[Multi-chapter] 血まみれの愛 (Blood-colored love) Chapter 20/26

[tsuchi8562]

Title: 血まみれの愛 (Blood-colored love)
Author: tsuchi8562
Beta: geminib << Thank you my friend ♥
Banner: andreja1989 << Thanks a lot~!
Consulting: syunikiss1990 and yuuki_saya << thanks a lot :)
Pairings: SakurAiba (main), Matsumiya (side), past Sakumoto, OhnoxOC
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Drama
Rating: PG-13

*MASTERPOST*

“Did you talk with them?” Masaki asked Ohno as soon as he opened the front door.

“Will you let me go inside at least?” Satoshi seemed a bit upset and Aiba looked down, mumbling some apologies. “I did tell them about The Priest. I mean I told that only to Ninomiya-sama...”

“What they will do?”

“What can they do? They have only two options: to leave this place or to stay and try to fight. I have a feeling that they will stay, Ninomiya-sama wasn’t that much bothered by the news…”

“Then maybe I just freaked out and there is nothing to worry about?” Masaki sighed and sat on the chair, getting back to peeling the potatoes.

“I think that there is… I saw more people in the forest, with torches and intention and some awful chats about silver bullets and crosses. They are serious in this.” Satoshi sighed and looked through the window. He saw his son playing close to the house along with neighbor’s kids. “I want to help them, but I don’t know how.”

“Maybe when somebody important, somebody who they trust tells them that they are insane and there is no such thing as vampires, they will go to their homes?” Aiba said while looking at his friend, but the latter didn’t seem to hear him. A sudden knock on the door brought them to reality and the older man stood up to open the door. On the other side The Priest was standing, covering from the heat as if he was the bloodsucker. Masaki let him in and politely offered a glass of water.

“I heard you are the ruler in this village.” Inagaki stated firmly. “We will need your support to gather more soldiers. God only knows how many of the monsters are hidden in that castle.”

“R-ruler? With all due respect, but I am nothing. I just happened to own the biggest orchard in the area.” Aiba blushed and smiled, sitting in front of his guest. Somewhere behind him Ohno was carefully listening to the conversation.

“But you are respected and people trust your words. I have already lost seven men, I cannot afford to lose any more. Please, Aiba-san this is important. Do you want the sweet little creatures to be endangered by monsters that will drink their blood?” The Priest pointed to Natsuo who just came inside the house to grab an apple and disappeared outside again.

“But…” Masaki started but Satoshi interrupted him.

“This is a good idea. I don’t want my son to be murdered, or even worse, changed into one of them. I will try to persuade Masaki to talk to your people.”

“Thank you so much. People will appreciate it. Now, excuse me, I have to look for weapons.” Goro bowed gently and disappeared before Aiba could react in any way. After a short while he shook his head, trying to catch anything from what just have happened here.

“Are you crazy, Satoshi? How can I persuade people to fight Nino and Jun?!”

“Calm down, of course you won’t. But your words and that slayer’s made me think. You are one of the most respected people in the village; your opinion matters. If you try to talk to them and say that there are no vampires here and Inagaki is just messing with them I believe they will listen to you.”

“Do you really think so? Somehow I have a bad feeling about it… The Priest has some kind of… strong aura around him. I don’t think I can beat that.”

“But they know you more. Remember how many people came to Yuriko’s funeral. You are more important than some stranger with revelations about vampires.” Ohno spoke calmly and smiled gently. He was so visibly certain of his words that Masaki calmed down as well. Maybe it was true? Maybe he can persuade people from the village that there is no truth in those stupid rumors?

"Maybe you are right, Satoshi." Aiba said still not convinced about the idea. The subject was pushed aside when a bunch of kids ran in the kitchen asking for something to eat. Soon both men's thoughts were occupied with dinner and cleaning up after. However the doubts came back at night, when the younger man was lying in a big bed he used to share with his, now ex-wife. The whole thing with the scuttlebutt made him recall memories from his life in the castle. It was so long time ago, he was older and supposed to be smarter, definitely not acting like a scared little boy. Masaki wanted to help the vampires, which he considered as friends. It may sound weird, considering the fact how they treated him but all in all they were nice to him, even Jun, who wanted to protect his relationship with Sakurai back then.

“Sho…” Aiba whispered, remembering the feelings he still had for the oldest bloodsucker. Where was he now? Did he know about the things that were going on here? The man’s brain was fighting with too many questions to allow him sleep. Finally, somewhere near the dawn Masaki managed to fall asleep, dreaming about the moonflowers.

***

The next day started weirdly. Ohno didn’t wake up his friend before noon, letting him rest as much as he could, as if he predicted that something may happen. Also, Satoshi was absentminded for most of the time Aiba wanted to talk to him. Something was wrong and it was noticeable.

“Satoshi, is everything okay?” The taller man couldn’t stand the silence anymore.

“Yes, why are you asking?” The older one asked, smiling gently. As far as Masaki knew his friend, he was sure that some surprise is hidden behind that simper.

“Because you are acting weird. Can you please tell me what’s going on?”

“Nothing’s going on. Now, stop imagining stuff and better prepare your speech. And better make it believable.” The former dance teacher finished his coffee and before the latter could reply in any way, he started to wash the dishes. Nobody said that his small performance has to take place today, but both men knew that the sooner the better. Inagaki should leave this place in disgrace, considered as an insane maniac and Aiba will make sure he will. For most of the day Masaki was thinking and preparing a speech, looking for the right words. Whenever he felt he is ready, something didn’t seem right and he had to start all over again. After something that seemed like ages, Ohno finally made him stop scribbling and pushed him out the house.

“We don’t have time to waste. I am sure you are more then ready.” Satoshi smiled and almost dragged the younger man towards the camp in the forest. Through all the way neither of them utter a word, except some random things about the weather or chores they have to do after they come back home. Aiba stood a few meters from the camp and looked around. Indeed there were a lot of people around, more than he imagined, gathered around small fires. Most of them were male, checking their weapons and talking about the best way to kill a vampire. A few women were preparing a simple meal - rice with fish. Somewhere in the back, a big black tent was settled, most probably Inagaki’s headquarter.

“They want to fight with vampires and they didn’t even notice that we are standing here. If we were an army of the bloodsuckers they would be dead by now.” Ohno whispered, receiving a nervous nod as a reply. Masaki didn’t know how to start, but he thought that going to The Priest will be a good start. Earning curious stares he made his way to the black tent and coughed gently to clear his throat. The tall man peeked out and let his guest inside quieting the murmur among his provisional army.

“I am glad you decided to come. My men will be pleased and heated to fight after your encouragement.”

“With all due respect, Inagaki-san but I don’t believe those are your people. They are not even soldiers.” Masaki pointed out, keeping his tone as polite as possible.

“When there is a war everybody are soldiers.” The Priest stated with opinionated voice. Ohno tugged Aiba’s shirt to stop him from talking and smiled, moving few steps forward.

“Can you tell your men to gather somewhere where Masaki will be able to talk to them? It is getting late and we don’t want to go back home after dark.”

“Of course. Please wait here while I’ll announce it.” The oldest man left the other two in his tent.

“I don’t know if I can do this…” Aiba whispered and sighed. “I’ve never done such thing before.”

“You will be okay, just say what you practiced. Remember, they trust you and respect you more than some strangers.”

“I know… Let’s get over with it.” The younger one smiles weakly and soon was lead to a small hill where he could be visible and audible good enough. Just then he noticed how many people decided to leave their homes and took a part in some strange, stupid and unneeded battle. He took a deep breath and started his speech, stammering a bit.

"Thank you all that you agreed to listen to me. I know that probably you have more important things to do now. That's why I really appreciate it." Masaki coughed quietly when he felt Ohno pulling his sleeve to make him get to the point. The taller one looked at the people gathered in front of him and regardless the feeling he is no ruler he started to talk.

"Go to your homes. Why are you sitting here, in cold and darkness when there is family that needs you? Because of a stupid rumor that can't be true? Vampires, living in the castle? There is no such thing!" Aiba was pulled back by angry Inagaki.

"What are you doing?! You said you will help me!"

"I am helping you. Helping you to leave this place and those people alone. There is no such creatures like vampires!"

"You silly boy! Do you know how many of them I have killed? Do you really need a proof?!" The Priest shook some kind of necklace in front of Masaki's face. After taking closer look the youngest among three noticed that those were vampires' fangs. Some voice in the back of Aiba’s head wondered if any of those belonged to Sho, but it was quickly silenced.

“Cheap tricks won’t work on me, Inagaki-san.” The gardener turned around to the people to see that they are looking closely at them without understanding.

“I told you to go home. There is no monster you can fight with, unless this man! He pulled you away from your family and homes, for what? Did anyone see any vampire? Did any creature attack you? I swear the only bloodsuckers here that can bite you are mosquitoes. You wasted enough of time camping here without any reasonable case.” A murmur spread across the crowd and it could be clearly heard that at least a few men agreed with Masaki. The Priest was mad and before Aiba managed to say anything more, he ordered a couple of villagers to bring the final proof. After what seemed to be an hour, but in fact couldn’t last longer than a minute two stalwart men dragging someone towards the hill.

“What are you doing?” Silent till now Ohno asked but his question remained unanswered. Just when he saw a familiar face everything clicked; the beginning of the rumor, the reason why people gathered here and decided to attack the castle… They got Anzu… Masaki opened his eyes wide and his lips said the girl’s name soundlessly.

“She got bitten many times by those monsters! It lasted for months!!! Do you see the marks?! What kind of animal could do them!?” Goro shouted, making sure everybody hears him.

“We don’t have any proof that those were made by vampires…” Aiba stated, doubting in the calmness of his voice. He slowly was losing his arguments; bringing up bitten Anzu was something you couldn’t fight with. A quiet voice in the can of his head asked if this is what Sakurai made to her when the gardener escaped. There was no time for thinking, when sudden loud gasp brought him back to Earth. Soon after his head was forcefully tilted and The Priest cursed quietly.

“He’s one of them! A spy! He has bite marks on his neck, old one but still! Look!!!” The slayer moved the torch so close to Aiba’s neck that the flame almost touched the skin. The whispers spread across the people and it was obvious that no words can make them believe in the story Masaki fed them with not so long ago. Before anyone could react in any way, Ohno grabbed his friend’s and Anzu’s hand and pulled them in to the only direction he could think of right now - the castle. Unexpectedly nobody followed them, probably thinking they still have to gather more people in order to attack.

“What now?” The taller man gasped and tried to catch his breath when they decided to take a small break.

“We can go to the castle. There is no other choice. We will think about the future there. Anzu, are you okay?”

“I… I am fine, though a bit cold and my legs hurt. I didn’t walk or even stood up for few days…” The girl blushed and looked down apologetically when Masaki took her on his back and started to walk quite fast towards the place he used to call his home.

***

It seemed that they were waiting for guests, because the main gate was slightly opened. Nobody welcomed them, nor chased them away so without a second thought three people walked inside the castle.

“Are they still here?” Aiba whispered, frowning when he heard the echo of his own words.

“Yes, we still are here.” This voice… Warm and somehow imperious, just as he remembered it… Could it be? Masaki slowly turned around and saw the face he desired to see for so long. His heart was squeezed and all air moved from his lungs, as if he just received a strong punch in his stomach. “Welcome home, Masaki.”

This smile… Aiba felt dizzy and soon darkness surrounded him like a cold blanket. The last words he could whisper just before he passed out was one name.

Sho