Blood Rose (Midnight Rose Sequel)

Chapter 10: Growing Closer

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Maki never would have believed that she would be sharing a meal with a family of vampires. Then again, until last year, Maki never believed that vampires even existed.

Yet, there she was, having a large breakfast (she unknowingly skipped meals the previous day while she was unconscious) with three vampires. It wasn't awkward or tense as she thought it would be. In fact, the family was very open to her. The elders were welcoming to her, when Maki thought that they wouldn't be. She was extremely cautious about telling them that she was an assassin, but she had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to keep it a secret for long. Not that it mattered much anyway, because Kaito had already told them. The only reason that the elders didn't say anything is because they wanted Maki to choice to tell them or not. They respected Maki's privacy if she felt like she couldn't answer a question and didn't pressure her into doing so. They did all they could to make sure that Maki was comfortable whilst staying with them.

After breakfast, things suddenly started to change a little. Kaito and Kenzo suddenly started to head off into the town. Maki tried to ask them what they were up to,but they didn't give her a straight answer. All that they said was that they were getting supplies, preparations for the Hunter's Moon. When asked again, Kaito only said that they were getting some things to help keep her safe. Before Maki could offer to go with them, they both piled into the old pick up truck that Kenzo owned and drove off. Maki felt frustrated at that. She wanted to be included in this plan since this revolves around her safety. She had the right to know what was going on.

As tempting as it was to track them down on foot, Maki decided not to for now. While she felt refreshed after a full day's rest, and a good sleep the previous night, she still felt a little weak. Yuuta did offer for Maki to get some more rest, but she declined. Maki slept for almost an entire day, she didn't want to be that unproductive again. She set to work in the garden, feeling like she should at least try to do something. As she set to work, her mind brief,y wondered to the garden back at Hope's Peak. She was the only person that took time to care for it so far. She didn't know how it will be without her. She can only imagine it being neglected for a long time: over growing weeds taking over and plants dying without the proper care. She only hopes that she could tend to, what she called, her safe space soon before it gets ruined forever.

As Maki worked, she felt an overwhelming sense of being calm. Almost like back at Hope's Peak, but it felt more powerful here. Maybe it's because she wasn't at school where rumours swam about her and she wouldn't have to deal with relentless teasing. Yuuta would come out a couple of times, offering Maki sandwiches and tea and a chance to talk. Maki welcomed it all, feeling like for once she had a real home. It was a wonderful feeling. And she wouldn't want to trade it for anything right now.

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A few hours later, Kaito and Kenzo came home. It was quite late into the afternoon at that point. Maki was sitting on the porch, taking a break as they drove back to the house. She watched silently as they grabbed something from the truck. They both avoided eye contact with her as they went into the basement from the outside of the house. Maki stayed where she was, waiting patiently. She looked out at the scene in front of the house. The sky had slowly started to turn into a peachy orange colour wit some tints of pink. The meadow stretched all the way into the forest, where her view was a little blocked. The grass was untamed, growing as freely as they could, with a few wild flowers decorating the rich green. Maki couldn't be sure, but she could have sworn that she saw a rabbit munching away on some greenery whilst a deer on the edge of the forest seemed to make eye contact with her before it disappeared back into the woods. The sounds of nature played in Maki's ears. Birds sang their melodies as the calm wind seemed to be whistling along. If Maki could take anything from this scenery, it would be all of it. The sprawling city with its noise pollution and crowded streets were nothing compared to the pure innocence of nature.

The peacefulness was interrupted a little as the door slowly opened. Momentarily taking her eyes away from nature, Maki turned to see Kaito smiling down at her, holding two cups of tea in his hands. He passed a cup over to Maki. It warmed up her hands when she didn't realise how cold they started to become.

"Finally! Now we can relax for a bit." Kaito grinned as he sat down next to Maki. As he sat down, he took in the scene, just as Maki had done. The assassin smiled a little, but it faded before Kaito could register it. Something had been on her mind for a while now. Something that she wanted to know since she got up that morning.

"So, why did you freeze?" Maki suddenly asked.

"What?" Kaito exclaimed, blinking in surprise.

"Back at the woods, you froze while we were being chased." Maki reminded. She remembered how Kaito practically froze with fear when the Vampire Hunters were chasing them. He looked absolutely petrified from what had happened at the time. Kaito's eyes became half lidded, unfocused. He seemed to be arguing with himself if he should answer or not. Maki didn't want to push him, but she needed to know, in case it happens again. If the Hunters show up again, and Kaito freezes, there was a high chance of him not returning from the fight alive.

"The same thing happened to my parents, only...they never came home." Kaito finally answered, his voice and face solum. It only took Maki a second to realise what had happened to his parents. So, that was how Kaito lost his parents. He mentioned that they passed away when he was young. To lose them in such a horrible way, when Kaito was possibly still a child, it must have been that traumatic to make Kaito freeze in fear.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Maki consoled, rubbing Kaito's back gently.

"It's okay." Kaito shrugged, trying his best to not look pathetic.

"No, it's not." Maki argued, looking seriously at Kaito. "I wouldn't be too surprised if you hated humans after that."

"For a long time, yes." Kaito muttered, before he looked up at Maki confidently, offering a smile. "But, after getting to know Shuichi and most of my friends, I learned that not all humans are monsters. It's the same with vampires. We have a choice to take human blood or animal blood. What we do after that decides who we are as people, not monsters."

"That's gotta be a lot to burden." Maki commented as she processed all of what Kaito had said to her. The way that Kaito spoke, made it seem like vampires were still human in a way. That they weren't that much different from each other. It was

"It has its moments. I do my best though to push through it." Kaito shrugged as he wrapped an arm around Maki's shoulders, pulling her close to him. Maki melted into his hold as she looked over the meadow again. She was a little surprised again by Kaito's actions towards her. Once again, he was being so open with her. Maki had been open with him, but only a little. She wanted to be more open with him, but doesn't quite know how to do it. Maybe, she can figure it out after the Hunter's Moon finally comes and goes. Kaito has done so much for her, it's time that she repays him for all that. For now, she'll have to do with being held by Kaito as they watched the peaceful scene in front of them. After all, she doesn't know when she'll have a moment like this again. So she'll take full advantage of it while she can.