She could only stare at the seemeingly crazy Araragi. No matter how slow the time was, no matter how close the world are to a standstill, no one could deny this truth; Araragi Koyomi was officially dead for a moment, for a nanosecond. And she only brought Araragi back to life. Hachikuji Mayoi was scared, dumbfounded, stoned.
She had killed Shinobu.
Maybe she could still save her, bring her back from the land of the dead. However, the girl named Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade was written in the book of fate as dead for over five hundred years ago. That was already a serious violation against the law of three universe, but that was what a vampire can do; prevent from moving to the land of the dead, prevent the death of oneself. Her mind was in chaos, there was nothing that could get her out of her depression, regret, guilt. That was until she heard an unfamiliar voice.
"The girl's name is Oshino Shinobu."
She immediately slowed the time, just to figure out whose whisper that was. She figured out that it was a middle-aged man, wearing Hawaiian shirt and short. What made her surprised was that she could only find him five kilometres away from where Araragi and his family was. She sensed a great spiritual energy from him, but concluded that he was no one she could remember, and then she left. She knew that this kind of people who would constantly help others having trouble with supernatural existed. And she knew that they didn't want to be found out.
She pondered over what the man had whispered to her on the way back to the graveyard. She already knew that the vampire changed her name to Shinobu, or rather, someone did. It suddenly occured to her that if someone changed a person's name, with supernatural energy, then the person was 'reborn'. She quickly flipped through a copy of the recent update of book of fate, and found out that the girl named Oshino Shinobu was reborn sometime near her meeting with Araragi. And, there was no entry regarding her death. Of course, this could change anytime, but she wanted to believe that the vampire could be brought back, and so she paid another visit to the land of the dead.
"I think I.. fell in love with you..."
"Oh, stop joking around.."
Araragi had lost track of their conversation, and how it ended up a confession. The grey sky was covered with dark clouds, and a gale of wind repeatedly blew gently around him. Araragi was strolling around, trying to look for a new job in his new place. Yet his heart was still in Japan; still with his wife, still with his son. The girl felt his loneliness, and wanted to console him, but ended up confessing her feelings. It was how she felt since their first meeting. It was love at first sight.
"I'm not kidding this time.."
"Hey, you know I already have a wife, right?"
An awkward silence fell between them, deafening silence that only ended when she materialized and hugged him from the back. She wanted to hold him dear, express all her love that she had sealed away in the depths of her heart, but he wouldn't respond. No matter how much she wished for it, no matter how much she loved him, he wouldn't; he didn't love her.
"Kissshot, I'm.."
"That is not my name.."
He wanted to emphasize his seriousness by using her former name, but it didn't give the effect. Instead, she was a bit agitated. She treasured her new name so much, since it was given by their savior. It was the name that gave her a new life; the name significant to her rebirth. Gone was the vampire named Kisshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade, all that remained was the girl named Oshino Shinobu.
Nobody wanted to break the silence; it was too dangerous. They were still for what seemingly like an hour or so. He did not love her, but he did not want to lose her. For him, she was an important friend, a part of his life, but she couldn't accept that fact. She loved him, but she was afraid that forcing her feelings would just get him angry. Nobody broke the ice; they wanted their relationship to be secure. Parting was never a solution.
His skin burnt. His power risen. His hatred dominated.
The city was in chaos. Nobody knew anything about the cause of the disaster, it was as if a meteor suddenly fell from the sky without any warning. Buildings runied, bridges fallen, everyone was running away. The police was trying to stop whatever it was that caused the destruction, but failed since they didin't know what hit them. It was all because of the two wild vampires. The two vampires, not half.
The two vampires, a father and a son.
I may be able to finish this shortly, maybe by two more chapters. I do think that my stories are somehow, deteriorating. Thanks for reading.