Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Illusions ❯ Scars ( Chapter 37 )

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Shattered Illusions

Chapter 37: Scars

By: Revamp

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"I missed him," Millie said under her breath as Tsubomi looked on ahead to see that Copernicus had indeed squared off with the enemy.

Her face hardened as her eyes drifted to her master. 'Hide...Why does everyone know about you but me?' She was the closest person to him. Tsubomi was the person he loved, the person that he shouldn't have hidden anything from and yet, she felt like she was the person who knew the least about him.

"We should leave, before Hizaki comes back," Copernicus knew that if the Psivamp returned, he would be seething angry and come after them. The king didn't want another Prince Yale incident.

"Right," the gun slinger nodded, "I know the way out. Just follow me."

"Yes, of course," Copernicus agreed and cast a glance to his donor. "I'll need your assistance on something when we get back."

"We'll have to treat your wounds first," Tsubomi examined the lacerations, contusions and various other puncture wounds that riddled the royal's form.

"Yes, of course."

The group turned, led by Millie and raced through the halls, weaving around as they headed towards the exit of Hide's establishment. Copernicus and Millie ran side-by-side in silence for a couple of minutes before the schoolgirl decided to speak up.

"Hey Copernicus, can I talk to you later about something?" She cast him a questioning glance.

The vampire was a little confused at the question. "May I ask what it is?" What could she have to discuss with him?

"It's about Prince Yale," her voice lowered. Millie's expression slowly transformed into sorrow. His letter had left her with many different questions, and the revelations in it were shocking. She just had to know what exactly was going on without involving the others.

The Inheritor was silent. He had a feeling that he knew exactly what this was about. Millie was about to pull away his mask and expose him for what he truly was.

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She stood in the rose garden with her hands clasped behind her back. Before her stood a large, stone statue of Prince Yale, who stood regally before her, larger than life. The red roses waved at her feet, the soft petals brushed against the flesh of her calves with the bite of the cold winds. Millie couldn't help but stare into the stone-cold eyes of the statue, into the face of that man who reminded her so much of the man she used to love.

'Oh Prince Yale...What I wouldn't do to kiss your hand again.' The girl thought wistfully as she heard the crunching of blossoms behind her. Turning, she saw Horatio walking up, making his way through the flowers.

"You came here as well?" It seemed as if the two had the same idea today.

"I've been visiting it every day since he's passed away. I..." Her voice trembled with emotion. "I still love him. I can't let go, even if he's dead. It was painful enough to lose him."

"I'm just glad that Copernicus is alright. I was worried about him," Horatio averted the painful subject. It was important that they not lose the king. If they did, the Time of Ending would take flight and plunge the world of humans and vampires into darkness.

Then, the girl frowned and leveled him with a skeptical glare. Her words came out cold as ice. "Is your real last name Greenchapel?"

"What?" Horatio was taken aback. His eyes widened and he blinked a couple of times. Why would she ask him that?

"Prince Yale...He's really a Wittenburg," Millie's words ripped the mask right off of his face. Horatio felt exposed and nude before her. He knew that Yale had probably told her the truth in his letter, and perhaps to some extent she was entitled to know it by now.

The knight folded his arms over his chest and glanced diagonally to the ground. "So, you know?"

Millie nodded. "Yes, but I want more answers."

Horatio decided to reveal what had happened to the girl. He told her that he covered for the prince, since he went into hiding. He had hidden his last name from the world, and he would tell people that the two of them were relatives. That shifted the target to himself. Horatio wanted to pull the attention away from Copernicus. He knew that Prince Yale would have rather died than see his elder brother suffer. Yale was a gentle man.

Millie blinked, her eyes widening slightly in realization. "Wait...did you say elder brother?"

"Yes, he and Copernicus are brothers," Horatio told her.

"You mean, all of this time I had been making fun of them for being lover and they are actually...brothers?" Millie was horrified at the fact that the letter was right and the fact that she had been shipping people in incestuous ways all of this time. No wonder they were so repulsed by her spewing her guts out about it. She would have been, too.

Horatio arched an eyebrow, looking slightly disgusted himself. "You thought they were lovers?"

"Uh, yeah," Millie put a hand behind her head and looked sheepishly to the ground. "They always seemed so close, like they had something going on. No wonder they looked disturbed when I made those jokes. Oh wow, when Copernicus said 'he's like a brother to me', I should have read into it more." She felt so stupid for not doing so before. In hindsight, Millie was sure that she was probably going to laugh at this whole situation later on.

"The king always speaks in cryptic tongue. He speaks a language of his own." Even normally, Copernicus had a strange, vague way of wording things that the green-haired knight was eluded by.

"He really is a deep guy behind that princely thing of his. Hey, Copernicus is the king...isn't he?" Millie knew the answer but she wanted to see if Horatio would actually reveal it to her. If he did, then she would prod him for further answers.

Horatio closed his eyes. "Yes, he is. We've been trying to protect him from Hide and he went and threw himself in harm's way. That's why we were angry. We have been trying to protect him all of this time. I feel like I have already failed Prince Yale..." Tilting his head down, he felt himself overcome with sorrow. His heart was heavy in his chest and since the moment he died. He, just like Millie, felt guilt from not going with him to get a drink. It was true that he didn't think that anyone would strike at a time like that, but at the same time he should have had his guard up because it was unlikely. Horatio couldn't help but damn himself for all of the things he should have done as a knight. He could have saved his prince; he should have saved his prince. For that, he was a failure as a knight.

Just then, something warm was laid on this side of his face, causing him to look up with emotion trembling in his eyes. "Millie..."

The girl shook her head. "You didn't fail him," Millie glanced back at the statue that watched over the two of them. "I'm sure he'd be very proud...of all of us." They did the best that they could, given the situation. That was all that mattered.

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Tsubomi stood with a hand on the back of her master's head as he fed from her shoulder. His hands gripped her biceps. The tomboy closed her eyes, feeling the blood being drained from her body as she stared up to the ceiling of his room.

After a moment, she opened her eyes and glanced back to him. "Hey Copernicus, is there something you told Millie by any chance?"

The vampire lapped up the blood that seeped out from his puncture wounds, then turned his head into her neck. "What do you mean?"

"She told me that she knew who you were," Tsubomi's words hit the vampire like a brick to the face. Pulling his head away, Copernicus stared into the serious expression of his donor.

"What?" His voice came out in a tone of disbelief. It was the one secret that he didn't want exposed, was brought to the surface. Copernicus knew that he would have had to face the issue sooner or later, but he wasn't ready to do so at that moment.

"You didn't tell her?" Tsubomi arched her eyebrow as she finished bandaging up her master's chest.

"I told her nothing. I wanted you to be the first to find out." Above anyone else, if his secret had to come out he wanted Tsubomi to be the first to know who he really was. Copernicus was saving it for her and her alone. How did Millie know who he was before Tsubomi had? The vampire never told her anything regarding his true identity.

"I've always felt like everyone knew but me." It was the way that they spoke to each other. Tsubomi wasn't stupid. She caught the implications to all of their conversations. The donor was well aware of the fact that there were things that others knew that she didn't and their subtle hints didn't get past her at all.

"Teru, Shiva and Horatio knew and of course Prince Yale knew...but...How in the hell did Millie find out? Wait..." Shock crossed his face as he came to that realization. A brief memory of the moment Yale handed the grieving girl that blood-stained letter. "That note that he gave her! I bet that's how she found out." The vampire pulled away and stood up, leveling her with a grave expression. "Where is he?"

"She went to the rose garden, where Prince Yale's memorial is," Tsubomi educated him on the girl's location.

"I'm going to see what's going on. If Millie knows, then I want to speak to her privately." If the gun slinging girl knew that much, then how much more did she know? What all did his brother tell her in that letter?

"I want to talk to you too, if you don't mind...when you get back." This was a necessary conversation. She wanted to know who he really was. Tsubomi believed at the very least, her master owed her an explanation.

Copernicus pulled his shirt over his shoulders and finished getting dressed before he wordlessly left the tom boy to her own thoughts. A million premature assumptions went through his mind as well as a million worries. While it was true that Millie had not said anything regarding his identity, the vampire wanted to make sure that certain parts of her information stayed a secret. Yale must have trusted the girl a lot to let her know what was actually going on.

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Millie rested her head on the stone block that the monument was constructed on. The cold surface felt nice against her hot skin as a light gust blew past her, toying with the end of her dress and ends of her hair. She had just been in this very place earlier in the day, but now she found herself returning due to Tsubomi's instruction. Since she had time, the school girl reflected and spend time with her Prince. She had always believed that his spirit was with her; silently guiding her but in his final resting place he was stronger than ever.

"Oh Prince Yale..." The girl uttered absentmindedly before she heard a rustle. Turning around quickly, she saw the brunette Inheritor walking towards her, emerging from the dense underbrush, "Copernicus."

"Millie," the taller male said after walking up to her. His eyebrows furrowed as he cast a stone-hard gaze at the girl. He was glaring at her with such intensity that she could feel waves of tension emitting from the vampire's body. It felt like someone was assaulting her with bricks and the pressure slowly wore on her body.

"Why are you staring at me with such a serious look on your face? Are you mad at me for shooting Hide?" Millie didn't understand why he would approach her one-on-one, nor did she get why he'd be angry at her. If anything, she helped him from possibly being hurt badly or being killed by the other vampire.

"No, I'm glad that you came and I appreciate you sticking by my side." Even though Millie knew his secret, she had not left his side. The gun slinging girl decided to fight alongside of him and protect him, knowing how important that he was and that meant a lot to him on many different levels.

"Tsubomi-kun told me that you wanted him to stay but I forced him to come," Millie explained his donor's appearance at Hide's base with her. If that's what he was angry at, she would take all of the responsibility herself.

"This isn't about that," Copernicus replied simply.

Millie cocked her head. Now she was confused. "Then, what is it about?"

"Why does Tsubomi think you know something about me?" That was the real question at hand. What exactly did Millie give away to put that impression into her head?

"I thought he knew, being your donor." It was an honest mistake. It was true that she had assumed that Tsubomi had known all of her master's secrets, and that was something she should have thought about prior.

"If you know, then tell me who you think that I am," Copernicus wanted to hear what she knew. He wanted to know what Yale told her in that letter.

"You seem kind of pissed off. I'm a little intimidated by you right now," she could feel the frost radiating from his form, and she had to avert her eyes to keep from staring into his emotionless eyes. Millie knew that the king was iron-fisted and cold, but right now he was asserting those traits more than the laid back ones he usually had.

"This isn't what I wanted. Tsubomi should have been the first to know," Millie felt the inward stab from that verbal assault. She really should have kept the contents of the note to herself, and she was still kicking herself for leaking a little of the content to his donor.

Looking down in shame, the gun slinger decided to admit her findings to the Inheritor. "I read it in Prince Yale's letter. He told me everything," she paused, averting her eyes, "about how his real last name is Wittenburg and about how Horatio covered it up and how you two are brothers...so that makes you the king. You're the one we're protecting and the reason why the king is safe is because you're the king," she averted her eyes back. "I feel so stupid."

The girl bowed before the true and rightful king of Ramada. "Your highness, I've been treating you like a normal person-"

Copernicus cut her off. "I want you to treat me that way. Nothing should change. I am Copernicus and you are Millie, no formalities. Please don't call me king. In my opinion, I am no one's king." The vampire had gone without formalities or special treatment, and he didn't plan on newly acquiring it. No one should bow to him, nor should they treat him like a fragile, glass sculpture or a damsel who required protection.

Millie arose, her expression dire. "Don't say that. You've held all of us together all of this time. I bet you feel majorly guilty having everyone protect you."

If she was a king, trying to hide like Copernicus was, she would have probably acted the same way. Copernicus probably felt bad by involving them in his problems, much less making them feel as though they had to protect him. She knew that he could obviously handle himself, as he had proven it many times in the past.

"I am used to it. You all are my knights." In many ways, they were protecting him and they had no idea that they were. Compared to the bunch of them, the time he spent on the battlefield while accompanied by them was relatively low.

"Even Tsubomi? Is his life so meaningless and generic that it can just be used as a sacrifice?" Was that all he saw in the members of the Blue Rose Order? Surely he didn't think that way about the man that he loved.

"No...He' more than my knight. My entire life rests on his shoulders right now, since he is my only donor. If he knew that I was a king...Who knows what kind of pressure he'd feel. If something happened to me, he'd feel like it was he who murdered me. It's the exact same feeling that Prince Yale gave Horatio. I don't want that," Copernicus saw how badly it affected the mint-haired knight. As a donor, Tsubomi felt responsible for his well-being and had stated it many times. The boy was loyal beyond a fault and the greater the attachment, the greater the guilt for unfortunate circumstances that may arise.

Millie frowned. "So, you hide it from him?"

"I'll tell him eventually."

Taking his hand, the girl bent down and kissed it gently. "Your highness, I'll keep your secret. I won't let you down." She had already screwed up once; she didn't plan on making it a repetitious mistake.

A look of momentary irritation crossed his face as he pulled his hand from the gun slinger's grip. "Millie...Don't bow to me. You would be standing at my side if Prince Yale was still alive."

Millie still couldn't get the thought through her head. It was so beyond her to think that she could have been royalty. "Me? A princess? It's so hard to believe that it almost became my reality, too bad it was shattered by Prince Yale's death." Her maroon eyes turned back to the statue of the prince as she stood erect. "Oh man, I still love him so much. I hope he's being shown the mercy people don't find on earth. No wonder you were so hurt by his death. It must have been hard seeing your brother in so much pain."

She imagined that Copernicus' pain rivaled her own, or was possibly more prominent. Millie was an only child. She could never know the loss of a sibling, but she imagined that it must have been unbearable anguish.

The vampire's voice dropped an octave and took on a melancholy tone. "Yes, his silence held so much misery."

Maroon eyebrows creased in concern. "I'm really sorry. I haven't respected you properly at all. Man oh man; you are the crème de la crème of aristocratic society. You're the king and I treated you like a commoner. Man, I don't even deserve to be looked at by you."

"You are family to me, Millie, and I treasure that. Don't stop treating me the way you do. It makes me feel human," Millie was like a kid sister to him. Her demeanor made him feel relaxed, like he could let his guard down. Copernicus didn't have to pretend to be someone he wasn't for fear of judgment around her and he liked that.

Millie blinked in confusion. When she thought about it, she would have hated to be judged by whatever her actions and opinions were. She imagined that royals were a lot like movie stars and other famous people, with the tabloids following them around and if they said one thing wrong it could mean the difference between fame and becoming a washed up has been with no fanbase. "I bet it does. I never thought about that before. You've seemed kind of cold to me but now I know why. I mean, that's probably how you handled things all of your life. You can't just show your feelings to everyone. It must be hard being royal, even if it seems like you handle everything well, you're really breaking down on the inside. I always thought that you had it kind of easy.

"I mean, you're rich, talented, beautiful, intelligent and kind even if you can be a little cold. You're also royalty. Royalty is always portrayed as such luxurious, powerful people who have an entire country at their fingertips and could have anything they wanted, but I never imagined that someone in that position could have such big problems." This was definitely a side of it that she had never seen.

"Nothing gained is without a price, my dear." It wasn't all glamorous and easy.

"I see that now," Millie looked down before a hand was laid on her shoulder, making her glance back up at the man before her. "Hm?"

"We've come too far to turn back now. If we give up, then our sacrifices will have been for nothing," he wasn't about to make his brother's death meaningless now, and the king was sure that the knight before him would feel the same way.

Millie nodded with a small smile. "You're right; we have to keep fighting for them."

"Ramada is bathed in the royal family's blood. What a dismal painting but it cannot be helped." The only thing the vampuric royals could do was make their ancestor's bloodshed have a meaning and purpose, to make it constitute as steps towards a more peaceful Ramada.

The girl's visage was determined and her words reflected the strength she felt. "I'll make sure that no more is spilled."

Copernicus turned to the statue as another gentle wind blew through the rose fields, carrying sweet scents of the blossoms. "It's a nice theory, but impossible, I'm afraid," his frown deepened, 'and inevitable at that. The things in which are constant in life are the things I fear at times.'

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"Do you have time?" Tsubomi questioned as the vampire walked in the door from his talk with Millie. It was a little late, but at the same time he did tell her that he would talk to her. Copernicus knew that he needed to clear the air between them and knock down whatever walls the boy put up about the fact that he was concealing information from him.

"Always for you. What is it, my little Tsubomi?" He knew what this was about, but he decided to ask anyway.

"Do you remember when you asked me to stay with you?"

"Are you reconsidering your choice?" If the boy was so much as thinking it, Copernicus was going to try and convince him differently.

Tsubomi walked up to him, looking him in the eyes. "I've decided to stay with you. I want to live with you, Copernicus. I mean, we are mates so I'd love to stay with you." The girl held the much larger hands of her master as she took a deep inhale of breath. 'Man, I'm going to get found out for sure, but I can't protect him if I'm always so far away. I mean, Prince Yale died when everyone was at Earl Prizemarter's party. I can't risk Copernicus dying. He was so reckless when he went after Hide. He's so dedicated to his cause, even when the odds are against him. I guess he doesn't have a choice, though.'

"Are you jealous?" The question came out almost randomly.

"What?" Tsubomi was thoroughly confused.

"That Millie knows my secret? I didn't tell her, you know. I wanted you to be the first person I told." Surely she must have felt inferior in some way because of that.

"Don't worry about it, sir. I know," Tsubomi didn't think that Copernicus would do something like that to her. Sure, it offended her little and it made her feel like a dumbass but when she thought about it she was sure that the vampire would have told her first. She trusted him.

"You're so forgiving to me, yet you are so ruthless with everyone else." It was an odd little eccentric quality that he had noticed. Tsubomi's attitude difference around him made him feel special.

"Well, I love you, sir. I've never felt the way I have about you about anyone else. I want to stay by your side. I want to protect you." Above anything else, that was her position as his donor and as his knight.

"You're too sweet. In truth, I have longed to stay by your side since I had first met you in the strip club. I guess something in my mind just wanted you in specifically." Their bond was interesting, seeing as Tsubomi had completely thought him to be a jerk at first. Somehow, the vampire had managed to land her as a donor and soon after, their relationship had become more than that. Copernicus was glad that he had run into her that fated night. It was the best decision that he could have made. His only regret was that he wished he hadn't have had so much conflict and drama going on in his life.

He would have rather the two of them meet under much more relaxed circumstances.

"I can't say that I didn't think the same way." It took a while, but Tsubomi couldn't say that she wasn't at least attracted by his charm.

"You've helped me out so much. I have to admit that I didn't think you'd stay with me this long. You went through all of this for me. I'm touched," the vampire placed a hand to his chest. He could never repay her for risking her life for him, helping him fight against his enemies and sticking by his side, no matter how bad things got with Hide. That was a true display of loyalty.

Tsubomi smiled. "You flatter me, sir."

"Good, you need flattery."

The tom boy blushed and her small smile became wider. "I'm going to go and get a few things to move in. I'll be back later on this afternoon," she practically lived at his large house. Tsubomi stayed there more than she did her little place. The only time she had even gone there was to keep her job up at the strip joint she worked at. Since she had become so involved with Copernicus she had spent weeks on end at his house with him and had grown accustomed to the decor of his place, the smells, textures and mundane little things that went on became a part of her everyday life.

"Do you want anyone to go with you?" Copernicus knew that Hide probably had minions out looking for them. It would be bad if they happened to catch her out by herself.

"I don't want anyone to know that I live there. That way, if something happens, then I can have a safe place to return to." That was the way that she was going to think about it, anyway. She'd be far less noticeable alone than she would with him or any of the others around. Compared to them, she looked the most normal.

"I understand," respecting her wishes, Copernicus decided to trust her on that matter. After all, she did have a point with her logic.

"Don't worry. I'll come back to you." It wasn't as if she was going off to fight on her own or something. Tsubomi was just going to go to her house and gather a few things. It was just going to be a simple trip, nothing to worry about.

"I don't see why you couldn't. It's harmless and I hardly think anyone would see you," Copernicus rested his chin on the back of his hand in thought. "Of course, Hide won't come for a while and Hizaki will be heading back to report Prince Yale's death then he'll want to look for Hide when he finds out he's gone."

This was of course, assuming Hide didn't return. Copernicus doubted that was going to be a possibility. Hide probably needed to drink more blood in order to regain his strength. He was more than likely off trying to find victims to drain the blood from or licking his wounds.

"You planned that." How convenient.

"Of course I did. Nothing I do is without reason. Perhaps it should bide you some time to think as well." Even if it wasn't up to his previous specs, Copernicus managed to do something with his little trip to Hide's base. If it was nothing else, just to screw things up for the blonde and hinder his planning.

Pausing a moment, the tom boy turned away from her master. Her voice lowered. "Tell me, am I crazy?"

"According to psychological consensus, everyone in the world suffers from at least one mental disorder. Therefore, we are all crazy." If it made her feel any better, he based it on facts. Tsubomi wasn't alone and even if she was crazy, she fit in with most of the world's population.

Tsubomi turned back around. The thoughts of that day when Hizaki drained her mind ran through her head. She had thought that she had possibly been driven crazy after that moment. Ever since then, she hadn't felt quite right with herself. Tsubomi hated it and she felt like her mind was altered. "You know, don't you? You know what really happened to my mind and you're trying to act casual so you don't worry me. You know, I've noticed something about you and I don't think anyone else has noticed this."

A brunette eyebrow was quirked in curiosity. He was interested in what she had to say. "Oh? What observation have you made about me?"

"Other than the fact that you're a clusterfuck of confusion, I can't help but notice how well you play off things," he had some kind of weird skill with it. If she didn't know any better, Copernicus was either conditioned to do it or he just built up a natural defense about it.

"What do you mean?"

"You push aside your feelings so easily. You'll do anything to make me feel safe about myself and not worry about you. You have been suffering all of this time and you don't say thing. Not a word of it have you said to anyone." The closest that he had even come to it was the moment he broke down to her. Tsubomi couldn't remember any other times that he had really just bore his feelings to her. While she appreciated the fact that he didn't weigh her down with his emotional turmoil, the girl worried about the fact that he kept it in like he did. Vampire or not, that just wasn't healthy at all.

"If I cannot be a confident leader, then my people won't be strong," he was the harbringer of the vampuric race, and someone who ruled with a weak hand was not seen as any type of leader at all.

"Everyone has feelings," Tsubomi didn't believe for a second that Copernicus was some iron-made man with no heart. "You must have been through so much pain." Her voice lowered and sorrow reflected in her eyes.

"What if I showed it? What would I truly gain? There's nothing to be gained on dwelling on negativity. Everyone had problems." His problems were no greater or less than anyone else's and whining about them only showed the people that he was not able to handle his issues, much less that of the people.

"You're stubborn," the girl frowned.

"Maybe someday I'll tell you but now is not appropriate. If it counts, you know more about that part of me than anyone," Copernicus hadn't bore it all, but the Inheritor had given her more information than he had anyone but Prince Yale, and she had even known things about him that his own brother was unaware of.

Tsubomi's expression softened. "I'm glad you trust me to some extent." It wasn't as if he was the only one keeping secrets.

"Hurry back, and be careful."

"Don't worry, I can't screw up that," Tsubomi replied and turned to leave. She took a couple of steps before her name was called by her master, stopping her in her tracks. She turned around with a questioning 'yeah' before the two of them met eyes.

"I love you."

"I love you too, mast-" she stopped herself, and corrected her sentence, "I mean, Copernicus."

"Say my name again," the tone was more amused this time.

Tsubomi was a little confused at the odd request. She arched her eyebrow and said him name again in confusion.

"No, I want you to tell me my name in the most endearing tone you know how. Say it as if you cherish it with everything you possess," Copernicus told the girl in a poetic tone. He wanted to see if she would fulfill his request. As donor and lover, he wanted her to.

Tsubomi's eyebrow quirked in irritation. "Are you feeling insecure?" What was the meaning of that so suddenly?

"I just want to hear it from you," he mused.

"Your whole name?"

"Yes."

She couldn't believe that she was about to do something so idiotic, but she decided to humor her love. Mustering up all of the emotion she had in her, she uttered the name of Copernicus Julius Wittenburg as lovingly as she could without trying to vomit all over herself in the process. Copernicus kissed her lips sweetly and thanked her.

XxXxXxXx

Tsubomi opened the door and the stale air inside of her house assaulted her senses. She was hardly home anymore, and her house looked as if no one had lived there in ages. There were no messes, no furniture out of place and nothing had even been moved. It was clean and perfect inside. Blue eyes glanced around at the living room as she took her shoes off and walked inside.

'I'm home. Man, it's as cold as ever in here. Reminds me of how lonely it was living alone. Well, no time to get nostalgic. I'd better get to packing.' Tsubomi walked past several items of furniture and went into her room. Many memories had been spent in that room. Memories of a single life.

The girl grabbed several suitcases and began packing clothes into them. As she was folding a black tank top, her vision blurred suddenly and her form was overcome with a tingling feeling. It felt as if something was crawling all over her skin and a shooting pain ripped through her head.

Tsubomi put a hand to her forehead, trying to quell the intense pain. "Damn, what the hell is this?"

"Familiar, isn't it?" A distinguishable voice sounded from behind her, causing the tomboy to whirl around, nearly falling over her suitcase as she tumbled to her feet.

'No fucking way.' Tsubomi's eyes widened, and then her face hardened as she immediately got into a battle stance. "How? How did you find me?" She shot defensively.

"I'm a Psi-Vamp, dearie. How do you think?" Hizaki smiled wickedly at his prey. He had a feeling that she would be isolating herself and he was just waiting for the little fly to become entangled into his web.

"You read my mind..." The girl bore her teeth at him. That had to have been it. Every since Hizaki attacked her initially, she had always felt strange, invaded and weakened. Tsubomi was sure that ever since that moment the Psi-Vamp was reading her mind, aware of her every move.

"I knew where you lived since I first attacked you," Hizaki only confirmed her suspicions. "Letting you think you had a sanctuary here was the best way to approach the situation. If I drew you here, then I could easily put the next phase of my plan into action."

"What do you mean? What are you going to do to me?" Tsubomi asked as the pain in her head was amplified. It pounded and throbbed and it felt as if she had a horrible migraine. 'I can't concentrate. My head is killing me. What's happening to me?'

"Hide will be thrilled with me," Hizaki commented in amusement as he thrusted out his parasol. The lacey weapon opened with a pop. Snapping his fingers, a string of green, glowing energy that looked like strands of DNA trailed from his hands, wrapping around the girl. Tsubomi gasped sharply in pain and pressed a hand to her forehead again. "In the end, humans and vampires only share a host and virus relationship. When the host becomes strong, their immune system fights off the virus, eradicating it completely. Now, it's time to go against everything you've ever known about Copernicus."

"What...the hell is happening to me...?" Tsubomi's voice strained as her mind was assaulted. The pain hit her in waves, as if someone was pounding her in the head. She felt helpless against Hizaki's attacks. 'I'm all alone...and no one can save me now...Copernicus...I'm sorry...'

...To Be Continued