A/N: I am honestly trying my best for this story. I hope people will support me throughout the whole thing (^-^). Even though, I bet the ending is going to make everyone want to throw rocks at me… anyway! I have the whole story, every small crevice, thought out, but I just don't know how to put this into words… so I won't be ranting here, let's get on with the story! ^_^
"I've been waiting for you…my poor little lambs."
His dark, intimidating words rang through the entire Capital, his threatening voice echoing in my brain. Why did I want to see him again? This scared feeling inside, this sensation of being inferior to the noble perched on the railings in front of me, I feel so vulnerable, so defenseless…
Is this what it feels like to let the fact that your fate is sealed sink in?
Although dying at the hands of vampire royalty sounded much better than having to die of that deadly virus. I still remember the faces of those dying people, the face of our loving caretaker… I never want to experience that again. I want to it to happen to me either.
I tried to shake these selfish thoughts out of my head, but they immediately vanished when I heard his sinister voice cut through the huge room.
"Yes, that face! The expression a human's face when their hope instantly turns into despair. That is why I've been playing your little game." I turned my face to Mika, whose eyes looked lifeless, so empty. While everyone else was alarmed and thinking of ways to escape this monster, he was probably going even farther into the future, and thinking about who will bury our bodies.
Mika widened his eyes, his face flushing. He was obviously thinking what everyone else was thinking. But it was Yuu who put it into words for all of us. "Game?! Do you mean…this was a trap?!"
Suddenly, at lighting speed, he dashed past us, and before we had time to react, he had Sukumi in his steel grip, unpleasant choking noises coming out of her throat. In a second, her eyes lost all its life. He dropped her to the floor, his tone mocking guilt.
"Oh dear, I drank too much. It's dead already."
That's when I felt it… that strong hatred, which I've never felt before. In a normal situation like this, the average person would feel fear, but instead, knowing I'd have no success, I wanted to throw my small frame at him, try to inflict some wound before he killed me.
It was almost like the same thing I felt when that filthy excuse of a 'baby-sitter' killed my sister…but much stronger.
Yuu's eyes widened and he pulled out…a white gun? It had intricate golden designs on it, but I never saw it before… I'll ask them later, if I survive.
"Damn you!" he screamed with obvious rage and pulled the trigger. The bullet shot towards Ferid, tearing a thin flash of grey before it reached him. He dodged it like he was playing a simple game of dodgeball with a ten-year-old.
Yuu looked so surprised, like it wasn't obvious he'd miss the shot. "Not from here, Yuu-chan! You'll never hit that monster at this distance!" Mika tried to advise Yuu, and for once, Yuu listened to him. The cryptic vampire devilishly chuckled in response.
"Oh dear, is that my gun? So you filched that along with the map?" he spoke with mock sorrow. So that's where Yuu got it from… I can't believe Mika risked his life for something like that.
"It'd be a shame if I revealed what else you have that belongs to me…" his silky voice resonated through the area, making the hair on my entire stand up straight. Then he glanced over to my direction and sneered.
Did he just say that I belong to him?
Even though this feeling inside made me vibrate with anger and abhorrence, those words…they somehow made my face flush.
"You still have more power left in you to resist?" His mocking tone spread fear in our veins. "Well then, allow me to give you one more little shard of hope…"
He was probably going to tell us something we knew we wouldn't be able to achieve, only to sadden us more. After all, watching human grief was his goal.
Seeing that no one wanted to stop him from destroying our happiness still more, he spoke, "You see…that map is real. If you run down this hallway to that door, you will exit out into the outer world."
That almost shook our faith. My heartbeat felt like it was increasing every second, but I guess that was happening to everyone. We didn't believe this would turn out like this…this is not what our innocent ears expected to hear.
We were so close…yet an unbreakable obstacle was in our way. When we were told that this was all a trap, we thought that this really wasn't the exit to the outer world. We wanted to escape… all we wanted was freedom. Was that too much to ask for?
"Should you make it that far…I will have a difficult time following. As you walk the thin line between despair and hope, I wonder what your voices will sound like when you scream."
This really scared me. He was being really intimidating and I didn't want to mess with him at this point.
Goddamnit! What was I thinking back there?! 'I want to see him again'?!
"R…" Yuu mumbled. He suddenly whipped back, throwing his hand into the air. "Run! Everybody! We have to make a run for it! Sprint for the exit!" Yuu really was dumb! He was dumb enough to think that these young kids will be able to live without him!
As all the kids ran, crying, for the exit, Yuu screamed once again, "Run!"
Then he turned to Mika. "Mika! You, I and Shirane will hold Ferid off! We need to buy the kids enough time!" I knew I was going to die out there… so instead why shouldn't I hold him off instead? Mika and Yuu could still make it. "No…!" I objected, but seeing Ferid's wicked grin stopped me.
My chest was heaving up and down; my heart beat was fast enough to make my heart pop out of my chest any second. I really didn't know how to describe this feeling, but I definitely didn't like it. Before Mika, Yuu or I had any time to move, Ferid had slashed at least six more people's necks.
It was so heartbreaking to watch everything in shock like this.
Then, the vampire turned around, smirking at us. "…didn't I just tell you?" he vulgarly said. "I want to see your faces twist in despair."
Ferid walked around, killing every innocent, crying face he saw. Then it was finally Akane's turn. She was the one we were closest to in the entire orphanage, apart from Mika or Yuu. She was the first one to make friends with me when I first came to this place, when I felt lonely and rejected.
And now… I was watching drop dead in front of my eyes, unable to do anything about it. She was my best friend, my only moral support. Even that was slipping out of my reach.
When everyone was killed, Mika turned to his last escape. "The gun. Give it to me," he ordered Yuu. "I'll be the one to put my life on the line to hold him off. You escape." Yuu obviously wasn't going to accept it. "What…?"
Finally, he lost it. "No way, you blockhead! I can't just leave you!" I felt so… left out. They were discussing who would die and who would escape without me… although I can't really blame them; I was going to die anyway, even if I escaped.
"Yuu-chan…never forget." Mika soothingly reassured him, like a mother singing a lullaby to her child in the night, waiting for him to go to sleep. Mika was always so motherly. If I somehow miraculously lived, I would definitely never forget him.
"We're family." Mika said, giving a heart-wrenchingly weak smile, before he turned to me. Did I finally have a place on his 'To apologize to' list? "Shirane nee-san…" he mumbled, tears filling his eyes. "I-I'm so sorry… for disobeying you when I know you were wishing for the good of me…"
He started sobbing, and I hugged him…one last time.
He wasn't even like my younger brother, he was like my son. Everyone in the Hyakuya orphanage was like my child. I felt like I had the responsibilities of a mother over them. I loved Mika… I loved Yuu… I loved everyone from this orphanage.
Now they were being harshly ripped from my reach.
Mika turned away from me and sprinted towards the heartless beast, eyes burning with determination. He wanted to buy enough time for Yuu to get away. But like the egg-head he is, he just stood there, staring with disbelief. I couldn't blame him; I didn't believe this was happening either.
I wanted to push Yuu harder, to persuade him to leave. But with all that happened all of a sudden, I felt like I was frozen in place. It felt like that ever since Ferid appeared, in the dead of night, while we were trying to foolishly escape.
"Aha, Mikaela. Your blood was particularly delicious. Thank you for the treat!" Ferid snickered, and even though Mika was a shy step away from shooting him, he didn't move an inch. Instead, when Mika got close enough, he only smiled wickedly, and I couldn't take in what happened next.
Ferid grabbed him by the neck, making the worst humane gurgles coming from Mika's throat. He then extended his hand and shot Mika straight in his chest, probably a hairs' length away from his heart. Still smiling a heartless, mocking smile like that…
Then Mika pointed his gun at him. Ferid did not like this bold move. To prevent him from shooting, like he was ripping an insect's limb, he cut Mika's arm off, just sliced it away, with the flesh and bone. Mika dropped the gun, dazed.
That came down on me worse than when my world had shattered. It felt like the broken pieces of me just…broke further, and were breaking further still. Mika was…the whole world to me. I treasured him more than the others in the orphanage, more that Yuu, or even Akane.
He was my little, innocent brother, to me, he was like my child…but which mother watches her even as child being de-limbed by a unfeeling, ruthless blood-sucker while not being able to do anything? If I was that type of a mother…I should never have a child.
Watching Ferid cruelly chop Mika up, must have really triggered Yuu's childish anger.
Yuu bolted over to the bloodied gun on the cold, marble floor, and picked it up. This gun didn't seem to be like normal guns, where you have to throw the used bullet out of its interior. It also appeared to have, like, endless bullets. You wouldn't even need to reload.
Yuu aimed his gun at an unsuspecting Ferid, clearly burning with irritation, wrath and hatred. "Die." He menacingly said, not fooling anyone. But with reckless twelve-year-old here, had a real gun and would do anything to shoot the one person he so much hated.
His finger quickly closed in on the metal trigger, and before I knew it…
BANG.
The shot was so loud, resonating through the huge place. It shook my consciousness, making me dizzy. As soon as Ferid fell, we heard sharp, clear footsteps. "There they are! Over there! Lord Ferid has collapsed. After them!"
Running over to Mika, I and Yuu quickly started shooting alarmed words out of our throats. Even though they came out as incoherent, garbled croaks, Mika had been part of our lives long enough to understand what we meant, without even having to hear what we had to say.
He'd look at our eyes and…he'd know.
A small, guilty part of me wanted to run over to Ferid and tend to his wounds…if he was still alive, that is. The thought of him dying was actually really… saddening. I don't know how to put it. It caused me shamefaced grief.
But right now, my top priority was Mika. He was sobbing, panting and yet still looking out for us. He didn't even ask once for us to save him. He was in fact pushing us to leave him and get out on our own. No matter how remorseful I feel whilst saying this, but I would have pleaded to be saved.
"Y-Yuu-chan…the exit is…right there…follow the map…" he huffed out the words, between chokes of blood. No matter how hard I try, I will never understand the way of being selfless. I want to change myself into a person who puts others before themselves, but…I end up thinking of only myself.
"NO! I'm not leaving you behind!" Yuu screamed. By now the vampires were almost here. Yuu glanced over to the vampires and his sobbing turned worse. Mika was still worrying about us and not himself. Maybe that was because he knew he was done for.
"Go...hurry…" he slowly said, the energy in his voice and life in his eyes fading. It was heartbreaking; but it was more painful for me because I've known Mika for much, much longer than Yuu. But I didn't want to break that news to Yuu. He thought he was the most important person in Mika's life.
"I…I don't wanna…" Yuu finally let the tears out. They dropped on Mika's face, but Mika seemed so motionless, so still…just like a mannequin. This would have been close to a sad movie ending scene, if Yuu didn't make that ugly expression.
"You're my…my family…I finally found a real family…! I can't leave you!" With all his might, Mika turned around, only to find that the vampires were right behind us. A few more seconds and we are killed. Then Mika finally lost it.
All his life returned to his eyes and this was probably the angriest I've ever seen Mika. "You idiot! Get out of here!"
This even scared Yuu. Mika extended his arm and shoved Yuu away, pushing him about a foot away. They both were so angry, and also sobbing, with the salty liquid running down their eyes. I still…felt left out of it all.
Yuu finally realized what to do. He got up and darted out. "Yuu-chan…" he whispered. "That was the first time…you called us family..."
"What about…you…?" Mika silently asked. I whipped my head around to him. Was he talking to me?
"M-me?! Well… I'm going to die if I go out there. So I'd rather stay here with you instead." Mika weakly smiled. He replied with a soft 'thanks' before the vampires made it here. "What the hell has happened here?! Lord Ferid has been shot!"
The vampires' voices rang loudly from behind us and I wasn't half as ready to accept death. "How dare you livestock raise a finger against a noble?!" One of the vampire minors attacked me from behind, grabbing both my wrists and pinning them above my head on the icy limestone.
Before he had time to demand answers from me, a soft, faint 'tap' was heard from the rear. "Hold it." A tiny yet increasingly dangerous voice spoke, and I knew instantly who it was. "That human belongs to me."
"H-her majesty…what are you doing here…?" The vampire above me said, stuttering. It was the highest ranking vampire in the entire of Japan. The Queen.
"Oh dear…" she mockingly spoke, but her expression was that of a dummy. "Spilling so much of delicious smelling blood…he's done for." I had one question in mind; why do they never notice me? Why always Mika? Was my presence really that low?
"…well?" She said impassively. The creeps were travelling all around my body at that moment. Seeing the Queen, the vampire on top of me moved, but he was still holding both my wrists behind my back. Gosh, his grip was stronger than that of a handcuff. "Don't you have some explaining to do…"
This made me really nervous.
"…Ferid Bathory?"
Mika's eyes noticeably widened, and a true expression of horror spread across his face. Ferid, from where he was lying on the ground, outstandingly smirked, and then got up, sitting leisurely. "Well! If it isn't our Queen, Krul Tepes!" he spoke fearlessly.
"Long time no see. You're as beautiful as ever." Ferid cooed, evidently mocking her. But she wasn't buying it. "Why, thank you. Your lewd smile never changes either." Even though Mika was clearly horrified by the fact that Ferid was still alive, that small part of me was relieved.
I felt so extremely ashamed. I wasn't supposed to feel this way.
"That was mean…I just got shot in the head," Ferid insultingly pouted, clearly making fun of the Queen, "yet my love for you managed to bring a smile to my lips." Was it wrong that I was actually feeling kind of jealous? Although I knew he was only teasing her, and Krul even stated it in her next sentence.
"You call love?" She said, laughing softly. "All you love about me is my political power!" This made Ferid cackle. "You know me all too well, Queen."
"So tell me…" She inquired. "How could the seventh founder…be shot by merely a human child? This is a joke, right? No one would believe it."
But Ferid's response was just a simple smile and the words, "And yet, it is the truth." But it seemed Krul wasn't ready to believe him that easily. "It isn't."
"You let them out on purpose. My seraphs… one ran away, while the other is on the verge of death…" Mika was still lying there, half dead and panting. I wondered, what is a seraph? "If you have a plausible explanation for what happened, I'd be glad to hear it now…"
"I don't think so…" Ferid openly and confidently opposed her. I'd be too scared to say a word in front of her, whether it be good or bad. "…isn't it you who owes me an explanation?" Ferid continued with his explanation, as if reading my mind. I didn't understand anything. What wrong did the Queen do?
It was honestly scary watching have this heated and yet calm argument. This terrifying aura that they emitted petrified me… I'm now glad the vampire was still holding me captive.
"Isn't it against the law of the vampire world to meddle with the curse of the seraphs? What if I mentioned this to the council of the noble finders?" Ferid was definitely prying into an extremely treacherous issue here…
I had absolutely no idea whether Krul was playing dumb, or she actually knew what he was saying. "Eh? I didn't hear you. What was it again that you want to mention to the vampire council?" Ferid didn't take the hint. "Well…about this incident…"
That was the end for him.
Krul lost her temper. I was told many times that the Queen was scary, but I didn't expect her to be this violent. I always heard minor vampires around me talking about it. "Isn't the Queen the Third Founder? I never really met her in person." "I've met her. Believe me; even though she rules this place magnificently, she has a very short temper. She will snap at anyone."
She pounced towards Ferid, stabbing her hand into him, but he barely dodged it. She tried slashing him again, but he was too far away. Watching this spread an undying fear all throughout my brain. This place was worse than I'd ever think…
She bolted towards him again, kicking him right in the face. I probably sound like a referee right now, but this was really serious. In the distance, I thought I saw Ferid distinctly chuckle and mumble something which I could obviously not hear.
She hacked at him again, but now Ferid tried to defend himself, but his arm got sliced off. He let his guard down due to the shock, and so, she struck him again, causing him to fall down. Then, with her high heel, she stepped right on his trachea.
This got me alarmed. I wanted to help him… but I stayed in place. I knew I would get killed.
Krul was really terrifying. "I didn't hear you…do you mind repeating that?" Ferid didn't seem scared at all, while here I was shivering. "Don't be so brutal, Krul. I know it can be reattached, but it still hurts when you cut my arm off." there was false grief in his voice, which really sounded real. It broke my heart.
Krul's response was equally as vicious. "Shall I cut off your head too?"
Ferid still didn't seem fazed. "That would be a problem…alright. I give up. You win," Ferid said, finally defending himself. "I won't poke my nose into this incident anymore." To me, it looked like Krul still wasn't really to believe him.
She looked at him, angrily yet doubtfully, before he spoke again. "I mean it. I know I can't go against the third founder and survive to tell the story," Krul sighed wearily before giving him a final warning, before stepping off his throat.
"Okay, but don't you dare pry into this matter again," Ferid assured her with the words, "Don't worry, I care about my life."
Krul looked at him again, her crimson eyes boiling with wrath. "Now leave." She ordered. Ferid chuckled again. "Alright, but I'll be back, Krul." He looked at her menacingly, yet with a smile, as he said, "Because I love you!" Krul scoffed at this, before asking the vampire holding Mika, "How's the human?"
The vampire fearfully replied, "H-he's almost stopped breathing," Krul walked over to Mika, and was about to ask him something, when the vampire holding me choked out, "What do we do with the girl…?"
Krul looked at him furiously, obviously angry because she was interrupted in the middle of a sentence. "We kill her," she replied, obviously annoyed. "Y-yes, your majesty." I was so scared, so, so scared. I didn't want to die; I really didn't want to die.
Then something unsuspecting happened. Ferid, while he was walking away, quickly turned around at Krul's words, and cried, "W-wait!" that was the first time I had seen him, no, any noble, so distressed. Krul looked at him, disgusted. "What do you want with her?"
"Why…will you kill her?" Krul looked really disappointed at his words. "Can't we just put her back into the life of being livestock?" Krul narrowed her eyes, the orbs passionate with rage. "If we put her back, she might tell others about this incident. Then others will try to escape, getting scared of us, and that'll be her fault. We can't risk that,"
Ferid's eyes… they spat betrayal. "Then…can't I keep her?" Krul suddenly grew happy, but it was obviously only to mock him. "What? You found the other one?" Krul softly chuckled. Then she glanced at me. Walking over to me, she put her index finger under my chin and forced my head up.
Then, smirking, she told Ferid, "Oh, I see. That is why you want her?" Then she openly laughed, walking away from me and towards Mika. "Fine, you can have her. But don't tell anyone else, or else you'll be killed." Krul said emotionlessly, before Ferid walked over to me, and snatched me from the grip of the vampire. The vampire frightfully bowed.
"Human!" she yelled at Mika. "Do you want life? I can give you an eternal existence," Knowing Mika, he wouldn't want it. "I'm…not interested…" he said with what small amount of energy he had left. Krul smiled.
"I see. So life holds no interest for you, huh?" she said, blood dripping from her lips. "I'm not giving you an option. You will drink my blood…and no longer be a human."
A/N: There you go, the new chapter! This was done pretty quickly. Anyways, things are getting real from here. In the next chapter, there will be a time-skip of two and a half years (not fully four years, like in the anime.)
Again, I'm so sorry for disappearing for three months :(. Hopefully I can get up two more chapters before my school begins again. I'm so not ready for the next semester (T0T).
Anyway, my exams are ending tomorrow. I can start writing again! Writing fan fiction is really difficult, do please don't expect too much.
~Legend-chan