Karin & Hikaru's Worries and Kenta's Distress ~Confinement~
(Wonderful Life - Torri Webster (Lyrics))
(Third-Person POV)
*Ms. Shirai called Karin & Hikaru's house one day*
Ms. Shirai: Hello? This is Karin and Hikaru's teacher at school. My name is Shirai.
*Calera groggily answered the phone*
Calera:*really low voice* ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Yes ...
*Ms. Shirai was surprised by the tone in her voice*
Ms. Shirai:*in her mind* She sounds like she's in a bad mood. Was she sleeping? In the middle of the afternoon? *out loud* Umm . . .
Calera: What? Karin and Hikaru haven't been going to school? *in her mind* I didn't even notice.
(Hikaru's POV)
*It's been two weeks since our nose bleed. During that time, Karin & I had been holed up in our rooms (I was wearing a dark blue hoodie, black pants, & white socks)*
(Third-Person POV)
*In class, Maki & Daikichi turned to Kenta*
Maki: Karin and Hikaru have been away from school for two weeks now.
Daikichi: What did you do to them?
*Kenta was speechless*
(Hikaru's POV)
*I was spending another night in my room, listening to Mom & Dad copy a documentary they saw on the TV by banging on Karin's & my doors. I just ignored them*
Karin:*off-screen* Stop copying the TV, dammit!
*They both went into her room*
Calera:*off-screen* What? We were trying to treat you and Hikaru like a normal humans.
Karin:*off-screen* We're not normal humans, Mom!
Hikaru:* in his mind* I can't argue with that?
*I decided to go into Karin's room to help explain everything to our parents*
Karin: It's just that . . . Ever since that one time, we've tried so hard to keep it from happening at school, yet . . . We couldn't stop it from happening again!
Hikaru: And now, for some reason, every time we go near Kenta Usui, our blood acts up. And since he's our classmate and coworker, it's impossible for us to avoid him. Our day even came early this month.
*Karin started crying into her pillow. I rubbed her back*
Karin: So because of him, we can't even go to school!
Calera: Your blood reacts just from being near him?
*Mom & Dad turned to each other*
Henry: Honey, do you think it could be . . .?
Calera: It would make sense.
Karin: Anyway . . . I . . . Think we should probably quit school.
Hikaru: Yeah . . .
*Suddenly, Dad towered over us with a scary look in his eyes*
Henry: No way!
Karin & Hikaru: Huh?
*I didn't expect this reaction from Dad*
Hikaru: What?
Karin: Why not? Ren quite school early!
Calera: Silly girl. Ren is Ren and you two are you.
Henry: Anyway, neither of you are allowed to quit school. Go back before they expel you.
*We were speechless at this*
*I went back to my room & sat on my bed*
Hikaru:*in his mind* Why . . . We're not even human. School is pointless for vampires.
*Just then, I heard a knock on my wall. That meant Karin wanted to talk to me. We do this when we wanted to have a private conversation. I went up her room*
Karin: We'd better call Julian. *she picked up the phone & dialed Julian's number* We've missed a lot of days there, too. *sigh* Maybe we should just quit.
Hikaru: But then how will we pay for the electric bill?
Karin: We'll think of something.
*Soon, someone picked up*
Kenta:*off-screen* Thank you for calling Julian. May I help you?
*We both jumped & Karin hung up the phone*
(Third-Person POV)
*Kenta was surprised by the sudden hang up*
Kenta:*in his mind* Was that Karin?
Manager: Who was it, Usui?
Kenta: It was Karin and Hikaru. They're still sick and will probably miss a few more days.
Manager: I hope they're okay. The flu sure is bad this year . . . Y - You know . . .
*Kenta thought back to everything that happened two weeks ago*
(Flashback)
Karin: We can't be near you. So . . . Stay away from us!
(Present Time)
Kenta:*in his mind* I don't get it. Karin and Hikaru both have some kind of health problem. That's why they were bleeding so badly. So it's not my fault they're missing school and work. Dammit, why am I feeling so guilty? Why cover for them?
(Flashback)
Karin: Our blood . . . Increases.
(Present Time)
Kenta:*in his mind* What the hell did Karin mean by "increases" anyway. I've never heard of a disease like that.
*He didn't notice the bat watching him outside*
*The next day, he approached Maki & Daikichi at school*
Kenta: Tokitou! Azuma! I have a favor to ask. Do you think either of you could give me Karin and Hikaru's address?
*Maki both backed away from him a bit*
Maki: They're our friends.
*Daikichi got close to his face*
Daikichi: We ain't gonna help their stalker.
Kenta: That's not it. I just need to talk to them. You've known them since grade school, right? So you guys should have their address.
Maki: I don't know it.
Daikichi: Same here.
Maki: But now that you mention it . . . How come we've never been to their house?
Daikichi: Karin and Hikaru have come to both of our houses before, but for some reason I can't remember ever going to theirs.
Maki: Me neither.
Kenta:*off-screen* I had no choice but to . . . Well . . . Peek at the school records for it.
*Kenta read a piece of paper as he walked to the address*
Kenta: Oh! They live in the west side, like me. *he soon found a sign that said "Caution: Falling Boulders"* Should be easy to find.
*Anju, who was watching through her bats, used her powers to twist the path*
*Kenta soon where he was in bewilderment*
Kenta: Huh? Wasn't I here earlier?
*Each time he passed the sign, Anju used her powers to confuse him*
*Kenta stared at where he was in shock*
Kenta: Once again . . . The same spot. Just where I started. I've been going in circles for hours! What the heck is this!? A haunted forest! *in his mind* I'm being tricked by a magical raccoon, aren't I? I know a magical raccoon when I see one. *out loud* Ah, heck with it. I'll just go home. Maybe try again tomorrow. Wouldn't want to get stuck here for the night. Though I'd better learn the area so I can do delivery jobs.
*In the house on the hill, Anju sat in her room, watching Kenta leave*
Anju:*in her mind* Trying to find our house. How rude! What a brazen boy. He's not ready to find it yet. First he needs to get to know my brother and sister better.
(Hikaru's POV)
*The next night, Ren came barging into my room*
Hikaru: Ren? Wha - *he didn't say anything as he grabbed me by my wrist & pulled me out of my room & towards Karin's* Hey! What are you - !?
*Once we entered her room, she he grabbed one of her sweaters & threw it at her*
Ren: We're going out. You two can't stay locked up in here forever.
Karin: Huh? Hikaru I can understand, but you never wanted anything to do with me before! And where are your manners!? Barging into a lady's room like that!
Ren: You think I'd do this if Mom and Dad hadn't asked me? This is your fault. You two are acting like whiny brats and always complaining that you aren't treated fairly. You think I like being told to act like your brother and forced to give you two some personal instruction?
Hikaru:*in his mind* Instruction?
*Ren then grabbed Karin by the arm & started to pull us both towards the door*
Ren: Let's get this over with. Come on.
Karin: Oh! Hey! Nooo!
*Soon, the three of us were walking through the city streets*
Ren: First off, let's clear something up. You two think I'm a player who takes advantage of women, don't you?
Karin: Huh? You're not?
*Ren got quiet for a minute*
Ren: Well, not entirely.
Hikaru: That sounds like an excuse.
Ren: It's my preference in blood?
Hikaru: Preference in blood?
Ren: Mom likes the blood of liars, right? Well I like people who are stressed.
Karin: Oh . . . But what does that have to do with . . .
Ren: You remember Cherry? The girl I introduced you to? *I thought back to that girl with long wavy brown hair* This is how she was when I met her.
*He showed us a picture of Cherry, only she had acne all over her face & her hair was a mess. Both me & Karin were shocked at this*
Hikaru: Whoa!
Karin: Huh!? She's totally different!
Ren: A complete mess, right? She was having trouble at work. But since I've been sucking her blood, her personality has opened up. She's become . . . Livelier. She's gained more confidence. The bags under her eyes have disappeared. Her complexion has started to glow. And all this happened in only five days. Her situation at work didn't improve at all, though.
Hikaru: Hold on a minute. You mean when you suck a girl's blood, you also suck the stress out of them?
Karin: You mean drinking blood is a good thing? I thought it was just a meal.
*Ren shrugged*
Ren: Nope. The complication is, once you suck out all the worry out, you lose interest in your subject. We vampires operate on an instinct that pulls us toward people with the blood we prefer. With your condition, we didn't think either of you would have this instinct. But it seems like this Usui boy has blood that holds a very powerful attraction for you both.
*Hearing that, everything that's been going on lately started to make sense*
Karin: U - Usui is our . . .
Ren: And so, to deal with this problem, we need to know what your blood preference is. Tonight's mission is to find someone, other than him, who sparks your reaction.
Karin: Wait, I don't understand this at all. How could we possibly find someone who - ?
*Just then, Suddenly, I felt a familiar jolt. I noticed Karin felt it too. We then saw a woman with long black hair in a low ponytail, peach skin, a mole under her left eye, & wearing a purple dress, standing in front of the railroad tracks. Suddenly, I felt a jolt go through my body. I noticed Karin felt it too*
Karin & Hikaru: Huh!?
Ren: You found someone already? Not bad, squirts.