Hi! New chapter!
Enjoy reading!
Chapter 1:
Juri Kuran gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, on a mild spring day.
The pureblood vampire finally lay down on her pillow, her breathing stabilizing after all that hard work. Unusually for a vampire, especially a pureblood, her body and sheets were drenched in sweat, a testament to the effort she had put into bringing her two little vampires into the world. Despite her exhaustion, she fought to stay awake, taking turns cradling her newborns in her arms. Tears welled in her eyes as she gazed at them, sharing emotional glances with her husband and brother, Haruka Kuran.
After a few minutes, the twins stopped crying simultaneously, prompting laugter from their parents. Already, they bore a striking resemblance to each other, both in appearance and character, or at least in the traits suggested by their most prominent features. Garnet eyes and a small tuft of dark brown hair. They'd inherited them from their father.
The maids were bustling around, tidying up the place. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of her husband, adoringly holding their daughter. As he felt her gaze, Haruka looked up at her and smiled affectionately. The love and pride he felt for Juri were evident in his eyes.
"Do you have a name in mind for this little wonder?"
While they had already picked a name for their son, they hadn't decided on one for their surprise daughter, whose presence had only been discovered two weeks before her birth, a surprising and miraculous event for the pureblood parents. However, they didn't dwell on the unusual circumstances, considering her birth a small miracle and a gift from their ancestors.
Juri gazed into her child's eyes and, after a brief pause, had made up her mind.
"Aya."
"Aya," Haruka repeated, pensive. "Aya and Kaname Kuran."
Both parents smiled, in agreement with each other.
Welcome, Aya.
The twins were only a few weeks old when a visitor came to see their parents. This visitor was none other than Rido Kuran, their uncle, who was the oldest of the siblings. Despite their past quarrel, it was their duty to welcome him after this happy event. However, this didn't mean that both parents weren't constantly on their guard. They were wary of their brother, and rightly so.
When Aya first saw Rido, she had just received her dose of energy from Annabelle, a servant assigned to her service. She was the first to be placed in her uncle's arms and was greeted with a smile.
She received a hesitant smile, but the baby seemed unfazed. Her eyes were fixed on the pureblood's heterochromatic eyes, captivated. Yet, after a few moments, she suddenly burst into tears and kicked him with her tiny legs. Her unexpected reaction surprised everyone, and her father had to take her back in his arms to soothe her. Less than five minutes later, she was fast asleep in his arms.
"Excuse us, Oni-Sama, she must have been tired," Haruka said.
Rido simply smiled in response.
"Would you like to give Kaname a hug, Oni-sama?" Juri interrupted.
Rido smiled kindly at Juri and reached out to gently embrace Kaname.
A mischievous glint flickered in his eyes, and within moments, Kaname had an accident, wetting his diaper, the floor, and even his uncle's shirt. Juri's face turned red with embarrassment at the situation.
"Oh, I'm really sorry. I tought it would be alright, but..."
"It's okay, Juri. It's just that you're not very experienced with changing diapers. I'm quite good at it because I used to take care of my younger brother and sister."
Without informing the parents, Rido left the room with Kaname in his arms, assuring him that he was going to change him.
Haruka tried to stop him, but by the time he handed Aya to his wife, Rido had already departed. The two parents exchanged anxious looks.
"Everything's going to be okay," reassured Juri.
Her husband responded with a faint smile.
"Yes, it will be. I'm sure of it."
After Aya woke from her nap, she found Rido wasn't there anymore, and Kaname was staring at her from their crib. Although he looked like her brother, something about Kaname unsettled Aya. She furrowed her eyebrows and scrutinized him, searching for an explanation for this strange feeling. Suddenly, she turned pale, even for a vampire. The next moment, she burst into tears, catching the attention of her parents who were in the adjoining room.
Aya's mother was the first to arrive, her eyes red from crying. Aya saw her mother's face and knew that her intuition was true – her brother was gone. As her mother held her, she tried to comfort her, despite her own grief, and in that moment, memories flooded back to her.
She had wished for a second chance.
She had died.
She was aware of that. Yet now she found herself in Juri Kuran's arms. Her mother.
Turning her head, still weeping, her gaze fell on the man standing in the doorway. Haruka Kuran. Her father.
The man she'd met earlier was Rido Kuran. Her uncle.
And until a few hours ago, she had a brother. His name was Kaname Kuran.
At this realization, her crying stopped.
The universe seemed to hate her.
She'd been given a second chance, but that chance was a poisoned gift.
She was in a world that was supposed to be fictional.
Vampire Knight.
She vaguely remembered her former sister telling her about this manga. Or was it an anime?
It didn't matter. All that mattered was that what little she remembered of the story, and knowing her luck, she would surely end up a pawn on her own ancestor's chessboard and inevitably die. She who would have liked to live past her fifteenth birthday this time. That now seemed far too optimistic.
The only thing that could improve her situation was that, given her identity in this new life, her ancestor might perhaps care enough to keep her alive by his side.
Her name was Aya now, and she had to get used to it. To survive.
To survive.
Her name was Aya Kuran. And her ancestor had taken the place of her twin brother. She would have to be careful around him while trying to be liked without becoming suspicious.
Her heart sank at the thought. Her new brother was already dead, and although she'd only known him for a few weeks, she was sad. She was going to miss him, surprisingly. She missed her old family too.
Aya began to cry again, but after a few minutes, she fell back asleep. She had just experienced far too many emotions for the little baby body she was in.
Good luck Aya Kuran.
The following weeks were complicated.
Aya had to mourn the loss of her old family and twin brother, while trying to remember what it was like to be a baby at her age.
Fortunately, for the time being, she could count on Kaname. As far as she could remember, since her ancestor had locked her memories, he was just a baby. All she had to do was copy him. But the routine of being a newborn was more than boring. She couldn't wait to walk and talk.
Despite her bad luck in finding herself in this fictitious universe, Aya had found happiness in her misfortune. Her parents, despite the loss of their son, were wonderful. They tried to love the new Kaname as their real son, and Aya knew that in a few years' time they would consider him their real son.
But what Aya loved about them most of all was their love. They loved her. And Aya loved every minute of their show of affection.
She'd always been starved for affection. Not that her former parents didn't love her, but they weren't very demonstrative in words or body.
So Aya took advantage.
Her mother seemed to have noticed, because little by little, every time they saw each other, Aya was entitled to a huge hug filled with love and tenderness. And because of this, even though she knew she shouldn't, Aya became attached to her mother.
She was also attached to her father, but in a different way. With her father, his love and tenderness were revealed in the silence, in the way he looked at her, in the little everyday things he did for her. And Aya adored him just as much.