Junjou Vampire

Counting The Losses

Akihiko stumbled through the trees as the screams of the battle behind him faded away he noticed he’d gotten himself lost. He swore under his breath and wiped the relentless tears from his eyes before coming to a stop and trying to see in the darkness to find the right direction. Heavy footsteps sounded close by and he crouched down, hoping they would pass, but then he heard a familiar voice and stood back up. “Usagi-san? Usagi-san I saw you come this way.” Akihiko ran towards the voice and bumped into Takahiro. He gathered the man in his arms and took a deep breath. “Hiroki’s down. We have to get out of here.” Takahiro gasped and pushed his friend away.

“Hiroki’s gone?”

Akihiko nodded and started to move forwards, the way Takahiro had come from. “Let’s go. We need to keep moving.” Takahiro put a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder before following him through the woods.

They made it back to the safe house just before dawn and saw only a few people had returned. Takahiro went to search for his parents while Akihiko was left stood on his own, to mourn for the friend he’d started to love. He sank down to the floor and leaned against the wall to watch other’s searching the gathered people for family or friends and either breaking down or hugging each other tightly. There were so many losses that night, of the 84 that went, only 20 returned. Akihiko felt the weight on his young heart like lead and wondered why his father had even attempted to take them on with so little preparation. His father must have known it wouldn’t work out and many people would die. Akihiko scanned the crowd for his father and half-brother but saw neither of them among the survivors. He sighed as his eyes were drawn to his friend Takahiro who was walking over to him, his head hung low shoulders shaking from crying. His parents never made it back.

                                                                                 o0o

Misaki yawned and rubbed his eyes as he made his way down the stairs, the house was too quiet. The usual bustle of his parents making breakfast and his brother rushing around for school. “Nii-chan?”

The little brunette padded into the kitchen to see it empty, he scratched his head and searched the whole house but found that neither his brother nor parents were home. Tears began to fill his little eyes and he fell to the floor by the front door, crying for them to come home and not leave him alone.

                                                                                    o0o

Takahiro stood in front of his friend and suddenly fell to his knees, barely suppressing the sobs that ached to be released. Akihiko sighed and reached out to him, gathering him in his arms and holding him as he grieved for his lost parents. “I…I don’t know what to do.” Akihiko soothed him by gently smoothing his hair. “I don’t know how I’m going to look after Misaki and-“ Takahiro broke off and leapt to his feet. “Misaki! I’m sorry, I have to get home. Misaki’s probably awake by now.”

Akihiko stood slowly and put his arm round his friend. “Do you want me to come with you?”

Takahiro looked up at him and nodded. “If you wouldn’t mind. I’m not sure how Misaki’s going to cope without our parents.” Akihiko lead his broken friend from the hall and round to his car. “Thank you, Usagi-san.” Akihiko smiled and shook his head as the engine roared to life.

                                                                                   o0o

Misaki tucked himself into a small ball and curled up by the front door, he would wait for his family to come home no matter what and no matter how long it took them. The sound of a loud car outside startled the young boy and as footsteps approached the door Misaki leapt to his feet and threw himself at the door, flinging it open to reveal his brother and another man. “Nii-chan!” Misaki launched his little body towards his brother and was swooped up into his arms. “Nii-chan where did you go? I thought you’d left me behind.” The boy cried into his brother’s shoulder and was surprised by how tightly his brother was holding him. “Nii-chan?” The small brunette looked with confused eyes as his brother cried while setting him down. “Nii-chan where are mum and dad?”

At that question, Takahiro felt a hard lump in his throat and forced his tears away. He had to be strong for Misaki, he had to keep his younger brother safe and keep him out of the vampire world. He crouched down in front of Misaki and took his tiny hands in his. “Listen to me very carefully, Misaki. Our parents won’t be coming home anymore they…they got into an accident.”

Misaki started to cry and Takahiro’s heart broke a little more at the sight. He gently smoothed the tears from the red cheeks. “It’s okay, Misaki. They’re up in heaven now. They’ll always be watching over us. If you miss them, you’ll always find them here.” Takahiro placed his hand over Misaki’s racing heart and smiled through his tears. “It’s just you and me now.” Misaki threw his arms around his brother’s neck and cried into his shoulder. “I love you, Misaki. Never forget that.”

“I love you too, nii-chan.” Misaki kissed his brother on the cheek and ruffled his hair. “We’ll always be together.”

 Takahiro nodded and ruffled his brother’s hair back. “Let’s go inside.” Takahiro took his brother’s hand and walked with him inside, looking over his shoulder to see Akihiko stood there, tears glistening in his eyes. He merely nodded before turning and going back to his car, knowing the decision Takahiro had made and that he would probably never see his friend again.

Takahiro tucked Misaki into bed and held onto his small hand. “Misaki?” Misaki opened his eyes and looked up at his brother. “Things are going to be different from now on. I’m afraid that I won’t be around as much to play with you because I’ll have to work harder. Do you understand?” Misaki nodded and pushed away the sadness he felt, he had to be strong for his nii-chan and show that he could be helpful too. “Nii-chan.” Misaki reached over and put his hand on his brother’s head, patting it gently. “I want to help too. I don’t want nii-chan to suffer on his own.” Takahiro’s eyes filled with tears and he smiled, planting a kiss on Misaki’s nose. “We’ll talk more in the morning. You need to get your sleep now, okay?” The small boy nodded and retracted his hand before snuggling into the duvet and falling asleep almost instantly.

Takahiro made his way down the stairs and took down all the photos of his parents, he knew it would be better for Misaki not to linger on their deaths because now the Takatsuki’s would be fully aware of who all the hunters in the area were and would be tracking them and their families down. He had to get his brother away from it all, somewhere safe and protected. He ran his thumb over a picture of his mother, father and him on the day Misaki was born. The small bundle of cloth in his mother’s arms was Misaki, only his chubby fist in the air was visible. Tears spilled from his eyes as he smashed the picture down on the floor in anger. How could the Usami’s cause this devastation to his family? He knew that Fuyuhiko was aware of the odds stacked against them, yet still he led them on the suicide mission. Takahiro fished his phone from his pocket and saw that the numbers he had on speed dial he would no longer need. His mother, his father, Hiroki and finally…Usagi. He choked on a sob, knowing that in order to protect his brother he would have to shut Usagi out of his life for good. He couldn’t risk getting involved in that world anymore, not when he had Misaki to protect.