There are certain known facts about vampires. They revile change. They are obsessive-compulsive. They are illogical. They are cursed. They will burst into flames in sunlight.
They are dying.
With less than a hundred vampires left in the world, Yas...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
August had to treat the Circle like a house, though a very convoluted one. A maze was a more apt descriptor. Doors would lead him to other rooms and memories, but never to another floor or time of Yasuko's life. Windows served as a suitable route to a different level, taking him either further into her past or closer to her present, but stairs were more convenient way of moving between the stages of her life. And sometimes, when his urgency was at its peak, he could simply step through the memories. Those experiences proved disorienting, however, so he kept to the stairs, making rapid way towards his bedroom in the Cage.
He rushed past scenes of Yasuko in repose, in battle, and in all other various states of activity. A handful of times, he spied younger versions of Sakura, to the side or in the background. Sometimes Yasuko would curl around her sister like a moth drawn inexorably to flame, but those moments were fewer than he would have expected. Was she hiding the memories of her sister from him?
He was reminded of the bird, choked between Yasuko's small hands. How deeply had it been ingrained, the need to love something coupled with the fear that someone else would destroy it? The instinct to break the things she cherished, before someone else could?
Oh, Yasuko.
He didn't mean for his heart to break for her. He doubted she'd appreciate pity, proud as she was. But how couldn't he be sad? How couldn't he be afraid, and worried, and upset?
