Chapter Text
I’m focused on fighting vampires when suddenly I hear something that terrified me. I heard Shinoa scream a name in terror. I knew something terrible had happened to the person whose name she’d screamed. My biggest fear. She’d screamed “Mikaela.” At that moment everything slowed down. I noticed several things at once. I looked over to where I heard the scream come from. Shinoa was on the ground leaning on her elbows, her scythe a few inches away from her, her face terrified. While I followed her gaze, I also saw the others, all their faces looking at the same place. Suddenly they all looked at me, their faces filled with fear as if they were scared of how I would react when I saw what they had seen. Then I saw. I saw something that almost stopped my heart. It was Mika with a sword in his chest, the sword attached to another human. I could see the curse of the sword coming out of his chest where the sword was. He had been stabbed in the back, the sword going right through him. He turned his head to his left looking at me. His eyes met mine, and he smiled. At that moment I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I felt like, like something I can’t explain. It was a mix of fear, no not fear, pure terror, anger, angst, and shock. I was losing all control. They were right to be scared. I pushed off the vampire I was fighting and ran toward Mika. I ran as fast as I could. When I got there, I did something I never thought I would do, in one swift swing of my sword I cut off the human’s head. I could feel the others staring at me with shock and horror. I killed a human. I’d cut his head off. Without a thought. And I had absolutely no regrets. I could feel their stares full of horror but I honestly didn’t care. Mika fell forward to his knees but I caught him before he could completely hit the ground. I’d killed the guy before the curse had been completed, so Mika was still alive, but bleeding a lot, and I could see the black of the curse emitting from his stomach where he had been stabbed. Before I could say anything I heard Shinoa yell, “We need to retreat!” For the first time, I was happy to leave in the middle of a fight.
“Ok come on Mika,” I said trying to help him up.
“No,” he said. "You go," he pushed me away. I had a déjà vu feeling. It was just like four years ago when he was dying and I ran away. I wasn’t gonna do that again. Never. I’d never leave him. I’d rather die.
“I’m not leaving you!” I yelled.
I tried to help him up again but he couldn’t stand. His wound wasn’t healing. Suddenly, Kimizuki was next to me. He held on to Mika and told me to help him put Mika on his back so that he could carry him. We put Mika on his back and ran away from the fight. We ran for a while and eventually we stopped at a beach, far enough away from the humans and the vampires. Kimizuki gently put Mika down. I knelt next to him and held him in my arms. I put his head against my chest and I looked up at the ocean. I remembered when we were little and we dreamed of being in a place like this with the rest of our family. The others were also on their knees to the right, their backs to the ocean, looking at us. Their faces were full of worry, especially Shinoa’s. In the time we were running I had figured out what happened in the fight. Shinoa was almost killed by a vampire, Mika jumped in to save her, killed the vampire and two others who had attacked. He turned around to see if she was ok and a human stabbed him from behind. He was stabbed because he saved Shinoa.
“Yuu,” Mika said, pulling me back to the present.
I realized I was crying. I was holding his head really tight to my chest. I let go a little, cradling his head in my arm so that he was facing me.
“Yuu don’t cry. Your right eye burns when you cry doesn’t it?” he asked, wiping away a tear that was rolling down my right check.
“I don’t care, ” I said.
I remember I told him about that when we were little, I was surprised he remembered, but right now I didn’t care. My eye did burn but I couldn’t care less.
“You’ll be ok,” he said.
“Of course I’ll be ok,” I agreed, “because you’re gonna be ok. You’re gonna be fine and we’ll be together for the rest of our lives just like we said we would.”
I couldn’t accept the idea of losing Mika. Not again. I wouldn’t have been able to live without him. Not anymore. I just got him back. I had to save him, but I didn’t know what to do. I knew that blood wouldn’t help in this case. If he was just losing blood then it would help, but the curse was already in him, it was just a matter of time… no. I couldn’t lose him. My chest hurt. I was having trouble breathing. I felt like I was losing control but I wasn’t going to. I wasn’t gonna let go of Mika.
“You’re going to be ok,” I repeated.
The tears kept coming.
“No, Yuu,” he said, “But you will be. You’ll be fine without me. You have a new family now,” he smiled.
What? What the hell is he saying? Is he crazy? What new family? He was my family! I shook my head frantically. “No!” I yelled. “You’re my family! You’re my only family. It’s you, Mika! It’s always been you! So please! Please don’t leave me.” I was crying harder now.
Everything I was saying was flowing out of me and I realized it was the truth.
“I just got you back, I can’t lose you again! I need you, Mika.” I continued.
And I did, I did need him. I realized how important Mika was to me. I acknowledged something that I’d always known but never paid attention to. Two things actually. I’d known those two things all along, but I’d never noticed them before.
One.
My love for Mika was far stronger than I thought. It was a strange love that I’d never felt for anyone else. This was different, and I realized what it was. I didn’t just love Mika, no, I was in love with Mika.
Two.
If there was one person in this world I couldn’t lose, it was him. It was Mika. There was no point without him. Without him, there was nothing left for me. I survived four years ago but now, now that I got him back, I couldn’t do it again. It’s like nothing matters anymore, all that matters is him.
“No, you don’t need me anymore Yuu. You’re surrounded by others who love you and care about you almost as much as I do,” he smiled.
I wasn’t sure what to say. I already knew that, and I loved and cared about them too, but it was just different. No one could ever take Mika’s place.
“But I love you. And I care about you. And I don’t want to lose you.” I replied. I looked away from him, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to look him in the eye and say this, at least not at first. I know that if I did look at him I’d freeze and wouldn’t have the guts to say it.
“Mika, I-I’m, I just mean… The way I love you is different. It’s a love I’ve never felt for anyone else, even when I thought you were gone. I hadn’t realized what kind of love it was, I couldn’t figure it out, until now. I don’t just love you, I’m in love with you.” I felt my heart beat faster as I finished that sentence.
I was still looking away. I felt Mika’s hand on my right cheek turning my face so that I was facing him. He held my gaze and smiled. His smile shined brighter than the sun, he looked like an angel. I could feel the others staring again.
“I’m in love with you too,” he said gently.
Tears rolling down my face, I leaned down and pressed my lips to his. Mika kissed me back. I meant for it to be just a peck but it turned into something more. I could feel his tongue on my bottom lip, and I put my tongue between his. This kiss was full of passion and love. We stopped kissing, he pulled away and looked at me with another angelic smile.
“I love you,” he said softly.
“I love you. I’ll always love you. I’ll never love anyone else but you.” This was true. I couldn’t imagine loving anyone as much as I love him.
“Don’t be stupid,” he said. “Someday you’ll love someone as much as, if not more than, me. Probably more. Just be sure to name your first kid after me,” he smiled. “Name him or her Mikaela Shindo Hyakuya.”
“That’s not happening,” I said.
“Yeah, you’re right, that’d be weird, what with me being your first love and all.” he said.
“That’s not what I mean dumbass. I’m not having kids. It’ll be impossible.” I said.
“Oh! I see,” he said, narrowing his eyes with a smile on his face.
“What?” I asked.
“I see, you’re not into girls at all. You swing the other way, you’re into guys. I guess I should’ve figured, what with all the being in love with me and stuff.” he said.
“Wha- no!” I replied.
I wasn’t. I wasn’t into guys. I’d never even thought about being with a guy. It was just Mika himself. It was just him.
“You’re just…an exception.” I looked away and I could feel my cheeks turning red. “I’m in love with you, and you just happen to be a guy, that’s all,” I said.
“Well then I’m honored.” I felt him laugh. I could almost hear his smile when he spoke.
Suddenly the laugh turned into a cough. I looked at him worried, he had his hand over his mouth and he sat up a little, I held him. When he removed his hand, there was blood all over it.
“Mika!” I yelled, worried.
The fear came back. I could feel my heart pound in my chest and the tears building up again.
“There’s gotta be something I can do!” I yelled. I didn’t know what to do, I just couldn’t lose him! Why was this happening? Why?
“Oh! Yuu I forgot! I have something for you!” Mika said.
He took off his glove and rolled up his sleeve. He was wearing two bracelets. One was a yellow-goldish color with a small sun on it, the other was a gray-silvery color with a moon. They were the kinds of bracelets that could be adjusted to the right size by pulling two strings. It took me a while to make them but they came out pretty good. On the back of the sun I had written “Mika,” and on the back of the moon I’d written “Yuu.” I made them for Mika’s birthday while we were still at the orphanage. I chose the sun for Mika because they had a lot in common. The sun shined and attracted planets, they revolved around it. Mika’s smile shined as bright as the sun and he attracted everyone around him. I was staring at the bracelets shocked that he had them.
“The bracelets I made for your birthday. But-but how? They were taken away when we were taken to the vampire city!” I still couldn’t believe he had them.
“Here’s yours,” he said, handing me the one with the sun.
When I gave him the bracelets we agreed that the one that said “Mika” was mine and the one that said “Yuu” was his. This way no matter where we were, we’d always have each other. I took the bracelet and put it on. I was never going to take it off again. Mika began to close his eyes.
“No! Mika wake up!” I yelled.
He opened his eyes and smiled. He looked down at his hands and lifted one up. That’s when I saw. His hand was disappearing, it was slowly becoming ash. His legs too. This couldn’t be real. I couldn’t lose him. I just couldn’t.
“No! Mika! No, no, no!” I yelled
Tears rolling down my eyes as I held him tighter putting my chin on his head.
“No, Mika, please.” I cried.
Then I heard a scream.
“Mika!” it said.
I turned to look back and it was the vampire queen. She was running toward us, determination on her face. She got to us, pushed me aside and put her lips on his. I was about to yell when I noticed what she was doing. She was making him drink her blood. Mika’s arms, hands, legs, everything that had become ash began to reappear. He was moving around a lot though, making muffled yells, he sounded like he was in a lot of pain. Suddenly he stopped moving and his yells stopped. Queen Krul took her lips off of his and stood up. I was still on the floor, confused.
“There,” she said. “He’ll live now.”
“What? How? You mean, all he needed was blood?” I asked. That couldn’t be.
“My blood, not yours. I created him,” she replied.
I guess that made sense. I didn’t know what to say.
“He’ll need a lot of blood when he comes to though,” she continued. “He’ll be extra thirsty, and really weak. Now that he’ll live, your blood will do. Take care of him.” she said as she began to walk away.
That last part sounded like a threat. She didn’t have to worry though, I’d take care of him with my life.
“Wait!” I yelled.
She stopped and turned to face me.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because believe it or not, I care about Mika.” Her face showed no emotion but I could tell she meant it.
She ran away before I could thank her. My guess is she was running away from the vampires and the humans. Anyway, she’d saved Mika’s life. I owed her. The idea pissed me off but it was a small price to pay for Mika’s life. I went over and looked at him. He was going to live. I was so happy and thankful. That’s when it hit me. I remembered everything I had said to him… I could feel my entire face turning red. I was so embarrassed. It’s not like what I said wasn’t the truth, it was, but that made it even more embarrassing. I went through everything I said. I’m in love with you. Please don’t leave me. I need you. We’ll be together for the rest of our lives. I’ll always love you. I’ll never love anyone else but you. Shit. I said all that, and to top it off, I kissed him. I kissed him. On the lips. In front of everyone. Shit. Shit. Shit. Then I remembered something else I said. You’re my family! You’re my only family! It’s you, Mika! It’s always been you! Oh no. I realized the others had probably taken it the wrong way… how could they not? I basically said they weren’t my family. Hmm. I’m not even sure what I meant when I said that. It’s not like I didn’t consider them part of my family… it was just different with Mika. It was like, I don’t know, maybe I meant to say that no one could replace him. But then, why did I say he was my only family? I decided not to think about it, but it was still there in the back of my head.
“Yuu!” I heard someone yell.
It was Shinoa. I realized she’d been calling my name for a while now. I looked at her.
“What?” I asked confused.
I wondered if she was angry. If they were all angry. I guess I wouldn’t blame them.
“Are you ok?” she asked.
I was surprised when I saw she was worried. I looked at the others behind her, they all looked worried. They didn’t look angry at all.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Oh, Kimizuki, thanks for helping me with Mika.” I answered, still a little confused as to why they didn’t look angry. I looked down and said, “Hey about what I said earlier about Mika being my only family and him being the only person I couldn’t lose, I-“
Kimizuki cut me off, “It’s ok."
The others smiled.
“Yeah, we get how important Mikaela is to you.” said Shinoa with a warm smile.
“We understand,” said Yoichi with the same smile.
“Yeah, so don’t worry about it,” said Mitsuba.
She didn’t smile and didn’t make eye contact, she was looking away, but I knew she meant it. Narumi didn’t say anything, he just looked like he didn’t care. Good.
“Thanks guys, but there’s something else. I killed someone in cold blood.” I said as I looked at them.
They got serious again. They looked away from me, avoiding eye contact, all except Narumi.
“Yeah, we know,” he said in a serious tone. “I wanted to talk to you about that. I need to know. Whose side are you on? The humans? Or the vampires?”
“What are you even asking?” I asked, confused.
“You heard me. You killed another human being, for what, a vampire.” he spat.
“Mika’s not just a vampire!” I yelled.
“Oh no that’s right, he’s your boyfriend. Well I don’t care. All he is to me is a stupid bloodsucker who I would kill without hesitation.” he said.
That did it. I stood up about to pull my sword on him when Kimizuki and Yoichi held me back.
“You kill Mika, I kill you!” I yelled back.
“Yuu calm down!” yelled Kimizuki.
“Yeah Yuu, you have to calm down!” said Mitsuba.
“Yuu please calm down. He’s not going to hurt Mikaela, I promise,” said Shinoa.
“The hell I won’t!” yelled Narumi.
“Yeah Yuu, we’ll all help protect Mikaela.” said Yoichi with a warm smile, still holding on to me.
“Yeah I guess.” sighed Kimizuki.
I calmed down and they let go.
“Thanks guys. But I meant what I said Narumi. If you ki- actually no, not kill, if you even hurt Mika, I’ll kill you.” I said.
“Yeah. Right.” he responded.
We all got quiet. I was too pissed to say anything else. I was being serious. I wasn’t going to let anything bad happen to Mika. Not again.
“So…you’re in love with Mika,” said Kimizuki with an evil smile. “I knew it.”
I blushed. I looked at the others. They all had that same evil smile. They were never going to let me live it down.
“Aw, look he’s blushing!” said Shinoa.
Dammit.
“Am not!” I yelled.
“Are too!” said Mitsuba, with the same evil smile Shinoa and Kimizuki had.
“Yuu?” I heard a voice. It was Mika.
I immediately turned to look at him. I went and knelt down next to him. He hadn’t moved and his eyes were still closed.
“Mika?” I asked.
I put my hand on his cheek and his eyes flew open.