If you had a second chance at life, why would you waste it?
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Riyuki was born with a birth defect; a shrivelled right leg that crippled his walk and caused him to walk with an ugly, clunking leg brace for years to come. Of course, nobody wanted 'Riyuki the retard' to play with them. The other children would run far ahead when Riyuki tried to tag along. Day after day, Riyuki sat in his bedroom alone after school while the other children played games on the playground.
One day, he promised himself quietly, he would make them regret their taunts and cruel words.
The woman who turned Riyuki promised that becoming a vampire would heal all of his handicaps. "You'll have a second chance at life," she promised him. She was right. When Riyuki awoke from his three-day sleep, cold and pale with a lust for blood, his leg had straightened and filled out. He still hesitantly placed his weight on it, still heard the faint clunking noise in his imagination, but Riyuki was whole for the first time in his life.
For the first time in his life, he had his chance at revenge.
Riyuki quickly became known as 'Riyuki the Red', a malicious vampire who enjoyed tearing his victims apart, their blood soaking his clothes and skin. Soon, very soon, all of the humans who had once taunted him were nothing more than shredded piles of skin and bone. Riyuki relished the look of terror on their faces as they realized karma was coming around, and karma was in the shape of a big, bad vampire. They cried, of course. They begged for mercy. But their terrified tears didn’t compare to the many years of teasing that Riyuki had been through.
And so Riyuki killed them.
Riyuki the Red may not have been respected for his gory scenes of killing, but at the very least he was feared. No more pity, no more odd looks being cast his way. People ducked out of his way for a different reason this time around, and Riyuki prided himself on that.
Over time, Riyuki amassed a large group of followers who were very devoted to his, shall we say, cause. These twisted followers enjoyed Riyuki’s lack of compassion towards humans. His most loyal servant was a beautiful young woman named Serena. She often gave her blood to Riyuki on the nights he didn’t feel like hunting. They lived in the Bellevue Hotel, a regal building that Riyuki had relieved of its former owner. Not many of the other vampire gangs liked to stop by the Bellevue, with its crass vampires and bloody displays, but that didn't bother Riyuki. He had everything he wanted.
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One night, a fire swept through the Bellevue Hotel.
Riyuki awoke late, the thick smoke clouding his vampire senses and slowing him down. The flames had already climbed to the third floor where he had slumbered. Vampires may not need to breathe, but smoke and flames make for a very confusing maze. Riyuki stumbled about in the inferno, failing to find his way to the windows but at last happening upon the spiral staircase.
One arm over his eyes, Riyuki crept down the blazing stairs. The fire bit at his skin. Who knew it could be so agonizing? He wanted to scream from the pain, but instead Riyuki bit his lip, sharp incisors piercing the flesh, and continued his treacherous descent.
By the time Riyuki burst from the doors of the Bellevue, flames danced upon his body.
Riyuki threw himself down, screaming now, not caring that half of the vampires were gathered on his front lawn. He writhed about, kicking his legs, anything to ease the hellfire that ate at his flesh.
The last thing he remembered was Serena rushing towards him, and a vampire dressed in white.
********************
It was many, many weeks before Riyuki woke up again.
When Riyuki did awake, he was in a large, white room. The curtains were pulled tight for a vampire’s privacy. After a moment, Riyuki realized he was in a human hospital. It had taken many transfusions of human blood before Riyuki was deemed strong enough to heal.
After another moment, Riyuki realized Kei was standing at the foot of his bed. Kei was a vampire whom Riyuki had tangled with before.
Kei did not like being tangled with.
Riyuki bared his teeth and pulled himself up on his elbows, intent on kicking off his blankets and demanding that Kei get out….but his legs didn’t kick the way he wanted them to.
Why didn’t his legs work?
Kei watched patiently as Riyuki tore off his blankets and stared down at the thick, white bandaging that covered his legs from foot to hip. Riyuki may have been alive, but he did not escape the inferno unharmed.
“Vampires don’t heal from this, Riyuki.” Kei said gently. Riyuki didn’t acknowledge him, still staring at his once-strong legs. Kei sighed.
“It was a fourth degree burn, Riyuki. It went right up to your bones,” he continued.
A part of Riyuki didn’t want to believe him, wanted to tear the bandages off and see for himself why his legs would not work - but a much larger part of him accepted the defeat readily.
Riyuki had been given a second chance at life, and he had wasted it….and this he knew even in his black vampiric heart.
He did not hear Kei leave the room, but when he looked up he was alone with nothing but closed curtains and bandaged legs.
Again.
