Chapter Text
It was hard to focus.
You'd thought it'd be easy to think here, no one was uttering a word besides the calm chatter Shinoa and Mitsuba were having next to you on the log. Their voices were hushed and you couldn't make out what was said.
The fire in front of you rose in competition against the chilly wind, swaying back and forth as the flames licked the rocks below it. You stared into them, seeing little imaginary images dance in the flames.
Use your brain for something, why don't you?
You could feel his voice in the back of your mind, it seemed to echo amongst the walls in your mind. You glared into the flames. All serenity gone.
Shut up, Daichi. You told him. You're not helping.
He didn't reply. And hopefully, he got the gist.
He really did try to get on your nerves, huh?
"You look pretty intense." A voice snapped you out of your thoughts, your eyes locked with a pair of emerald ones and he chuckled. "Woah, don't direct it to me."
"Sorry." You muttered, turning your gaze to the rocks below the flames. Yuichiro moved so he could sit next to you on the log.
"What's bothering you?" He asked, tilting his head. "If you don't mind me asking."
You huffed, making him raise his eyebrows. What's bothering you?
It seemed like a ridiculous question, and you knew he only meant well, but the question irked you.
"Yuichiro," you paused, looking directly into his bright green eyes that seemed so lost. "My entire squad was just wiped out, I'm now forced to split off from the only place I've ever known, and the only family I ever had. The people I trusted... I can't trust anyone anymore. I'm bothered by so much more than just that alone."
Yuichiro looked like he was ashamed for asking to begin with. He sighed. "Right... "
You two sat there, staring at the flames as an awkward aura swarmed you both. You had said too much. You knew Yuichiro really didn't mean to upset you, but with everything going on, you couldn't help it. Yuichiro's positivity almost made you more upset, thinking back on your team dying and all these horrible things that had happened in the last week, and Yuichiro was still smiling after.
Yuichiro spoke up, his voice quiet. "I know it's hard. I've lost my family too, but I have a new one now. And uh- Sorry, again, I don't mean to offend you."
"Don't worry about it, It's no biggie." You sighed, palm now resting your head. You decided not to argue with the boy. Even though you knew that you couldn't fully trust these guys, it was sort of hard to trust people that got along with vampires, after all. Thinking of a certain blond, you glanced over to where he was. He sat further away from everyone, seemingly looking up at the moon.
Yuichiro huffed, then tried his best to smile at you. "Look, I know I'm not good with words, but if you need anything at all, please let us know."
You turned your attention to him, looking into his green eyes. The flicker of the dying flames turning his emerald eyes into an orange fire. "You're with us now, okay? We can help you. We're a family."
Yuichiro always said that everyone was his family now that he was reunited with Mikaela. You didn't get it, but understood to a degree how he must feel. It would inspire hope in you too if you were reunited with your long-lost brother or sister, not that you had one, but still. You tried to understand.
"I know, thank you." You tried to smile back but felt like it wasn't believable. You did appreciate him saying it, after all.
It had only been two weeks since your squad died fighting Kureto's contraption. You still weren't sure what had happened, you've never seen anything like it before, but the pressure on your chest weighed you down. You felt horrible for being the last one alive of your squad. You felt like it was incomplete, everything you did was with your squad, you felt like dying with them would be better.
You wondered if Makoto was feeling the same pain you were in this moment, and as you looked around, he couldn't be seen.
You could see them again. Daichi's low voice rang in your ears. You shook it off.
You didn't notice, but Yuichiro had gone to sit next to Mikaela. You figured he would leave you alone eventually anyway. You eyed them as they talked. They seemed close, you knew the blond was a vampire, you had heard about him a ton. He had fought your squad to get to Yuichiro once, luckily he left them unharmed, but you remember your team raving about how fast he was, and how his eyes were a bright blue color. It's such an odd thing to hear about a vampire. You didn't get to see his eyes yourself, so you wouldn't know if that was the truth.
Mikaela looked in your direction when Yuichiro nudged a thumb at you. You locked eyes for a split second.
Deep red eyes. He was a full vampire.
You looked away at the same time he did, feeling uneasy.
What was he here for? Did he care about Yuichiro's team at all? You assumed he was just after Yuichiro. So far you haven't had much interaction with the boy, you just know you have to deal with him as well as Shinoa's squad. While you understood you were to treat everyone like family in the army, you couldn't do that anymore since your commander had been possessed, Kureto killed your entire team. You can't trust anyone. From here on out, you only trusted yourself. You would trust the people in front of you, but Shinoa herself was a Hiiragi, she could turn on all of you as well.
Plus, Mikaela was not to be trusted. Even if Yuichiro insisted. He was a vampire, and that means he could suck you all dry in your sleep. You didn't know him, he could do that.
You decided that the air was getting too chilly, and the flames were no longer interesting anymore as they dulled down. Shinoa and Mitsuba were still talking. You didn't want to interrupt them, so you quietly stood and left the fire pit.
You heard Shinoa call your name gently. You turned to face her as you were leaving and she gave a smile, waving. "Get some rest, if you need blankets they're on the couch."
"Thanks, Shinoa."
You walked up towards the big house that you all were currently living in, it was temporary of course, but it was a decent home for now. It was away from the cities, open fields and trees were all around. The house was made with stone masonry. For an old home, it was beautiful.
Some blemishes here and there but otherwise the porch and patio were in decent condition, the roof had one leak in the attic but it didn't go through the rest of the home.
Kimizuki and Yoichi had gotten on top of the house and put a sheet of plastic over the leak so it wouldn't cause issues while you guys were staying there, the bright blue of the plastic made the house stand out too much, so they also put some grass and leaves on top of it so no one would notice. It was a smart move.
Walking up the concrete stairs, you opened the heavy door with a creak, entering the living room.
You didn't realize you were tired until you looked at the colorful blankets on the couch. You reached out, grabbing the soft fabric and treading to your room. Soft candlelight lit the hallway, making it slightly eerie. The unfamiliar house creaks under your feet, making you glad your room is only on the first floor and don't have to hear the stairs creak.
You let out a sigh of relief, opening your bedroom door and taking in your surroundings.
Of course, you already got settled in a few weeks ago, but it was strikingly different than your old room. The room you wish you could go back to.
'Humans are creatures of habit.' You remembered hearing your mother say it once, and being confused by it as a small eight year old.
But now you understood, you had a habit every day, to go into your room, see the same things, and leave and come back to the same thing. Now that it's not the same anymore, you notice it with a bit of regret, wishing you had appreciated it more than you did.
You sat down on the full-sized bed, running a hand through your hair. You figured you'd brush your teeth and sleep after changing. Getting up, slipping into some comfortable pajamas, shorts, and a large shirt was your choice.
You glanced at the clock before leaving your room again, 1:24 AM. Shinoa and the others would be in soon, probably. They didn't like to stay out too late and miss sleep. You heard talk of someone keeping watch, it was usually Mikaela.
Soon enough you were done getting ready for bed and gladly plopped back onto your mattress, covering yourself up with the blanket they had provided.
You start to drift off to sleep.
Your eyes open, it was dark and cold.
You felt like you were being watched, it was a weird feeling. You couldn't sleep like this. Getting up, tossing off the blanket, you looked at the clock. but your eyes were bleary and unable to read the numbers. You were thirsty, so you got up to go into the kitchen, hopefully, they kept the bottled water in there. The floor seemed to creak more than it was before, but you didn't question it.
The hallway didn't seem to end, it was darker, and much longer. You felt the pads of your feet feel weightless as you walked down the long hallway. You entered the living room and turned to the kitchen. The candles were out, you were in complete darkness. You couldn't even see your hand in front of your face, it was so dark.
Suddenly, a tuft of blond hair came into your view.
"Mikaela?" You questioned. Maybe he couldn't sleep.
When he turned around, you froze.
Blood ran down the sides of his mouth, his eyes were dark, locked into yours. Your eyes widened and you reached for your weapon, which wasn't there by your side. Mikaela didn't move. He just stood there looking at you. Just that alone was threatening enough.
You took a step back. "Mikaela...."
He finally looked away, looking down at his feet. When you followed his gaze to the floor, lay the dead bodies of Shinoa's squad. Shinoa lay beneath Yoichi, their eyes open, lifelessly staring off into the distance. "No." You said. Looking around you see Yuichiro, also lifeless and sucked dry of his blood.
Kimizuki... Mitsuba.... same thing.
Mikaela said nothing. You knew you were next on his list.
He lunged forwards, and your eyes snapped open.
Jolting forward in your bed, you took a gasp of air, grabbing your chest.
You felt sweaty, your hands were clammy and your throat was parched. You so badly wanted water but felt too scared to get any now. You shivered, looking over to the door. It was closed. You felt a sense of relief when you looked around your room, making sure no one was in with you.
You kept seeing his red eyes in the darkness of your room.
You took a few more deep breaths, trying to calm yourself. You knew you only got nightmares like these when you got your Black Demon Series sword. You weren't sure if it was Daichi this time, though. It might be just your mind freaking you out, but, you've never had such a bad nightmare before. So gruesome.
Was Mikaela actually capable of that? Would he intentionally hurt Yuichiro? Or his friends, so called family? You didn't know what he would do if provoked, or just by himself. He was a danger to you all, that's for sure. But you felt like your dream was a total exaggeration from what you thought earlier. You hoped it was just you.
Or maybe it was Daichi, after all, he is a demon. And he plagued you with nightmares constantly.
Daichi? Was that you?
No. You're going crazy. He replied.
You took another breath and sighed it out.
You figured your nerves were just on edge and everything that had been going on recently made you dream this up. It probably wasn't even anything to worry about, but you couldn't shake the feeling of fear. You felt like it was so real. You didn't even want to look at Mikaela now.
His red eyes showed what his kind has done to you, your family, and the world.
Even if he didn't do it personally, you felt wary. It's hard to trust someone like that.
You decided to try and sleep after calming yourself down some more. You pulled the covers up to your nose, and slowly closed your eyes.
Hopefully, when you woke up you'd be able to focus more. You just needed to get better sleep.
Good luck on that one. Daichi murmured. Guarantee your nightmares will persist.
Maybe if you weren't here I wouldn't have this problem.
You heard him laugh.
That's all you remember when you fell asleep for the second time that night.