• CHAPTER 77 - RUDE AWAKENING

    I thought they were gone for a long time...I'm always the bad assumer.

    .:{{Dream in Arisa's Perspective}}:.

    It was cold, freezing, below freezing. I could feel the goosebumps inching their way all over my exposed skin. The ground beneath my back was hard, even colder than the air. Without opening my eyes, I felt around my surroundings and noted it was stone I was lying on. Stone? Why stone?

    I cracked my eyes open and the stone was everywhere; the floor, the walls, the ceiling, everywhere. But something felt wrong about the way I was lying down. The stone everywhere confused my vision; I was hanging from the wall. I looked to my left and my right wrists and I was correct, I was chained to a wall. But why did I think I was lying down?

    I moaned as the chains on my wrists tightened and what felt like more chains tightened around my ankles and one large chain on my neck. The chain was pressing against my throat, starting to cut off my air supply. The room was dimly lit by oil lamps and a dark chuckle came from a shadow in a far corner.

    "H-hello?" I stuttered, breathing a little heavier than normal for air.

    "I've got to say, your boyfriend did a good job at bringing you over," a dark voice seethed.

    What? I have heard something like that before, but where? I couldn't remember, but I knew I heard that before. I raised my head as I heard quiet footsteps come closer to me and two Vampires glided out of the shadows of the room; a stray Vampire and Kai.

    "The wait was anticipating, but worth it," I could see the Vampire's fangs gleam from the oil lamps.

    The chain around my throat tightened yet again and I was hardly able to speak. The Vampire approached me, Kai following closely behind. Kai's face was apathetic, but I was able to trace pain in some small parts. His eyes were a mix of gunmetal and crimson. The Vampire inched his way towards me and firmly gripped me by my chin. I noticed something familiar about this Vampire...that's it! He was in my nightglare! He was the one that infiltrated me and Kai was right behind him!

    "No," I testified, my breath cut short by the chain tightening yet again.

    "Don't worry, sweetheart, you'll enjoy yourself soon enough," he smirked coyly and sinister, "once I enjoy myself."

    "Kai," I breathed, but he was unresponsive. He only continued to look down with the same apathetic complexion.

    "Kai!" I shouted once more and winced.

    "There's nothing he can do at this point," the Vampire continued to smirk. "He's useless to your benefit."

    The Vampire pulled my chin down a little and examined me. I became infuriated with him and spit right on his face, on his forehead. He wiped the spit off of his forehead and wiped it off on his shirt.

    "Now that was a tad rude..." he gripped me by my ribs and pressed, snapping every one of my ribs with grotesque cracks following shortly after and my shriek after I felt the pain, "wasn't it?"

    My breathing was even harder, what with my throat being squeezed and my ribs in my lungs. I fought for each painful breath and my vision was blurring already. The Vampire popped both of his hands against my legs and both femur bones snapped simultaneously, my next painful shriek following. I glanced at Kai during my screams of pain and this time, he was looking up at me with the apathetic face. I assumed the Vampire was done breaking me, but boy, was I wrong. He snapped all four bones in my forearms and my shins. The final move came where he managed to snap my spine right in half with a snap even more grotesque than the other bones combined. I was useless, limp, dying.

    "This is the consequence of being rude to a Vampire," he smirked.

    He opened his right hand so his talons were pointing down like bars in a cage. He inched his hand to my abdomen and started pressing harder, harder...

    "No, stop!!" I cried, feeling my life starting to slip away.

    The Vampire lifted himself and pressed his lips against the bottom of my jaw, digging his talons further into my abdomen and I could feel the blood trickling down my body and through my shirt. Kai continued to do nothing, continued to be unresponsive. It was hopeless to receive help from him now. I heard the Vampire take in a deep breath and before I could react, he penetrated my jugular vein. I could see some blood spew out a foot or two away from me and I knew the blood was overflowing in his mouth already. He was pressing against my abdomen even harder and his fingers, up to his knuckles, were inside of my stomach. My life was slipping with every second and I instantly blacked out, bidding my farewells to Kai through my head...

    "Stop it!!!!" I shouted out in my sleep, shooting upright and snapping my eyes open.

    Kai launched himself upwards shortly after I did. He stared at me with panic as I curled up and wrapped my arms around myself. He reached for my shoulder and I instantly swatted his hand away and screamed.

    "Go away!!" I shouted again.

    "Arisa!" Kai gripped me by my shoulders and turned me towards him, his eyes consumed by worry.

    I paused and looked down, breathing in stutters. I lifted my shirt halfway to examine my abdomen; no puncture holes. I felt around my limbs and grasped my throat in the fear that I was truly dying. Tears brimmed my eyes and I curled up again and buried my face in my arms.

    "Arisa?" Kai rubbed my shoulder.

    "Wh-where is everybody else?" I asked in a barely audible whisper.

    "Takeuchi and Kira went to get some food," Kai whispered back. "What happened?"

    "I-I..." a nightglare. It was another nightglare I just had.

    "What?" Kai's voice was icy and sinister. "Another?"

    I nodded without looking up at him and he hissed out a colorful word. I curled up again and buried my head in my arms that I wrapped around my legs. I clenched my fists and winced as the nightglare reiterated in my head. I wanted it to go away, I wanted everything to just disappear.

    "Arisa, can you tell me what happened?" Kai gently rested his hand on my back.

    I shook my head, not wanting to retell the dream. If I would tell it to him, I'd start freaking out and Kai would be pissed and worried beyond belief. I couldn't bear the fact that these would be happening more often as my death day nears. But how far away is that day if two nightglares happened within two months?

    "Arisa," Kai caressed me and kissed my head. "Just take it easy for now, okay? You're okay, you're still alive."

    "How could you be acting so calm?" I looked up at him. "How can you act so calm, knowing you'll be the one to kill me in who-knows-how-long?"

    "Arisa lives!" I head Takeuchi shout. Yeah, I live for now.

    I looked over and Takeuchi and Kira were walking over with a couple of baskets in hand which I only had to assume carried our food in it. I looked to the sky and it was colored with a light blue and a touch of pink where the sun was risen. I leaned against Kai's shoulder and sighed deeply and allowed him to wrap his arm around my shoulders.

    "What's wrong with Arisa?" Kira asked, tilting his head and staring at me curiously.

    "It's nothing," I mumbled.

    Nothing for now.

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    I forced myself to push the nightglare out of my mind; I didn't want Kai to freak out if I was thinking about it all the time. Kai wasn't leaving my side, as usual. We came back to the house, but the run on Kai's back was silent. I knew Kai was feeling more and more upset and guilty, but I was oblivious as to how upset and guilty he was feeling. I knew it was something I would never understand about him, no matter how much he would ever want to reveal to me. But one thing I did know was that the guilt was eating him alive, much like it was when Takeuchi and I were in the hospital.

    Kira and Takeuchi didn't bother to ask what was wrong with me, neither did anybody in the house. I didn't know if Matsuda and Orihime knew what nightglares were, but I didn't want them to know I was having them. I started thinking to myself that maybe I shouldn't make it such a big deal if I only had two nightglares within two months. Maybe that just means my death is really further than it is closer. Who knew? I was only confusing myself with my attempt at deep philosophy.

    "Hey, you graduate soon, right?" Kai asked me while we sat on his bed and he helped me with the laundry folding.

    I nodded, "Yeah. At the end of the month." we were trying to change the subject whenever we could, even though it's been a couple of days since my last nightglare.

    "We need to throw a party for you," Kai offered. "You're lucky you graduated."

    "Oh shut up," I sighed. "I wouldn't be graduating if you hadn't ended up helping me."

    "You're welcome," Kai smiled at me, but it didn't reach his eyes.

    I paused for a moment, "We should go into town and get something for Takeuchi," I looked up at Kai. "It's his birthday in a couple of days, isn't it?"

    Kai nodded and he smiled again after a moment, "And I've got the perfect idea as to what to get him,"

    "Do you?" I cocked my head.

    "Yep," Kai nodded, "and we'll go into town to pick it up."

    I smiled and nodded, my mind changing its course from melancholy to uppity. I was looking forward to Takeuchi's birthday. We'll be the same age for about another month, then I'm turning eighteen.

    "Hey, Kai," I spoke up. "We should get something for Miku and Toshihiro too since Miku didn't have a baby shower."

    Kai stared at me in confusion, "You want me to go baby shopping with you?"

    I took a moment to think about that and my face fell, turning red, "Oh," I stumbled. "Um, y-yeah, I guess."

    Great, another awkward moment but I'd rather thrive on an awkward moment that dwell on a nightglare. I hadn't imagined a perfect night like the last full moon would be ruined so quickly. It was still amazing though, the continuous feeling of freedom and the open air. Kai was right; I would be overtaken at how much land Matsuda and Orihime owned. They owned land up to a five mile radius around the house.

    "Would you enjoy doing that again?" Kai knocked me out of my train of thought.

    I nodded slowly, "Yeah,"

    Kai's light smile disappeared and he looked down and away from me. His shoulders slumped slightly and I could tell he was blaming himself for the nightglare. I wrapped my arms around his broad left arm and leaned up and kissed his neck three times.

    "Don't dwell on it," I whispered to him in his ear. "Please."

    "I've already explicated to you," Kai sighed in a whisper. "I won't have any authority over myself."

    "Maybe that time is coming later than we think," I whispered again. "Maybe those Vampires are trying to scare us."

    Kai was silent and I was pretty sure he was denying what I was saying. I kissed the underside of his ear lightly and pressed my lips against his stiff and cold neck. I sighed deeply, giving up on trying to convince him anymore. I reached my left hand down and grabbed his hand. He voluntarily played with my fingers and I turned my hand just right so the diamond on my ring shone in the light.

    "We still have a wedding to plan," I whispered again, hardly audible to myself.

    Kai turned towards me and quickly lowered me backwards and I was on my back and he was hovering right above me. He lowered his head and kissed my ear while simultaneously twisting locks of my hair in his hand. He kissed my ear a little harder and sighed, his cool breath spreading all over.

    "I'm trying," he sighed. "I'm trying..."

    "I love you," I sighed. "I trust you, no matter the future consequences."

    Kai nibbled on the top of my ear dantily, causing me to shiver from light excitement. He kissed my forehead and then my cheek, "I love you too," he whispered.

    We both knew that nothing could pull us apart in the future. We knew this contract was getting the better of both Kai and I. It's something that's most likely unstoppable now...not that it was very stoppable in the first place. I could even feel the guilt eating away at Kai with every breath he took. I didn't want him to suffer anymore; he'd be able to move on, right? I never wanted anything to drive us apart and I felt as though nothing could...

    ...Excluding my death sentence.