Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Illusions ❯ Magnetism ( Chapter 3 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: MellyN 
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.20.2015 | Pages: 10 | Words: 6.7K | Visits: 406 | Status: Work In Progress
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.20.2015 | Pages: 10 | Words: 6.7K | Visits: 406 | Status: Work In Progress
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Shattered Illusions
Chapter 3: Magnetism
By: Melissa Norvell
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"I don't see how I can be useful to you," Tsubomi stared at the vampire and wondered what was going through his mind. The last sentence he said was so vague that she couldn't quite grasp the meaning of it. What did he mean 'she was useful to him'?
"Don't sell yourself short, my little Tsubomi," Copernicus leaned dangerously close to her face and wrapped one of her tendrils of brown, silky hair around his finger as his voice reassuringly purred into her ear. His very breath sent chills down the tomboy's spine and while in her strange state of mind, it was a bizarre sensation.
"You really like doing that, don't you?" The stripper asked in an endearing tone. For some reason, the strange American had an obsession with her hair. He enjoyed twirling it around his finger, but only the two pieces that hung in front of her ears. Perhaps it was just a strange idiosyncrasy that he had. Either way she didn't mind. At least someone wanted to touch her, which was a surprise all in itself.
"Your hair is very silky for a guy. I look forward to seeing you at the strip club. Too bad you won't be the one on stage," the vampire smiled. If only he knew. If only he knew that he would see her on stage, but not in the way that he imagined. If only he knew that he had seen her countless times before, topless on stage. He probably ignored her because he was too busy flirting with the Japanese men to notice and in a way, she was happy that he hadn't picked up on it.
Tsubomi flushed slightly as his words caressed her cheek.'I'm not saying anything. Nope. Not at all.'Her thoughts advised her as she replied to his suggestive compliment. "You wouldn't want to see me."
'You'd probably die.'
"Why not? I did say that I liked watching the strippers, but if they were boys as beautiful as you, then I might come every night," the vampire purred as his dark blue eyes kept contact with her light ones. In a way, Tsubomi felt paralyzed by them. It was like they had some sort of power to gaze into her soul and strip her down, seeing her every fault and weakness. If the girl were to look away, they wouldn't have that affect, but if she continued to stare, she would become captivated by them.
"Why don't you go to a gay bar?" Now, there was a question that she'd always wondered about. Copernicus was undoubtedly gay to her, so why was he in a straight strip club? Maybe he went there to check out other men, or maybe he liked the alcohol there? The possibilities were endless.
"The strippers are far too masculine most of the time," Copernicus preferred the more feminine looking men to be his taste. Any male who looked more masculine then himself- he was sure to avoid.
"Oh, you're a pedophile," Tsubomi smirked a little as she teased the taller man.
The vampire closed his eyes and his lips gave off the slightest curve as he furrowed his eyebrows. "You're so harsh. I'm only thirty two, not that much older then you, actually."
When she looked at him, Tsubomi could tell that he aged well. Copernicus seemed to physically look in his twenties, which was remarkable for someone who exceeded that by a good ten years, if not more. Perhaps it was a vampuric trait.
"That's eight years."
"Age is a number."
"The bigger it is, the creepier it gets," Tsubomi noted. Someone who was in their seventies loving someone in their teens was enough to make her cringe. On the other hand, Copernicus seemed to bask in the thought of loving someone significantly younger than himself.
This man, in her opinion, really had some sick fetishes. Tsubomi didn't know whether to be mortified or spellbound by him.
"I said that I had a lolita complex, not an infant fetish," the joke was enough to put frightening images in her head that she never wanted to try and create again. Tsubomi made a face of repulsion as she muttered how wrong with was, in several ways. It only earned a chuckle from the vampire.
Copernicus was then told to shut up. He stopped laughing and noted how casual Tsubomi had been the entire time. It seemed as if she'd calmed down significantly since she'd been hit by Hizaki's draining attack. The vampire was happy to see that the affects weren't long-lasting and that she was in a temporary state of paranoia. He had been worried about her for a while.
It was also amusing to him, that whenever he was close to her, it seemed as if the brown-haired girl mellowed out. In many ways, Copernicus was happy that the woman seemed to perk up around him, even if he wasn't entirely sure why. There was no doubt a magnetism that drew the two of them together.
"You're so relaxed, especially since I told you my little secret," the vampire said casually. Most people would be shaking in their shoes to know that he was the creature of myth and horror alike that ran through the night, drinking blood from unsuspecting victims and yet- Tsubomi seemed unfazed.
Then again, the tomboy looked half in reality and lackadaisical. Perhaps she was still getting over the mental abuse she suffered. Copernicus would give her some more time and see what her reaction would be to the topic later.
Surely Tsubomi thoughtsomethingabout it, either that or she was pretty damn accepting of the subject. That in itself was interesting, since Copernicus rarely found people who didn't already know the truth about his race who welcomed him into their lives with open arms.
There wasn't truly a sure fire way to predict Tsubomi either, which made her all the more alluring to him.
"Trust me, I don't always show what I feel." Wasn't that the truth? Tsubomi didn't even know where to begin with thinking on that subject. She had a wild enough night as it was: attacked by a freakish, mental energy zapping drag queen and then she found herself lying in an aristocrat's house and he tells her he's avampire. It sounded like a dream that only something as powerful as drugs could even concoct. There was only one problem with that- she had never done drugs in her life. That's it. Surely someone spiked her tequila.
This was all just some weird-ass dream and she'd wake up soon enough.
Tsubomi's typical reaction to everything was to be calm. She wasn't the type of girl to freak out at anything really. When the stripper was in high school, she was always the one with the deep, monotone voice that never seemed to care about anything. However, that was just a generalized opinion.
"I'll keep that in mind." Was Copernicus taking notes on her, or was that just a sarcastic statement? In many ways, he was just as confusing to her as she was to him.
"Do you really have to say creepy stuff like that?" Half of the intention of that inquiry was a joke and the other serious. It was a cautious approach to his words.
"You're amusing."
'Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.'Tsubomi thought to herself as she watched his mouth form those two words, trying to see the slightest hint of fangs. Copernicus said that he was a vampire and she wanted to see the proof.
Finding the opening to play a few mind games, Copernicus neared his lips to hers with the same casual smile he had always possessed and this time, he was taking extra precautions to show off his fangs- something he usually kept hidden to cloak himself from the harsh judgment of the masses.
As his lips neared hers, the vampire commented that she was staring awfully hard at his mouth, and he earned a just reaction of blush. For some reason, seeing that young woman blush excited him. There was no greater victory for him, than to earn that reddening of her cheeks.
Tsubomi was cute when she was embarrassed and the look suited her well, just like a shy little school boy.
"I-I just wanted to see your fangs." His moist breath hit her lips and sent her into an instant state of panic. Tsubomi's heart pounded against her sternum with so much force that she thought it might burst through as she pulled back slightly to put a distance between their faces.
However, the act failed when Copernicus placed a hand to her cheek, stopping her in mid movement. The brown-haired vampire then slightly opened his mouth and revealed his fangs fully. When he was sure that Tsubomi had seen them, he asked in a low, kindly voice if she saw them now.
Blue eyes blinked in surprise. Why hadn't she noticed them before? They were huge! "I'm retarded not to see that," Tsubomi definitely felt stupid for not seeing them before, especially since they had talked so close together and about so many different things.
"Well, I try to be as casual as possible. I don't like exposing myself," Copernicus noted.
"Copernicus, when you said that you and Hizaki don't have the same views on humans, what did you mean?" The question had grinded on the stripper's mind for quite some time. The two vampires had different views, and the girl had gathered that much but what exactly did someone like Copernicus think of her?
In a way, she was afraid to know but on the other hand, she wanted to know. It would annoy her to no end if she didn't find out.
"Worried?" The American sensed a little uncertainty in her voice. Knowing her negative opinion, she unquestionably thought that he viewed her as lowly. He honestly couldn't understand how something so beautiful thought so negatively of themselves.
He'd have to break her of that little issue.
"If you wanted me dead, you would have let Hizaki kill me, but that's not to say that I'm not uneasy about your opinion." After all, Copernicus could be thinking anything. He wasn't the type of person to say everything he felt either.
"Don't worry. I'm on your side," Copernicus lovingly stroked the girl's cheek. He could do more than assure her that he didn't have malicious intentions. The only goal that he even possessed was to simply exist in secrecy as he had all of this time.
"You wouldn't tell me if you weren't." Honestly, Tsubomi may have been naive in a lot of ways, but she wasn't stupid. If the Inheritor decided to fool her, then there was no way in hell that he was going to simply tell her whose side he was on. There was truly no way to tell.
"There are those trust issues again," the vampire noted casually.
"I'm being honest."
"Most vampires think of humans as food but we do make friendships with them. It's better for us to befriend them so that they will continue to give us food," Copernicus explained the situation between the two worlds and the symbiotic relationship the viral vampire and the host human had always shared. It was a simplistic thing really, and as long as both beings agreed to the pact, then the true nature of the vampire would be kept secret.
"So, you don't just go around biting people?" Tsubomi had to admit that the horroresque version of the vampire had been imprinted on her brain since the time she was a child. Naturally, one would have believed that the vampires were truly like that. Although her encounter with Hizaki defined vampires on a different scale, but it was only through methods in which they get food. It was still all from the same source.
"No, most of us have a couple of individuals that we go to. Things between a human and a vampire are under the table, so to speak. We are very confidential…and if word gets out that we do exist outside of the boundaries of the human imagination, then we'll be forced with the questions and media," Copernicus' smile faded a little as his features took on a serious nature. It was something that ran through the mind of all vampires at one point or another.
It was also a growing concern among the vampuric community as well.
"No joke. You'd probably be turned into a lab experiment," the tomboy looked a little concerned and remembered watching countless television shows about people and animals who were tested on in labs and to picture someone she knew being dissected because someone wanted to make a scientific breakthrough disheartened her.
It must have been a miserable existence as a lab rat.
"Well, scientists already know the genes to make someone vampuric. They do not know how the chromosomes convert, however," Copernicus informed her. There were also many other things about the vampuric genes that couldn't be fully determined by science and needed further experimentation to be proven to the world.
"They'd dissect you. That's horrible." Certainly if someone got a hold of a real, proven vampire, then most likely they would be killed. It made sense, just as if they were from another planet and everything would be confidential regarding the matter. The more she thought about it, the more frightening it became. No wonder they wanted to keep their identities secret.
"It's one of the many things we face. At times, it's hard to blend in with the masses but I tend to weather the situation alright," the Inheritor had learned simple tricks to keep himself from falling prey to suspicion, but it was hard for some of the other vampires to stalk around with humanity. Most seemed to be loners with no friends or family, or they came out at odd hours so they would not arouse suspicion.
"I'm assuming that you have your go to people, right?"
"My go to people?" What did Tsubomi mean by that?
"The ones who give you blood."
"Oh, you mean donors?" Copernicus seemed amused with her name for his food sources and smiled a little as he rested his cheek on his knuckles.
"Is that what you call them?" The stripper asked. She felt stupid for calling them 'go to people'. Plus, the vampire was amused with her. Either he thought it was some cute, dumb thing or he thought she was a blithering idiot.
"Donors, martyrs, things of that nature," he explained. "I don't really call them bait or food. I don't eat the humans. I just drink their blood, but to answer your question, yes. I have one individual that I go to. I used to have two, but one of them was killed."
Tsubomi echoed the last word in question as a look of worry crossed her face. It also affected Copernicus as well. His casual features turned to those of sorrow as he glanced down, his long, chocolate bangs shaded his eyes and a deep-set frown was chiseled on his face.
Copernicus felt the remorse of the situation and given the circumstances, felt completely responsible for the events of that fateful day.
A boy with short, black hair jolted forward as his body was propelled by a seemingly invisible force. Blood shot from between his shoulder blades as the small piece of metal pierced his back and shot out of his chest followed by several more shots that ripped through his torso.
The young form fell down as his blood sprayed through the air with all the glory of a haunting abstract artwork.
He lay in a pile of opened books that littered the floor as his scarlet essence stained the pages. He lay motionless, dead before his body could even make contact.
The gun shots ran loud within the vampire's senses, like a battalion firing on his heart.
"He was murdered. I don't know who did it but I have a feeling that it has something to do with Hizaki."
"That's why I was attacked. Hizaki must have thought that I was your donor," Tsubomi had placed the pieces of the puzzle together. It only made sense that Hizaki would attack her for that reason alone, if not numerous others. Besides, the cross-dressing vampire did tell her that anyone who knew or spoke to Copernicus would definitely be dead in one form or another.
If Hizaki was after her for being his possible donor, then there was substantial evidence that he was behind the murder of Copernicus' donor's death.
"That's why they want to kill everyone who's associated with me. If I have no donors, then I'll be forced to kill the humans and take what I need. Either that or I'll have to drink dead blood," although Copernicus had an idea that the girl had no concept of what 'dead blood' consisted of. He could almost hear the question pour from her lips.
That was exactly what happened. 'Dead blood' repeated in the form of a question that rang through his ears and brought him silent victory. The vampire then provided an explanation of what dead blood was- simply bagged blood in hospitals or the type of blood that existed within packaged meats. As an Inheritor Vampire, possessing fresh blood was a vital part of his existence and something his urges shifted heavily towards.
"What about the host that you have?" Tsubomi asked. After all, that one person would be able to provide him with the blood that he desired. Although, they would have to be unseen and live in solitary confinement with Hizaki looking around for them and everything.
It would be horrible if that single donor were to die tragically. Copernicus would truly have no one to feed from and that would make the situation at hand a lot more troublesome than previously imagined.
"They are hidden well."
The stripper figured as much.
"It looks like they take good care of you. By the way, what's an Inheritor Vampire?" She had heard Copernicus referred to as that twice. What the hell did it mean?
"An Inheritor Vampire is a vampire whose parents are both vampires. They are the true aristocracy of the vampuric world. Usually, a vampire is born of two different types of vampire or a vampire and a human who either has been turned or hasn't, but Inheritors are different." In every sense of the way. Copernicus was different in ways that someone like Tsubomi couldn't comprehend.
"Do Inheritors marry each other to keep their bloodline pure?" After all, that's how things were back in the olden days of civilization. People who were considered royalty often married other royalty or even their own siblings to keep the blood line pure. It only made logical sense that vampires may be the same way.
The vampire's gaze hit the ground as he spoke softly, with a voice that she had not heard before. What he was about to admit was actually a little embarrassing, even for someone as seemingly open as he. "Inheritor males are sterile and females are hard to impregnate. If not for vampires with the desire to marry each other, Inheritors would be extinct. There are many types of vampires- Classicals, like Dracula, ad your horroresque depictions of what vampires should be, Psi Vamps and Sexual Vampires, who drain mental and sexual energy, Lunas, who more resemble werewolves then vampires and Nightwalkers or Nighttimers, who are more rare then Inheritors. They have a special condition to where they cannot go into the sunlight. They have seizures or can even go into comas."
"So, that's where that comes from," Tsubomi made the connection between horror movies and myths where vampires were afraid of the sunlight or even turned to stone and died. It was a farfetched explanation for a real condition that a certain breed of vampire possessed.
"Humans have inflated that into a myth that we turn to stone or transform into bats or other animals," Copernicus was all too familiar with those silly legends regarding his kind. Over time it's been nothing but Chinese Whispers(1)when it came to things like that.
"So, you can't transform?"
"Not unless you know alchemy or magic."
"What about the other stuff?" If the stone and bat myth was false, then what about the other things that humans had come up with over time? Tsubomi wondered if there was even any truth in any of it.
To show her that not all myths held even the slightest hint of truth to them, the man grabbed an elaborate hand mirror that lay on a nightstand near the large bed and leaned into the girl's shoulder. Copernicus held the mirror where both of their reflections were present within the confines of the glass.
"Can you see me?" He asked.
"Yes."
"I can also eat garlic. I can cross water. Rice and sunflower seeds don't elude me a bit, light does slightly bother me but I won't turn into stone, chopping off someone's head, shooting them with a bullet- silver or not and a stake through the heart kills anyone really and unless this is your strange idea of a coffin, then I pretty much sleep like you do," Copernicus gestured to the bed that they both currently shared. It was just as any other bed- although a strange, elongated shape and being littered with rose petals, it seemed like a normal bed.
"Do you always sleep in rose petals?" Tsubomi had found it very strange that he would just have a massive amount of rose petals laying in his bed and when she woke up from her state of unconsciousness, the stripper thought she was being seduced.
"Sometimes, it makes your skin smell nice and fresh." It was a strange idiosyncrasy of his. Copernicus liked to lay in the flower petals until they died, then he would change them out with fresh ones. He loved the smell of the roses and the feel of the velvet petals against his ivory skin.
"You're weird." Tsubomi made a face of slight confusion, then shook it off when she realized that she had been in his house for a while. "What time is it?"
"It's three o' seven in the morning."
"Crap! I'm not going to get any sleep!" The tomboy knew that she had been there for quite a while. Somehow, talking to Copernicus made her lose track of time.
"You can crash here for a while." It was a kind offer that was hard to refuse. In a way, Tsubomi wanted to stay and sleep the rest of the day, but the fact that the stripper didn't really know this man irked her and made her feel very uncomfortable.
"You only have one bed." That was also a reason to run for her life at that little offer.
"I'll sleep on the couch. You can sleep in my bed," Copernicus insisted. For Tsubomi to go back outside would mean another attack from Hizaki or any other vampire who couldn't wait to pick her off. It would be far safer for her to rest in his house.
At least she would be safe there.
"Are you sure?" Well, since the vampire wouldn't leave the subject alone, Tsubomi ended up thinking that it might be in her favor to stay there. Besides, shedidowe Copernicus that much for saving her life.
"It's just one night. You can even lock the door if you think that would help." That was something that the girl hardly heard from anyone. For some reason, it seemed as though he really wanted her to trust him. It was pretty out there for a person to tell you that you could lock them out of your own room!
"Are you sure?" The stripper questioned awkwardly.
"I trust you," and she did- about as far as she could throw him.
"You're die hard on that, aren't you? You must be one of those chivalrous types," Copernicus noted in slight amusement. Tsubomi was very princely in nature. It was almost as if the prince hopped right out of the fairytale and found himself in his bed. That thought in itself continued to engross him as thoughts of a darker nature shot through his mind.
"I guess so," Tsubomi never thought of it that way before. She didn't really see the chivalry in herself.
"Don't you know that chivalry is dead, my little Tsubomi?" The stripper felt long, strong arms wrap around her in a tender embrace. The hug itself lasted for about six minutes but to the girl, it seemed far longer and just as she was getting used to the warmth and smell of expensive cologne, Copernicus retreated at a languid pace towards the door. When he made it to his destination, a couple of steps from the doorway, the vampire glanced over his shoulder with a placid smile and said his good night.
Tsubomi bid him good night in a broken up manner before she fell back onto the bed and watched as the rose petals fluttered back down to the mattress. Blue eyes then glanced to the clock as she submerged herself in deep contemplation.'Copernicus J. Wittenburg…Would you still like me if you knew what I hid behind this masquerade?'Rolling over, she slowly pulled herself out of bed and shed herself of her tattered and dirty coat, hanging it on the door knob of his closet. Tsubomi then unbuttoned a few buttons on her shirt, to give herself more room. The girl then retreated back to the bed as her thoughts bled into her conscious once more.'Come to think of it, when I first met him, he did smell faintly of roses. I wonder why I feel so close to this guy that I've barely known a day…Maybe we just really hit it off. He seems like he really has some problems though. He acted so cool and calm, but something about him didn't feel right. Maybe because I'm insecure about playing along when it seems like he's done nothing but tell the truth.'Tsubomi sighed.'Why can't I just be a gay male? Maybe I could have a sex change. If I did that, then I could throw away this empty life. I never felt right in this body anyway.'The stripper uncomfortably turned over and faced the wall.'Why? Why am I talking like that? I never wanted to change myself for anyone before. What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I acting like this around a guy who's a vampire and obviously gay. I don't know if he's toying with me, or if he means well. I guess I can't complain…I mean, he's sleeping on his couch while I take his bed. Okay, now I feel bad. Damn it all. Now I've done it. I got involved in the weirdest crap ever. I don't know what to do really, or if I should tell Copernicus that I'm really a girl. When I weigh the problems, it's better that I pretend to be a guy. If I can hide my identity from that weird, cross-dressing vampire Hizaki, then I'll have a chance at surviving.'She slowly convinced herself that living the lie currently would be better for herself in the long run. "This is for the best…or at least, I'll keep telling myself that," Tsubomi murmured as she drifted off to sleep.
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In the morning, Tsubomi woke up as soon as the dim lighting came through the heavily laced royal blue curtains of the aristocrat's bed room window. The girl sat at the kitchen table, casually sipping on a rich blend of imported coffee while she glanced around at the lavish interior and pristine white of the kitchen. It was absolutely beautiful, like something that you'd see in a high quality movie about the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
Copernicus soon walked into the room, dressed in white slacks, a white, Victorian-style shirt with ruffles around the arms and neckline and a white vest with a single row of black buttons down the front. Around his neck was an old fashioned bow tie that was loosely tied in a droopy bow. The vampire took a seat directly across from her at the table and casually sipped his taupe colored coffee, which had been mixed with milk and sugar.
"You like your coffee black, but you drink tequila? How strange," he smiled as he noted her strange choice in drink strength.
"Well, you like milk in your coffee but you hit some pretty hard liquor at the strip club," Tsubomi replied.
"Hey, at least I remembered you." In his own opinion, he didn't getthatdrunk.
"After learning what I did last night, I'm glad that you do." Any situation could have sprung out of that. Tsubomi dreaded the thought of the vampire not remembering her, being locked out of his own bed room and fuming angry. It was not a pretty picture.
"I thought you'd try to run away in the middle of the night." To be truthful, Copernicus spent half of the night wondering and worrying about the girl's safety.
"So I can run outside and get picked off by whoever is after you? Boy, you really must think humans are dumb." Her sarcastic remark flew without a second thought. Tsubomi was no idiot. She knew the simplistic facts- she was inside with a vampire who was possibly capable of killing whoever was after her. Hizaki was outside, ready to fulfill his sick pleasures with killing her and doing who knows what to her. It wasfarsafer inside with the Lolita Complex Vampire, then outside with the Cross-Dressing Girly Vampire.
"The last thing I want is to have someone else get killed. I tried to prevent that with Hizaki but who knows how long that will last," his tone was grim and his expression serious. Right now, his main focal point was keeping Tsubomi safe from the danger that he himself had presented her with.
"I didn't mean it like that. Besides, you should worry about that person you get your blood from. If they die, then you won't have anyone." The donor- that was the true victim. If she was hunted down because she simply talked to him for a few moments in the strip club, then the one who gave him blood must have been in far worse danger. As far as Tsubomi was concerned, his other donor should have been his prime concern. "Right now, they are the most important thing to you. You shouldn't waste your time worrying about me." After all, she wasn't of any importance to whatever plans he had.
The girl had to face the facts; she was some nobody off of the street that he thought was attractive. As much as he liked her, Copernicus couldn't waste all of his time and effort trying to pay attention to her in specific. The vampire had to pay more attention to the problems at hand and the things that his life depended on.
"I'm not so sure that Hizaki is after that."
"Why do you say that?" Tsubomi thought for sure that protecting his donor would be the prime objective, so why were things different? Did he really care so little for someone who provided him with a source of strength and possibly life?
"Both of my donors lived in the same place. Even now, they haven't moved. Only one of them died when they were both present at the scene of the alleged crime." Copernicus stated. Even to this day, he found it more than odd that whoever murdered his donor didn't take the other one with him if they were looking to make a critical strike against him.
"What? How can that be?" Tsubomi couldn't make sense of it either.
"If it was Hizaki or if Hizaki wanted them both dead, then he had a golden opportunity."
"That makes no sense," The stripper desperately tried to rack her brain for any possible semblance of an answer to the current conundrum. "Why would he kill one and not the other?"
"I don't know. That's what makes it so hard to figure out."
"Will the other donor tell you? I mean, they were there, right? So wouldn't they know?" Surely the other donor had to knowsomething. Copernicus didn't seem like the type to overlook something that important. If the other donor did see what happened, then why weren't they telling him about it?
"Post Traumatic Shock, they don't remember. The only thing I was told was that when they woke up, there was blood everywhere and he was dead," Copernicus had tried several times to get an answer from his donor, but the problem seemed more of a challenge then anything. Nothing he did or said could make her even remember any events of that day aside from what she had already told him.
The vampire had no choice but to abandon that mission.
"Aren't you afraid that Hizaki will come after you next?"
"No."
"No? What do you mean no?" Tsubomi was shocked at not only the answer, but how casually he blew off such an important subject. It was as if what she said was blown out of the water on the spot.
"Hizaki isn't out to kill me per se. He just wants to eliminate the humans," Copernicus lied and did it well. The Inheritor was a wanted man in Hizaki's eyes, but he didn't want Tsubomi to worry about his well being. He could get by on his own.
"Why? I mean, vampires are viral and they feed off of humans for the most part, right? If you kill all of the humans, then you'll die." After all, the chain of life would be severely disrupted if all of the humans died out. The modern day viral vampire would also fade into extinction, because they would have nothing to prey on.
"We would die, but not from that. Vampires have to eat because blood has no nutritional value. We need the humans for other reasons as well," Copernicus explained.
"What do you mean?"
"Remember when I told you about Inheritor Vampires?"
"Yes."
"If vampires don't mate with humans, or convert humans, than Inheritors would be the only type of vampire left. While we are the blue bloods of the vampuric world, we are sterile. You can impregnate a female but it's hard and they miscarry many times. If Inheritors are the only ones left, our race would die." The humans were a vital part of the vampire's lives, in ways that Tsubomi couldn't begin to understand.
"So, that's why you like guys. You can't really have any children because you're sterile," the stripper said with a mixture of guilt and sympathy in her voice.'Do I feel bad now or what?'Here was a guy who was in a bind, a vampire, obviously lonely for a partner and on top of that, he couldn't ever witness the joy of being a father because he was sterile and here she was, prancing around, pretending to be a male and deceiving him. Truly, Tsubomi felt like the sorriest excuse for a living being there was at that moment in time.
"I naturally do like men more but it is one reason I avoid the female persuasion. Most women want children and I cannot give them such a thing. It would only result in disappointment." It was a long desired wish for anyone who was a female to want a family and rather than live with the possible consequences, Copernicus decided to just shift his interests towards men.
It was safer that way, but given all technicalities, he was bisexual more than anything.
"I know you told me all this before, but I really didn't listen until now…I'm sorry," Tsubomi's voice was low as she lowered her glance and frowned. The girl hadn't paid any attention to his comments about being sterile and the more she looked at him, the worse she felt about deceiving him.
"It doesn't bother me. Most vampires are solitary and few ever find a mate." It was simply in the nature of his breed. Even though Copernicus liked the attention and companionship of humans and vampires alike, he knew that his fate was to die alone and accepted it with open arms.
"That sounds lonely to me." When Tsubomi uttered that sentence, he didn't let it show, but the vampire's faith in his own word crumbled a bit.
"All I require is companionship."
Tsubomi nodded in response, she could definitely agree with that. "I've got you there. Besides, you're right. We need to keep a balance between us or both of our races will be extinct."
"Don't worry about being lonely. If you're in this with me, then we'll have each other," Copernicus' words felt like a warm blanket being put around her usually icy heart. It was comforting to know that he would always have her back, or at least he promised it.
"Of course," a small smile crept to her face as she gazed at her new partner in crime.'I didn't even mean to and I'm in deeper shit then I previously thought. I do want to help Copernicus. He seems like he needs someone. I don't know what I can do to help him, but I'll try my best. I just hope that the humans can forgive me if I screw up.'
…To Be Continued
NOTES:
1. Chinese Whispers- Kind of like the version of the Telephone Game. For those not familiar with it, I'll provide an explanation. It's a game where you whisper one thing into someone's ear and it goes down a line of multiple people and gets distorted through passings. The end result is often nothing like the original phrase.
Shattered Illusions
Chapter 3: Magnetism
By: Melissa Norvell
XxXxXx
"I don't see how I can be useful to you," Tsubomi stared at the vampire and wondered what was going through his mind. The last sentence he said was so vague that she couldn't quite grasp the meaning of it. What did he mean 'she was useful to him'?
"Don't sell yourself short, my little Tsubomi," Copernicus leaned dangerously close to her face and wrapped one of her tendrils of brown, silky hair around his finger as his voice reassuringly purred into her ear. His very breath sent chills down the tomboy's spine and while in her strange state of mind, it was a bizarre sensation.
"You really like doing that, don't you?" The stripper asked in an endearing tone. For some reason, the strange American had an obsession with her hair. He enjoyed twirling it around his finger, but only the two pieces that hung in front of her ears. Perhaps it was just a strange idiosyncrasy that he had. Either way she didn't mind. At least someone wanted to touch her, which was a surprise all in itself.
"Your hair is very silky for a guy. I look forward to seeing you at the strip club. Too bad you won't be the one on stage," the vampire smiled. If only he knew. If only he knew that he would see her on stage, but not in the way that he imagined. If only he knew that he had seen her countless times before, topless on stage. He probably ignored her because he was too busy flirting with the Japanese men to notice and in a way, she was happy that he hadn't picked up on it.
Tsubomi flushed slightly as his words caressed her cheek.'I'm not saying anything. Nope. Not at all.'Her thoughts advised her as she replied to his suggestive compliment. "You wouldn't want to see me."
'You'd probably die.'
"Why not? I did say that I liked watching the strippers, but if they were boys as beautiful as you, then I might come every night," the vampire purred as his dark blue eyes kept contact with her light ones. In a way, Tsubomi felt paralyzed by them. It was like they had some sort of power to gaze into her soul and strip her down, seeing her every fault and weakness. If the girl were to look away, they wouldn't have that affect, but if she continued to stare, she would become captivated by them.
"Why don't you go to a gay bar?" Now, there was a question that she'd always wondered about. Copernicus was undoubtedly gay to her, so why was he in a straight strip club? Maybe he went there to check out other men, or maybe he liked the alcohol there? The possibilities were endless.
"The strippers are far too masculine most of the time," Copernicus preferred the more feminine looking men to be his taste. Any male who looked more masculine then himself- he was sure to avoid.
"Oh, you're a pedophile," Tsubomi smirked a little as she teased the taller man.
The vampire closed his eyes and his lips gave off the slightest curve as he furrowed his eyebrows. "You're so harsh. I'm only thirty two, not that much older then you, actually."
When she looked at him, Tsubomi could tell that he aged well. Copernicus seemed to physically look in his twenties, which was remarkable for someone who exceeded that by a good ten years, if not more. Perhaps it was a vampuric trait.
"That's eight years."
"Age is a number."
"The bigger it is, the creepier it gets," Tsubomi noted. Someone who was in their seventies loving someone in their teens was enough to make her cringe. On the other hand, Copernicus seemed to bask in the thought of loving someone significantly younger than himself.
This man, in her opinion, really had some sick fetishes. Tsubomi didn't know whether to be mortified or spellbound by him.
"I said that I had a lolita complex, not an infant fetish," the joke was enough to put frightening images in her head that she never wanted to try and create again. Tsubomi made a face of repulsion as she muttered how wrong with was, in several ways. It only earned a chuckle from the vampire.
Copernicus was then told to shut up. He stopped laughing and noted how casual Tsubomi had been the entire time. It seemed as if she'd calmed down significantly since she'd been hit by Hizaki's draining attack. The vampire was happy to see that the affects weren't long-lasting and that she was in a temporary state of paranoia. He had been worried about her for a while.
It was also amusing to him, that whenever he was close to her, it seemed as if the brown-haired girl mellowed out. In many ways, Copernicus was happy that the woman seemed to perk up around him, even if he wasn't entirely sure why. There was no doubt a magnetism that drew the two of them together.
"You're so relaxed, especially since I told you my little secret," the vampire said casually. Most people would be shaking in their shoes to know that he was the creature of myth and horror alike that ran through the night, drinking blood from unsuspecting victims and yet- Tsubomi seemed unfazed.
Then again, the tomboy looked half in reality and lackadaisical. Perhaps she was still getting over the mental abuse she suffered. Copernicus would give her some more time and see what her reaction would be to the topic later.
Surely Tsubomi thoughtsomethingabout it, either that or she was pretty damn accepting of the subject. That in itself was interesting, since Copernicus rarely found people who didn't already know the truth about his race who welcomed him into their lives with open arms.
There wasn't truly a sure fire way to predict Tsubomi either, which made her all the more alluring to him.
"Trust me, I don't always show what I feel." Wasn't that the truth? Tsubomi didn't even know where to begin with thinking on that subject. She had a wild enough night as it was: attacked by a freakish, mental energy zapping drag queen and then she found herself lying in an aristocrat's house and he tells her he's avampire. It sounded like a dream that only something as powerful as drugs could even concoct. There was only one problem with that- she had never done drugs in her life. That's it. Surely someone spiked her tequila.
This was all just some weird-ass dream and she'd wake up soon enough.
Tsubomi's typical reaction to everything was to be calm. She wasn't the type of girl to freak out at anything really. When the stripper was in high school, she was always the one with the deep, monotone voice that never seemed to care about anything. However, that was just a generalized opinion.
"I'll keep that in mind." Was Copernicus taking notes on her, or was that just a sarcastic statement? In many ways, he was just as confusing to her as she was to him.
"Do you really have to say creepy stuff like that?" Half of the intention of that inquiry was a joke and the other serious. It was a cautious approach to his words.
"You're amusing."
'Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.'Tsubomi thought to herself as she watched his mouth form those two words, trying to see the slightest hint of fangs. Copernicus said that he was a vampire and she wanted to see the proof.
Finding the opening to play a few mind games, Copernicus neared his lips to hers with the same casual smile he had always possessed and this time, he was taking extra precautions to show off his fangs- something he usually kept hidden to cloak himself from the harsh judgment of the masses.
As his lips neared hers, the vampire commented that she was staring awfully hard at his mouth, and he earned a just reaction of blush. For some reason, seeing that young woman blush excited him. There was no greater victory for him, than to earn that reddening of her cheeks.
Tsubomi was cute when she was embarrassed and the look suited her well, just like a shy little school boy.
"I-I just wanted to see your fangs." His moist breath hit her lips and sent her into an instant state of panic. Tsubomi's heart pounded against her sternum with so much force that she thought it might burst through as she pulled back slightly to put a distance between their faces.
However, the act failed when Copernicus placed a hand to her cheek, stopping her in mid movement. The brown-haired vampire then slightly opened his mouth and revealed his fangs fully. When he was sure that Tsubomi had seen them, he asked in a low, kindly voice if she saw them now.
Blue eyes blinked in surprise. Why hadn't she noticed them before? They were huge! "I'm retarded not to see that," Tsubomi definitely felt stupid for not seeing them before, especially since they had talked so close together and about so many different things.
"Well, I try to be as casual as possible. I don't like exposing myself," Copernicus noted.
"Copernicus, when you said that you and Hizaki don't have the same views on humans, what did you mean?" The question had grinded on the stripper's mind for quite some time. The two vampires had different views, and the girl had gathered that much but what exactly did someone like Copernicus think of her?
In a way, she was afraid to know but on the other hand, she wanted to know. It would annoy her to no end if she didn't find out.
"Worried?" The American sensed a little uncertainty in her voice. Knowing her negative opinion, she unquestionably thought that he viewed her as lowly. He honestly couldn't understand how something so beautiful thought so negatively of themselves.
He'd have to break her of that little issue.
"If you wanted me dead, you would have let Hizaki kill me, but that's not to say that I'm not uneasy about your opinion." After all, Copernicus could be thinking anything. He wasn't the type of person to say everything he felt either.
"Don't worry. I'm on your side," Copernicus lovingly stroked the girl's cheek. He could do more than assure her that he didn't have malicious intentions. The only goal that he even possessed was to simply exist in secrecy as he had all of this time.
"You wouldn't tell me if you weren't." Honestly, Tsubomi may have been naive in a lot of ways, but she wasn't stupid. If the Inheritor decided to fool her, then there was no way in hell that he was going to simply tell her whose side he was on. There was truly no way to tell.
"There are those trust issues again," the vampire noted casually.
"I'm being honest."
"Most vampires think of humans as food but we do make friendships with them. It's better for us to befriend them so that they will continue to give us food," Copernicus explained the situation between the two worlds and the symbiotic relationship the viral vampire and the host human had always shared. It was a simplistic thing really, and as long as both beings agreed to the pact, then the true nature of the vampire would be kept secret.
"So, you don't just go around biting people?" Tsubomi had to admit that the horroresque version of the vampire had been imprinted on her brain since the time she was a child. Naturally, one would have believed that the vampires were truly like that. Although her encounter with Hizaki defined vampires on a different scale, but it was only through methods in which they get food. It was still all from the same source.
"No, most of us have a couple of individuals that we go to. Things between a human and a vampire are under the table, so to speak. We are very confidential…and if word gets out that we do exist outside of the boundaries of the human imagination, then we'll be forced with the questions and media," Copernicus' smile faded a little as his features took on a serious nature. It was something that ran through the mind of all vampires at one point or another.
It was also a growing concern among the vampuric community as well.
"No joke. You'd probably be turned into a lab experiment," the tomboy looked a little concerned and remembered watching countless television shows about people and animals who were tested on in labs and to picture someone she knew being dissected because someone wanted to make a scientific breakthrough disheartened her.
It must have been a miserable existence as a lab rat.
"Well, scientists already know the genes to make someone vampuric. They do not know how the chromosomes convert, however," Copernicus informed her. There were also many other things about the vampuric genes that couldn't be fully determined by science and needed further experimentation to be proven to the world.
"They'd dissect you. That's horrible." Certainly if someone got a hold of a real, proven vampire, then most likely they would be killed. It made sense, just as if they were from another planet and everything would be confidential regarding the matter. The more she thought about it, the more frightening it became. No wonder they wanted to keep their identities secret.
"It's one of the many things we face. At times, it's hard to blend in with the masses but I tend to weather the situation alright," the Inheritor had learned simple tricks to keep himself from falling prey to suspicion, but it was hard for some of the other vampires to stalk around with humanity. Most seemed to be loners with no friends or family, or they came out at odd hours so they would not arouse suspicion.
"I'm assuming that you have your go to people, right?"
"My go to people?" What did Tsubomi mean by that?
"The ones who give you blood."
"Oh, you mean donors?" Copernicus seemed amused with her name for his food sources and smiled a little as he rested his cheek on his knuckles.
"Is that what you call them?" The stripper asked. She felt stupid for calling them 'go to people'. Plus, the vampire was amused with her. Either he thought it was some cute, dumb thing or he thought she was a blithering idiot.
"Donors, martyrs, things of that nature," he explained. "I don't really call them bait or food. I don't eat the humans. I just drink their blood, but to answer your question, yes. I have one individual that I go to. I used to have two, but one of them was killed."
Tsubomi echoed the last word in question as a look of worry crossed her face. It also affected Copernicus as well. His casual features turned to those of sorrow as he glanced down, his long, chocolate bangs shaded his eyes and a deep-set frown was chiseled on his face.
Copernicus felt the remorse of the situation and given the circumstances, felt completely responsible for the events of that fateful day.
A boy with short, black hair jolted forward as his body was propelled by a seemingly invisible force. Blood shot from between his shoulder blades as the small piece of metal pierced his back and shot out of his chest followed by several more shots that ripped through his torso.
The young form fell down as his blood sprayed through the air with all the glory of a haunting abstract artwork.
He lay in a pile of opened books that littered the floor as his scarlet essence stained the pages. He lay motionless, dead before his body could even make contact.
The gun shots ran loud within the vampire's senses, like a battalion firing on his heart.
"He was murdered. I don't know who did it but I have a feeling that it has something to do with Hizaki."
"That's why I was attacked. Hizaki must have thought that I was your donor," Tsubomi had placed the pieces of the puzzle together. It only made sense that Hizaki would attack her for that reason alone, if not numerous others. Besides, the cross-dressing vampire did tell her that anyone who knew or spoke to Copernicus would definitely be dead in one form or another.
If Hizaki was after her for being his possible donor, then there was substantial evidence that he was behind the murder of Copernicus' donor's death.
"That's why they want to kill everyone who's associated with me. If I have no donors, then I'll be forced to kill the humans and take what I need. Either that or I'll have to drink dead blood," although Copernicus had an idea that the girl had no concept of what 'dead blood' consisted of. He could almost hear the question pour from her lips.
That was exactly what happened. 'Dead blood' repeated in the form of a question that rang through his ears and brought him silent victory. The vampire then provided an explanation of what dead blood was- simply bagged blood in hospitals or the type of blood that existed within packaged meats. As an Inheritor Vampire, possessing fresh blood was a vital part of his existence and something his urges shifted heavily towards.
"What about the host that you have?" Tsubomi asked. After all, that one person would be able to provide him with the blood that he desired. Although, they would have to be unseen and live in solitary confinement with Hizaki looking around for them and everything.
It would be horrible if that single donor were to die tragically. Copernicus would truly have no one to feed from and that would make the situation at hand a lot more troublesome than previously imagined.
"They are hidden well."
The stripper figured as much.
"It looks like they take good care of you. By the way, what's an Inheritor Vampire?" She had heard Copernicus referred to as that twice. What the hell did it mean?
"An Inheritor Vampire is a vampire whose parents are both vampires. They are the true aristocracy of the vampuric world. Usually, a vampire is born of two different types of vampire or a vampire and a human who either has been turned or hasn't, but Inheritors are different." In every sense of the way. Copernicus was different in ways that someone like Tsubomi couldn't comprehend.
"Do Inheritors marry each other to keep their bloodline pure?" After all, that's how things were back in the olden days of civilization. People who were considered royalty often married other royalty or even their own siblings to keep the blood line pure. It only made logical sense that vampires may be the same way.
The vampire's gaze hit the ground as he spoke softly, with a voice that she had not heard before. What he was about to admit was actually a little embarrassing, even for someone as seemingly open as he. "Inheritor males are sterile and females are hard to impregnate. If not for vampires with the desire to marry each other, Inheritors would be extinct. There are many types of vampires- Classicals, like Dracula, ad your horroresque depictions of what vampires should be, Psi Vamps and Sexual Vampires, who drain mental and sexual energy, Lunas, who more resemble werewolves then vampires and Nightwalkers or Nighttimers, who are more rare then Inheritors. They have a special condition to where they cannot go into the sunlight. They have seizures or can even go into comas."
"So, that's where that comes from," Tsubomi made the connection between horror movies and myths where vampires were afraid of the sunlight or even turned to stone and died. It was a farfetched explanation for a real condition that a certain breed of vampire possessed.
"Humans have inflated that into a myth that we turn to stone or transform into bats or other animals," Copernicus was all too familiar with those silly legends regarding his kind. Over time it's been nothing but Chinese Whispers(1)when it came to things like that.
"So, you can't transform?"
"Not unless you know alchemy or magic."
"What about the other stuff?" If the stone and bat myth was false, then what about the other things that humans had come up with over time? Tsubomi wondered if there was even any truth in any of it.
To show her that not all myths held even the slightest hint of truth to them, the man grabbed an elaborate hand mirror that lay on a nightstand near the large bed and leaned into the girl's shoulder. Copernicus held the mirror where both of their reflections were present within the confines of the glass.
"Can you see me?" He asked.
"Yes."
"I can also eat garlic. I can cross water. Rice and sunflower seeds don't elude me a bit, light does slightly bother me but I won't turn into stone, chopping off someone's head, shooting them with a bullet- silver or not and a stake through the heart kills anyone really and unless this is your strange idea of a coffin, then I pretty much sleep like you do," Copernicus gestured to the bed that they both currently shared. It was just as any other bed- although a strange, elongated shape and being littered with rose petals, it seemed like a normal bed.
"Do you always sleep in rose petals?" Tsubomi had found it very strange that he would just have a massive amount of rose petals laying in his bed and when she woke up from her state of unconsciousness, the stripper thought she was being seduced.
"Sometimes, it makes your skin smell nice and fresh." It was a strange idiosyncrasy of his. Copernicus liked to lay in the flower petals until they died, then he would change them out with fresh ones. He loved the smell of the roses and the feel of the velvet petals against his ivory skin.
"You're weird." Tsubomi made a face of slight confusion, then shook it off when she realized that she had been in his house for a while. "What time is it?"
"It's three o' seven in the morning."
"Crap! I'm not going to get any sleep!" The tomboy knew that she had been there for quite a while. Somehow, talking to Copernicus made her lose track of time.
"You can crash here for a while." It was a kind offer that was hard to refuse. In a way, Tsubomi wanted to stay and sleep the rest of the day, but the fact that the stripper didn't really know this man irked her and made her feel very uncomfortable.
"You only have one bed." That was also a reason to run for her life at that little offer.
"I'll sleep on the couch. You can sleep in my bed," Copernicus insisted. For Tsubomi to go back outside would mean another attack from Hizaki or any other vampire who couldn't wait to pick her off. It would be far safer for her to rest in his house.
At least she would be safe there.
"Are you sure?" Well, since the vampire wouldn't leave the subject alone, Tsubomi ended up thinking that it might be in her favor to stay there. Besides, shedidowe Copernicus that much for saving her life.
"It's just one night. You can even lock the door if you think that would help." That was something that the girl hardly heard from anyone. For some reason, it seemed as though he really wanted her to trust him. It was pretty out there for a person to tell you that you could lock them out of your own room!
"Are you sure?" The stripper questioned awkwardly.
"I trust you," and she did- about as far as she could throw him.
"You're die hard on that, aren't you? You must be one of those chivalrous types," Copernicus noted in slight amusement. Tsubomi was very princely in nature. It was almost as if the prince hopped right out of the fairytale and found himself in his bed. That thought in itself continued to engross him as thoughts of a darker nature shot through his mind.
"I guess so," Tsubomi never thought of it that way before. She didn't really see the chivalry in herself.
"Don't you know that chivalry is dead, my little Tsubomi?" The stripper felt long, strong arms wrap around her in a tender embrace. The hug itself lasted for about six minutes but to the girl, it seemed far longer and just as she was getting used to the warmth and smell of expensive cologne, Copernicus retreated at a languid pace towards the door. When he made it to his destination, a couple of steps from the doorway, the vampire glanced over his shoulder with a placid smile and said his good night.
Tsubomi bid him good night in a broken up manner before she fell back onto the bed and watched as the rose petals fluttered back down to the mattress. Blue eyes then glanced to the clock as she submerged herself in deep contemplation.'Copernicus J. Wittenburg…Would you still like me if you knew what I hid behind this masquerade?'Rolling over, she slowly pulled herself out of bed and shed herself of her tattered and dirty coat, hanging it on the door knob of his closet. Tsubomi then unbuttoned a few buttons on her shirt, to give herself more room. The girl then retreated back to the bed as her thoughts bled into her conscious once more.'Come to think of it, when I first met him, he did smell faintly of roses. I wonder why I feel so close to this guy that I've barely known a day…Maybe we just really hit it off. He seems like he really has some problems though. He acted so cool and calm, but something about him didn't feel right. Maybe because I'm insecure about playing along when it seems like he's done nothing but tell the truth.'Tsubomi sighed.'Why can't I just be a gay male? Maybe I could have a sex change. If I did that, then I could throw away this empty life. I never felt right in this body anyway.'The stripper uncomfortably turned over and faced the wall.'Why? Why am I talking like that? I never wanted to change myself for anyone before. What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I acting like this around a guy who's a vampire and obviously gay. I don't know if he's toying with me, or if he means well. I guess I can't complain…I mean, he's sleeping on his couch while I take his bed. Okay, now I feel bad. Damn it all. Now I've done it. I got involved in the weirdest crap ever. I don't know what to do really, or if I should tell Copernicus that I'm really a girl. When I weigh the problems, it's better that I pretend to be a guy. If I can hide my identity from that weird, cross-dressing vampire Hizaki, then I'll have a chance at surviving.'She slowly convinced herself that living the lie currently would be better for herself in the long run. "This is for the best…or at least, I'll keep telling myself that," Tsubomi murmured as she drifted off to sleep.
XxXxXx
In the morning, Tsubomi woke up as soon as the dim lighting came through the heavily laced royal blue curtains of the aristocrat's bed room window. The girl sat at the kitchen table, casually sipping on a rich blend of imported coffee while she glanced around at the lavish interior and pristine white of the kitchen. It was absolutely beautiful, like something that you'd see in a high quality movie about the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
Copernicus soon walked into the room, dressed in white slacks, a white, Victorian-style shirt with ruffles around the arms and neckline and a white vest with a single row of black buttons down the front. Around his neck was an old fashioned bow tie that was loosely tied in a droopy bow. The vampire took a seat directly across from her at the table and casually sipped his taupe colored coffee, which had been mixed with milk and sugar.
"You like your coffee black, but you drink tequila? How strange," he smiled as he noted her strange choice in drink strength.
"Well, you like milk in your coffee but you hit some pretty hard liquor at the strip club," Tsubomi replied.
"Hey, at least I remembered you." In his own opinion, he didn't getthatdrunk.
"After learning what I did last night, I'm glad that you do." Any situation could have sprung out of that. Tsubomi dreaded the thought of the vampire not remembering her, being locked out of his own bed room and fuming angry. It was not a pretty picture.
"I thought you'd try to run away in the middle of the night." To be truthful, Copernicus spent half of the night wondering and worrying about the girl's safety.
"So I can run outside and get picked off by whoever is after you? Boy, you really must think humans are dumb." Her sarcastic remark flew without a second thought. Tsubomi was no idiot. She knew the simplistic facts- she was inside with a vampire who was possibly capable of killing whoever was after her. Hizaki was outside, ready to fulfill his sick pleasures with killing her and doing who knows what to her. It wasfarsafer inside with the Lolita Complex Vampire, then outside with the Cross-Dressing Girly Vampire.
"The last thing I want is to have someone else get killed. I tried to prevent that with Hizaki but who knows how long that will last," his tone was grim and his expression serious. Right now, his main focal point was keeping Tsubomi safe from the danger that he himself had presented her with.
"I didn't mean it like that. Besides, you should worry about that person you get your blood from. If they die, then you won't have anyone." The donor- that was the true victim. If she was hunted down because she simply talked to him for a few moments in the strip club, then the one who gave him blood must have been in far worse danger. As far as Tsubomi was concerned, his other donor should have been his prime concern. "Right now, they are the most important thing to you. You shouldn't waste your time worrying about me." After all, she wasn't of any importance to whatever plans he had.
The girl had to face the facts; she was some nobody off of the street that he thought was attractive. As much as he liked her, Copernicus couldn't waste all of his time and effort trying to pay attention to her in specific. The vampire had to pay more attention to the problems at hand and the things that his life depended on.
"I'm not so sure that Hizaki is after that."
"Why do you say that?" Tsubomi thought for sure that protecting his donor would be the prime objective, so why were things different? Did he really care so little for someone who provided him with a source of strength and possibly life?
"Both of my donors lived in the same place. Even now, they haven't moved. Only one of them died when they were both present at the scene of the alleged crime." Copernicus stated. Even to this day, he found it more than odd that whoever murdered his donor didn't take the other one with him if they were looking to make a critical strike against him.
"What? How can that be?" Tsubomi couldn't make sense of it either.
"If it was Hizaki or if Hizaki wanted them both dead, then he had a golden opportunity."
"That makes no sense," The stripper desperately tried to rack her brain for any possible semblance of an answer to the current conundrum. "Why would he kill one and not the other?"
"I don't know. That's what makes it so hard to figure out."
"Will the other donor tell you? I mean, they were there, right? So wouldn't they know?" Surely the other donor had to knowsomething. Copernicus didn't seem like the type to overlook something that important. If the other donor did see what happened, then why weren't they telling him about it?
"Post Traumatic Shock, they don't remember. The only thing I was told was that when they woke up, there was blood everywhere and he was dead," Copernicus had tried several times to get an answer from his donor, but the problem seemed more of a challenge then anything. Nothing he did or said could make her even remember any events of that day aside from what she had already told him.
The vampire had no choice but to abandon that mission.
"Aren't you afraid that Hizaki will come after you next?"
"No."
"No? What do you mean no?" Tsubomi was shocked at not only the answer, but how casually he blew off such an important subject. It was as if what she said was blown out of the water on the spot.
"Hizaki isn't out to kill me per se. He just wants to eliminate the humans," Copernicus lied and did it well. The Inheritor was a wanted man in Hizaki's eyes, but he didn't want Tsubomi to worry about his well being. He could get by on his own.
"Why? I mean, vampires are viral and they feed off of humans for the most part, right? If you kill all of the humans, then you'll die." After all, the chain of life would be severely disrupted if all of the humans died out. The modern day viral vampire would also fade into extinction, because they would have nothing to prey on.
"We would die, but not from that. Vampires have to eat because blood has no nutritional value. We need the humans for other reasons as well," Copernicus explained.
"What do you mean?"
"Remember when I told you about Inheritor Vampires?"
"Yes."
"If vampires don't mate with humans, or convert humans, than Inheritors would be the only type of vampire left. While we are the blue bloods of the vampuric world, we are sterile. You can impregnate a female but it's hard and they miscarry many times. If Inheritors are the only ones left, our race would die." The humans were a vital part of the vampire's lives, in ways that Tsubomi couldn't begin to understand.
"So, that's why you like guys. You can't really have any children because you're sterile," the stripper said with a mixture of guilt and sympathy in her voice.'Do I feel bad now or what?'Here was a guy who was in a bind, a vampire, obviously lonely for a partner and on top of that, he couldn't ever witness the joy of being a father because he was sterile and here she was, prancing around, pretending to be a male and deceiving him. Truly, Tsubomi felt like the sorriest excuse for a living being there was at that moment in time.
"I naturally do like men more but it is one reason I avoid the female persuasion. Most women want children and I cannot give them such a thing. It would only result in disappointment." It was a long desired wish for anyone who was a female to want a family and rather than live with the possible consequences, Copernicus decided to just shift his interests towards men.
It was safer that way, but given all technicalities, he was bisexual more than anything.
"I know you told me all this before, but I really didn't listen until now…I'm sorry," Tsubomi's voice was low as she lowered her glance and frowned. The girl hadn't paid any attention to his comments about being sterile and the more she looked at him, the worse she felt about deceiving him.
"It doesn't bother me. Most vampires are solitary and few ever find a mate." It was simply in the nature of his breed. Even though Copernicus liked the attention and companionship of humans and vampires alike, he knew that his fate was to die alone and accepted it with open arms.
"That sounds lonely to me." When Tsubomi uttered that sentence, he didn't let it show, but the vampire's faith in his own word crumbled a bit.
"All I require is companionship."
Tsubomi nodded in response, she could definitely agree with that. "I've got you there. Besides, you're right. We need to keep a balance between us or both of our races will be extinct."
"Don't worry about being lonely. If you're in this with me, then we'll have each other," Copernicus' words felt like a warm blanket being put around her usually icy heart. It was comforting to know that he would always have her back, or at least he promised it.
"Of course," a small smile crept to her face as she gazed at her new partner in crime.'I didn't even mean to and I'm in deeper shit then I previously thought. I do want to help Copernicus. He seems like he needs someone. I don't know what I can do to help him, but I'll try my best. I just hope that the humans can forgive me if I screw up.'
…To Be Continued
NOTES:
1. Chinese Whispers- Kind of like the version of the Telephone Game. For those not familiar with it, I'll provide an explanation. It's a game where you whisper one thing into someone's ear and it goes down a line of multiple people and gets distorted through passings. The end result is often nothing like the original phrase.