Thank you for reading, everyone!
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Chapter 1, Part 1 Matsui Rena started awake, drenched with sweat from a dream she could barely even remember. She breathed heavily as she took in her surroundings to remind herself where she was. She sat on a small bed, draped with dark red cloths, and the single blanket had been thrown aside during her sleeping fit. The bed was set in the back of a dark, stone room with a large, red carpet placed in the middle of it. The moonlight was bright tonight, and a single stained-glass window threw a washed-out kaleidoscope of colors on the cold floor. Various wood furniture carved from oak were arranged tastefully in the room.
Rena rose carefully from the bed and headed to a small, tin basin of water placed on the side table nearby, in case something like this happened. She soaked a hand towel in the cold water and wiped her face and neck with it, calming herself. It wasn’t uncommon for her to wake up like this, but her seniors had assured her that it was normal amongst younger vampires. It was true that it had become less frequent recently.
There was a soft knock on the heavy wooden door in the corner of the room.
“Who is it?” Rena inquired.
“It’s me, Anna,” a voice replied.
Ishida Anna, one of Yuko’s Children. No matter how much Rena wanted to refuse, Yuko kept insisting that she have some of her Children assist her until she was ready to sire her own.
“Ah, what is it?” Of course, Rena pretty much already knew the answer.
“Ah!” Anna squeaked, “Miss Yuko told me to check up on you.”
Rena sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers. “I’m fine, Anna, thank you.”
There was a quiet shuffle beyond the door. It was likely she was hesitating. Rena smiled and continued, jokingly, “Also, could you please tell Yuko that I think she is working all of you too hard?”
“E-eh?” Anna stuttered, seemingly uncertain, but eventually she gave in. “Y-yes!” The sound of hurrying feet could be heard, fading away as Anna left.
Rena shook her head slightly, still smiling. After cleaning her face, she went to the wardrobe in the room and pulled off her nightshift. She changed into what she normally wore: a white, long-sleeved dress shirt under a black vest, and a pleated black skirt and large belt, with shorts underneath. Last, she threw on the long cloak that most of the other inhabitants of this building are almost never seen without, including herself. She then opened the door and walked out into the hallway.
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As Rena wandered the halls of the large mansion, she noticed that it was strangely empty. Usually she would see a couple others randomly milling about or running errands around this time. Before she could think more about it, her stomach made a small rumbling noise, and she frowned, realizing that she would probably have to hunt tonight. It still felt slightly strange preying on something she used to be not too long ago, even though she was fairly accustomed to death by now.
That reminded her that she had not seen her Master around lately, even though she could normally be seen lurking in the shadows, watching over the growing number of residents.
Abruptly, she felt a pair of hands encircle her body and pat her chest, interrupting her train of thought. “Aa~aa, looks like you’re as flat as ever here. I was kinda hoping you’d grow a little more,” a disappointed voice behind her sounded out. Her eyes widened and she quickly spun around, breaking contact.
Oshima Yuko stood in front of her, laughing loudly at the embarrassed look on her face.
“Wha-?” Rena crossed her arms over chest. “I-I can’t help it you know. I-it’s not like any of us can grow anyway,” she pointed out sheepishly.
Yuko just continued laughing until tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. She wiped them away quickly with her sleeves before they could run down and sting her cheeks. “Haha! Aw, man. It’s not everyday that I get some skinship with Matsui Rena! You’re definitely spaced out today, aren’t you?” she exclaimed.
“I was just wondering where everyone was, that’s all,” Rena explained.
“Hhmmm... Well, most of the others have gone out early to scout out the city. Can never be too careful since the Order moved in two months ago. Luckily, we haven’t had any deaths yet, although some of our pawns were pulverized. We shouldn’t underestimate them,” Yuko said.
Rena definitely remembered that the Order was around the city now. She involuntarily shivered as she thought back to a month ago when she was caught unawares whilst wandering the city, and received a large ash arrow directly in her side. She managed to fight back and left her own mark on one of the Order’s members, but she could barely manage to get out of bed for a couple of days after that. Not to mention, she was severely reprimanded by her Master for being so careless. She was lucky that it did not pierce her heart, or she would have been out longer, perhaps even died.
“Has our Master gone with them?” Rena asked.
“Yuki? Yeah, I think so. She probably won’t be back until later,” Yuko speculated. “Anyway, I’m going to help bring in some humans for the initiates. You wanna come? It’s about time you learned how as well.” She grinned at Rena. “Then you wouldn’t have to reject my poor, cute Children anymore when you have your own.”
“Alright, I’ll go with you,” Rena said. She could probably eat while they were carrying out their task as well. “But I haven’t really found anyone I want to turn, yet.” Their Master had made it a general rule that if they wanted to sire new vampires, she must approve first. Otherwise, rogue vampires might be created, which would be detrimental to their small “society.”
Rena, herself, was very young for a vampire. She had been turned only four and a half years ago, and she had just weaned off feeding on her Master’s energy to survive and been initiated, although their Connection was still there. It will probably be another year before she will completely break it.
Yuko, on the other hand, was her senior, and was probably the oldest next to their Master. She did not know the exact number, but Yuko had likely been a vampire for a good 90 years now. However, they were both sired by the same person. As for their Master’s age, she had no idea.
“We’re not going to pick random people, are we?” Rena furrowed her eyebrows.
Yuko let out a short laugh. “Of course not! I knew you wouldn’t like it if we did, so I chose someone specific,” she explained. “Come on, I’ll tell you when we get there.” She walked past Rena and headed towards the main hall. Rena followed her, hoping inwardly that they did not meet any unfortunate circumstances...
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Unfortunately, I have to be away from home for two weeks, but I'll try to squeeze in another part tomorrow night before I leave.
Topic: Hunted (Tentative Title) [Chapter 2 Part 1] (Read 7739 times)