Karin & Hikaru's Faces and the Masks Removed ~Fall Off~

(Wonderful Life - Torri Webster (Lyrics))

(Flashback - Hikaru's POV)

Hikaru:*off-screen* If a professional thief tells his child that it's natural to steal, his child will grow up to be a thief.

*Me, Karin, Anju, & Ren (when we were younger) stood in front of our Mom, listening to her talk*

Calera: When you bite down on a human's neck and suck that deep red blood, the flavor is overwhelmingly delicious.

Young Hikaru:*in his mind* So I'm going to be doing that to a girl's neck someday, too? Yuck.

*I looked at Karin & guessed she was thinking the same thing*

(Present Time)

Hikaru:*off-screen* If two children are constantly told this, what do you expect will happen to them? It's only natural and right that when they grow up, they'll also want to find their favorite blood type of blood and drink as much of it as they can, *I began to imagine myself sucking blood from a girl's neck* To be honest, I was kind of looking forward to biting down on someone's neck & drinking their blood. But now, to have all this happen and all our hopes dashed . . . Why? Oh why?

*It's been a few days since Usui staring working with us at Julian. Karin & I had just arrived at school when we ran into Usui in the hallway*

Kenta: Maaka -

*Karin ran away at full speed. I just gave him a quick wave hello & ran after her*

Hikaru:*in his mind* We can't even face him on our normal days! *I soon caught up with Karin* What are we gonna do? We can't just tell him we're vampires! *she then fell to her knees* She's over thinking this. *suddenly, Karin stood up, turned to me & told me her brainstorm. which was to avoid Usui at much as possible* That's impossible.

*Later that day, at Julian, the Manager called us to his office & we found Usui there. Karin's face seemed to turn blue*

Hikaru:*in his mind* She forgot that we all work together.

Manager: Karin, Hikaru, I'm going to leave you two in charge of training Usui. You three are classmates after all.

Kenta: Umm . . . What's up?

Karin: Uh . . . Umm . . . When a customer comes in, you say "Welcome to Julian" and then . . .

*We spent our whole shift helping Usui get the hang of working here*

Kenta: Welcome to Julian!

Hikaru: Usui, try not to glare at the customer when you say it.

Kenta: I wasn't!

*The next few weeks flew past. Karin & I were currently looking out the window at the crescent moon*

Karin:*sigh* It's getting close.

*Ren (who was surprisingly home for once) was laying on the couch behind us. Anju was sitting in front of him*

Ren: Oh, that's right! Your day is coming pretty soon. Must be tough for you, Anju. Having such a bothersome brother and sister to clean up after. I mean, typically it's the big brother and sister that looks after the little one. But screwing up and letting one of your classmates watch you feed? That's embarrassing even for you two. You can't keep depending on you sister to bail you out. Poor Anju.

Hikaru & Karin: We know that!

Hikaru:*in his mind* What's with the sibling discrimination? I wish we were normal vampires. Then we wouldn't have to go through all this crap.

Ren: It's not like I . . .

*Karin then ran out of the room, slamming the door. I gave Ren a glare & went after her*

(Third-Person POV)

Ren: There she goes sulking again. Well, you haven't awakened as a vampire yet, Anju. But your ability to control bats is brilliant. I think you're destined to become one of the greats. If this Usui kid discovers Karin and Hikaru's true identity, just erase his memory.

Anju: Yes. That was my plan, Ren.

(Hikaru's POV)

The next day, as we were leaving Julian, Usui called out to us*

Kenta: Hey! Karin! Hikaru! I know you're leaving, but . . . *paper was coming out of it* Can you help me with the register again!? I must have hit the wrong key. *to a customer* I'm deeply sorry. It'll be just a minute.

*Karin ran out. I quickly pulled out a notebook, wrote down instructions, gave it to Usui, & ran after my sister*

*The next day, the final school bell rang*

Ms. Shirai: Okay, guys. That's it for today. If you're not in sports or in an after school club, please head home sooner rather than later.

*I was feeling very tense. The reason for that was because Usui had been staring at me & all day*

Hikaru:*in his mind* What is his deal? He's been going back & forth between me & Karin all day. *suddenly, I felt a very familiar jolt go through me* My blood! But why!? It's too early! *I looked at Karin & saw the same thing happening her. I then looked over my shoulder & saw Usui getting up from his desk* Don't tell me . . . It's because of him!

*Soon, he was standing over Karin*

Kenta: Karin . . . Hikaru . . . Can I talk you for a -

*Karin & I got up & ran out of the classroom. We soon both stopped to catch our breath*

Hikaru:*in his mind* Why is this is happening!? It's not even our danger day! Just who is this guy!? What should we do!? We can't call Anju now! The sun's still out! If he finds out, we'll have to quite our job and we won't see our friends ever again. What is going on!?

*Suddenly, I felt a chil up my spin. Usui was right behind us, glaring*

Kenta: Hey! What's the big idea?

*We both ran away again. I felt another jolt & I started my legs started to feel weak. Karin was experiencing the same thing*

Hikaru:*in his mind* Oh no! Our legs are giving out!

*Just then, Kenta grabbed both of us by the shoulder*

Kenta: Hey! Why are you guys running away!?

*Karin screamed*

Karin: Don't touch me!

*She then slapped Usui on his cheek*

Kenta: I can see how much you both hate me. And I can deal with that . . . *I felt another jolt when I looked at his neck* If you'll just tell me why. *he grabbed Karin by the wrist & me by my shoulder again* It really sucks being treated this way when you don't know the reason!

Karin: No . . .

*I felt another jolt*

Hikaru:*in her mind* I can't . . . Hold it in anymore!

*Then . . . It happened . . . Blood came out of Karin's & my nose like a waterfall. We both fell to our knees & tried to stop it with our hands*

Kenta: Ka - Karin!? Hikaru!? Your noses are bleeding! Hey! Are you okay!?

Hikaru:*in his mind* Karin and I are not vampires that suck blood. We have a condition. A special condition. One we've managed to keep hidden for most of our lives. Until now, at least.

Kenta: Oh . . . I'll get the nurse.

*He started to leave, but Karin stopped him by grabbing his uniform*

Karin: Wait! Don't call anyone . . . Please. Every month . . . About this time . . . The amount in our bodies increases.

Hikaru: We don't expel the blood, it sort of gushes out. Like this.

*Karin started to cry. I felt tears in my eyes too*

Karin: We're freaks. Absolutely pathetic . . . Oh God, I'm so embarrassed. I can't . . . Take it anymore.

*Usui stared at us for a minute & then kneeled down to us. He pulled out a package of tissues*

Kenta: I'm sorry.

Karin: Oh. Sorry . . . Just please . . . Don't call anyone . . .

*My vision started to get blurry*

Kenta: K-Karin! Hikaru!

Hikaru: When this happens, we get so low on blood that we faint. Please , . . Keep this a secret . . .

*Then everything went black*

*When I woke up, I found myself laying on the grass. The sky was red from the sunset*

Hikaru:in his mind* How did I get out here?

*Just then, as I sat up, I heard footsteps. I turned around & saw Usui coming towards me, giving Karin a piggyback ride. Karin soon woke up & we both looked shocked by what was going on*

Kenta: So you're both finally awake.

*I stood up (my legs slightly shaking) & ran up to them*

Karin: U - Usui!

Hikaru: What's going on!?

Kenta: You said keep it a secret, so I was going to bring you both here to rest and then bring you both home when you woke up. But I gotta say . . . That was seriously like cleaning up a crime scene.

Hikaru: What!?

Kenta: Oh, and I felt really bad about it, but I, uh . . . Kinda wiped off your bodies, too.

*Karin & I looked at our hands & saw blood spots on them*

Karin: Aaaaah! You missed a spot!

Karin: Kenta . . . Thank you.

*Soon, Usui set Karin down*

Kenta: Can you stand?

Karin: Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. But . . . I . . . Hikaru and I can't be around you, Kenta. So please, stay away from us!

*I just gave Usui a glance & ran after my sister*