"IT'S DANGEROUS TO BE OUT AT NIGHT, YOU KNOW."
I turned to frown at the brown haired man. I hadn't noticed him until he'd spoken. It was strange how silently he'd approached me. His dark brown hair pulled away from his face and feathered out into spikes at the back of his head. His short beard was full and well trimmed. I cautiously eyed the man's larger frame. I couldn't pinpoint the cause of my discomfort, but something felt strange about his aura.
"Are you waiting for someone?" He asked.
I frowned. "I don't think it's any of your business whether I'm waiting for someone or not."
The man chuckled. "My apologies," he said. "I was simply concerned for you. I insist on walking you home if you have no one else to accompany you. It's a gentleman's duty."
"Your offer is kind, but I am waiting for someone." I said politely. "I don't wish to waste your time. Please walk on."
"It's not a waste of time at all," the man said. "Would you allow me to wait here with you until your friend shows up? It wouldn't sit well with my conscience to let you wait alone out here. Haven't you heard? There's a killer out here who's been murdering girls who are alone at night? Jack the Ripper is what he's called. It would be a shame if you ran into him, wouldn't it."
Something clicked with me all of a sudden. "It would," I agreed, carefully narrowing my eyes at the man. "But I don't suppose I've already met him, have I?"
". . . Well aren't you a smart one," the man said with a grin. He casually reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, but I knew that whatever he was reaching for was something dangerous. His voice deepened as he dropped his gentlemanly façade. "I can'tI let you live when you've figured it out. Not that I had the intention of letting you live anyways."
His movements were fast as he suddenly whipped the knife from his jacket and tried to slash at me. I managed to dodge the first stab of his knife thanks to pure luck. It was my nerves that made me jump away from the man the moment he'd moved.
I quickly stepped backwards in an attempt to get more space between us, but Jack the Ripper advanced just as quickly and lunged forward with the knife. This time, I wasn't fast enough.
The knife sliced into my left side, entering a few inches below my heart before sliding diagonally down to the top of my hip bone. I yelped in pain and my first thought was the push away my assailant. Jack the Ripper let me push him away as he chuckled in amusement.
"You're done for," he said. "You put up more of a fight than any of the others I've killed. But you're still just a weak girl."
As he spoke, I examined my wound. I supposed I was lucky that the knife had somehow missed my vital organs, but it still hurt. The left side of my dress was already dyed red. I reached to cover the wound with my right hand, hissing as the stinging throb of pain turned to a burning sensation. This was not good. I would have to be careful about how I moved. Jack the Ripper was fast and I doubted I could dodge his attacks without aggravating my wound.
Jack the Ripper raised his arm to deal the finishing blow and there was nothing I could do to defend myself other than grabbing the man's wrist in an attempt to stop him. Of course it did nothing to truly help me, but I'd made him pause. He laughed and muttered something about my weakness again. He was underestimating me and letting his guard down. I used that to my advantage.
I quickly disarmed the man, slipping out from in front of him and sliding to the side so I could twist his arm. The man yelled and quickly broke free, but the knife hit the stone street with a clatter, bouncing and skidding to the side.
I scrambled to pick up the knife, ignoring the searing pain in my side as I bent to pick it up. My hands gripped the handle just before the killer's. I put distance between us and gripped the weapon with both hands, holding it steadily in front of me.
Meanwhile, Jack the Ripper snarled at me, moving slowly to his feet. "You . . . I won't be beaten by a woman." He pulled another knife from the inside of his jacket.
Though I was no longer defenseless, I still didn't have an advantage. Jack the Ripper was faster than me and remained uninjured. I could scream, but by then it would be too late. As the man's eyes narrowed at me, I realized the only way I'd be able to defend myself from Jack the Ripper was to kill him first. But could I do something like that? I had never killed a person before. Thoughts were racing through my head, worries stacking and building higher until a wave of fear crashed over me.
I froze. I wasn't afraid of dying, but if I died here, it would be different. If I died here, all the work I'd done to find Dio would all be wasted. If the ties that bound us were cut now, it might be impossible to find him later. I couldn't die this time. This time, I had to win. And to win . . .
Jack the Ripper took menacing steps towards me. I knew what to do. I would dodge his attack and then I would stab him. As I envisioned my movements, I felt calmer. My hands were steady and although I could hear my pulse in my ears, it sounded slower to me than it should have.
I saw everything in slow motion as it happened. Jack the Ripper lunged at me just as he had before, knives raking the air just beside me. My knife sank into the man's chest a little too far below his heart to kill him, but it was enough.
My assailant fell to the ground wheezing in an attempt to breathe through his perforated lung. I took a step back as well to avoid the man's wild swipes at my legs with his knife.
I'd done it; I'd defended myself. I put my hand over the fresh wound on my side. The painful stinging and throbbing of my wound was enough to tell me that I was still alive. I wanted to feel the relief of being safe from danger or even guilt for killing another. But I felt empty; it scared me how little I felt.
Death was a terrible thing and murder even crueler. I thought I'd feel terrible for taking away something so important from another person. I told myself that life was important. Even if I never cared much, I wanted to care. I tried so hard to care. But when it came down to it, I'd killed this man without hesitation to achieve my goals. When it came down to it, my view on death was too skewed to understand how normal people felt when they realized they would never be able to experience life again. In the end, I didn't care because I couldn't understand. Perhaps I would never understand how it felt to truly leave everything behind after dying. That thought scared me even more than the emptiness inside my chest.
Then, a voice that was not that of Jack the Ripper spoke up. "You did well, Freya."
I froze at the sound of my name. Then, I slowly turned to look behind me. There sat a cloaked man in a wheelchair. The Asian man who'd left to get Dio for me stepped out from behind the wheelchair. If he'd truly returned with Dio as he'd said, then the man in the wheelchair was . . .
The Asian man nodded at me as if to confirm my thoughts. The man in the wheelchair was Dio. After all this time, I'd found him. I guess it was more appropriate to say he'd found me.
"Jack the Ripper," Dio began. "As entertaining as it would be to watch you die, I think there's a better use for you yet." Dio's eyes began to glow from beneath the shadow of his hood. "You are unfettered by man's petty laws. Such bloodlust is perfect for my army. I can make you an instrument of death. Come here," he said.
Despite his body dying, Jack rose to his feet and stumbled over as if in a trance. I stepped aside, letting the killer pass me and fall to his knees before Dio. I watched in horrified interest as Dio raised his hand to the man's head with outstretched fingers. He leveled his hand with the center of Jack the Ripper's forehead and then pierced them through the man's skull. Jack the Ripper crumpled to the ground dead.
Or so I thought. The body jerked up suddenly, rising to all fours. I realized that Dio had not exactly killed Jack the Ripper. He'd turned him into something else.
Jack the Ripper pulled himself to his feet unsteadily. He stayed in a slouched position for a moment before uttering a low, guttural groan. It seemed his wounds had healed and his lungs were functioning normally again. It was like how Dio had recovered from being shot after he'd turned into a vampire. Jack the Ripper's voice rasped, "hungry . . ."
My blood chilled as the vampire's head turned towards me and his lips pulled into a grin, revealing pointed fangs.
"Not her," Dio said, as he spoke, I suddenly realized that Jack the Ripper was standing right in front of me. I hadn't even seen him move. One second he was slouched over and the next he was on his feet standing just a few feet before me. He'd crossed several meters in the blink of an eye. If not for Dio, I'd have been a quick snack for a hungry vampire.
Jack the Ripper relaxed, heeding Dio's words. How was Dio controlling him? I took a step away just in case Jack the Ripper decided to try again. Although I doubted increasing the distance between us would truly help me, it certainly gave me comfort.
"Wang Chan," Dio addressed his other vampire companion. "Take our new ally to find food. And get something for me as well." Dio said it as casually as suggesting any meal, but I knew that the "food" he was referring to was the blood of another person. I tried not to think about what would happen to the "food" as the other two vampires left Dio and I standing alone in the street.
Now that we were alone and I was out of danger, I was finally able to process the fact that Dio was right in front of me. After all this time, he was really here. Everything that just happened before me felt like some strange dream. To be honest, everything that happened recently felt like a nightmare. I was waiting to wake up and see that Dio was not in front of me and I'd dreamed everything myself.
Even the way Dio looked reminded me of my previous nightmare. His red eyes, glimmering from under the shadow of his hood, were the only features I could make out from his face. I could hear his words from my dream ringing through my mind so clearly that they could have been spoken from his own lips as he sat in front of me.
"How can you say that I'm the same Dio you used to know?"
I'd shaken off my nightmare, telling myself that it didn't matter if Dio was the person I'd always known; it mattered more that he still treated me the same. But the Dio in front of me scared me. The warmth I normally felt from his gaze was gone. Now his eyes felt cold and predatory, leaving me feeling like a rat under the watchful eyes of a cat.
Every day we'd been separated, I imagined what I would do when I saw Dio again. How I would feel. Even though he was finally standing right in front of me, I couldn't help feeling like I was looking at a stranger. I thought I'd feel happier than I felt now. I thought I would be able to run to him and melt into the safety of his arms, but my conflicting feelings froze me in place. Right now . . . why did I still feel so empty?
Then, Dio pulled off his hood, lifting the curtain of shadows away. Although his face was marred with burns and his complexion looked much more pale than that of a human, he was still the same Dio I'd known. Something seemed to pull at me as I stared into his eyes that glowed an unfamiliar red. That color seemed to turn my feelings in my chest like a coin being flipped to the other side. A feeling of calm washed over me like a bucket of water being dumped over my head. As my anxiety disappeared, so did all the worried thoughts in my mind. I was left with only the Dio who was in front of me.
I ran to Dio and threw my arms around him as best I could. "Dio!" My heart seemed to swell with happiness as I hugged him.
Dio pulled me into him, a humming sound in his chest suggesting he was happy. Then, he carefully pushed me away from him. "You are bleeding," he observed. "Your blood smells divine, but I am concerned for your safety with such sweet smelling blood. You might get attacked by a hungry vampire."
"But you wouldn't let anything happen to me, right?" I asked. "You protected me earlier."
Dio chuckled. "I wouldn't let anyone hurt you," he assured me. And then he suddenly changed the subject. "Did you know that vampire saliva has healing properties? It's a faint effect, but enough to heal fang marks and small scratches. Even on a larger wound, it should at least be able to stop some of the bleeding."
I knew where he was going with this. "Dio, you are not going to lick me in the middle of the street."
"It would be dangerous to take you back to my mansion when you're bleeding. Besides, this street is empty."
"T-that doesn't matter!" I sputtered.
Dio frowned. "You have lost a lot of blood already. We must get your wound healed quickly. It's also for your own safety; I would hate for you to be attacked by one of my zombie servants. Besides that, are you alright? You look pale."
I suddenly realized how cold I felt all of a sudden. I guess the adrenaline was fading and the pain was filling it's absence. All my senses came back at once; pain, fear, and exhaustion all knocking me in the head like a stone. All of a sudden it was hard to keep myself on my feet. I felt my knees beginning to give out. I gripped Dio's shoulder to keep steady. His worried eyes met mine.
"Dio . . . I don't feel so . . ."
My eyes opened to darkness. It took me a moment to realize I was looking at an unfamiliar ceiling. I sat up slowly, feeling the blood in my body settling with gravity. I sat on an unfamiliar bed in a similarly unfamiliar room. The whole room was rather dark, lit only by lamps on the wall. The air felt musty and the atmosphere of the room made my skin crawl. I looked down to find my abdomen had been wrapped in bandages. Strangely enough, the wound didn't hurt as much as it had before. Where was I?
As I looked, I noticed two little red lights floating near the ceiling. I paused, wondering what those things were. It felt like they were looking at me. I blinked at them in confusion; the little red orbs blinked back.
I choked down a surprised yelp. Now that I saw the eyes, I was able to pick out the silhouette of a person hanging upside down from the ceiling like a bat.
The shadow swooped down, falling in a crouch before straightening up. It was a younger man with dark hair and sharp cheekbones. He smirked at my surprised expression. "I'll tell master Dio that you've awakened."
So he was there to watch me? Don't tell me he actually watched me the whole time . . . The wood of the door croaked a low tone as the man opened it and stepped into the hallway. The door closed behind him with a click.
I had no idea where I was. I assumed I was somewhere in London, or at least near it, but there was no way for me to know until I could get a look outside.
I pulled the curtains away only to find that the window of the room was boarded up. Of course it was. I sighed and moved on to the dresser. There was nothing inside it besides some spiderwebs and maybe a few spiders. This room really felt like one that hadn't been used in a long time. The only thing that really stood out to me were the jug of water and the vase of roses on the table beside the bed where I'd awakened.
I walked closer to examine the roses. I was never one who appreciated the sentimentality of flowers, but I still appreciated their beauty. I plucked one of the flowers from the vase. It wasn't quite fully bloomed. I wondered if I could use my hamon, but just as I was about to try, a voice rang out from behind me.
"Do you like them?"
"GAH!" I yelped in surprise at the sound of Dio's voice from behind me. I whirled around to face him with wide eyes and then my jaw dropped.
Dio's burns were completely healed and he was standing on his own. He'd healed remarkably fast. There was no trace of the burns that used to scar him. His wounds had healed perfectly.
"Be careful," Dio said. He stepped forward and took my hand, separating my index finger from the rest before raising my hand to his mouth. I realized then that I'd cut myself on the rose's thorns. Dio's tongue trailed over the wound slowly, coaxing out every drop. It was strangely sensual.
When Dio released my hand, I saw that the cut was gone. "I told you vampire saliva has healing properties," he said.
"I never doubted you," I said. "I just didn't want to you 'heal me' in the middle of the street. Speaking of healing, how did this happen?" I asked, gesturing to his person.
Dio smirked. "It was your blood," he said. "I was simply cleaning your wound for you. It's a shame to let spilled blood go to waste, you know. The moment your blood touched my tongue, I felt life energy flowing through me. My burns and the pain in my legs all disappeared."
"I'm glad," I smiled. Then I remembered what Dio had told me earlier about vampire saliva. "When you say you cleaned my wounds . . . you didn't . . . use your tongue did you?"
"Who's to say?" Dio smirked. "Would it bother you if the answer was yes?"
It felt strange and slightly dirty to know Dio had licked me while I was unconscious. Considering the circumstances, it was much less creepy than it could have been otherwise.
"Yes!" I decided. "You can't just . . . do that."
"Well why not?"
I sighed. I understood that vampires needed blood. If I was already bleeding out, I supposed it was fair game. It wasn't like I could just suck the blood back into my veins. But that wasn't the problem.
"Did you really have to drink my blood?" I asked Dio. He frowned a bit. "I don't mind it," I said quickly. "But it just feels really personal and . . . Could you ask next time?"
Dio barked a laugh at my question, relaxing immediately. "Of course. I will ask next time," he assured me. "But you were unconscious and bleeding and I had to stop it."
"Right. Well I'll lick you when you're asleep then and see how you feel about it when you wake up."
Dio smirked. "Oh, I'm sure I'd be happy. Assuming you know where to put that tongue of yours."
"Alright, enough!" I smacked Dio's arm, blushing furiously.
Dio laughed again and we lapsed into a short silence as his laughter faded and my embarrassment waned.
"I missed you greatly," Dio admitted. "Truthfully, I wished for you not to see me in this pitiful state. I planned to gather my strength, defeat Jonathan, and then return to you. I had hoped you could wait for me, but it was difficult to part from you. I am glad that you didn't wait," Dio admitted. "It was fortunate that our paths crossed tonight."
I smiled. "It was," I agreed. "Are you feeling better now that you're all healed?"
"I am. Because you are here." Dio said. He suddenly embraced me and all my thoughts popped and disappeared like bubbles. "Freya . . . I missed you."
I smiled, feeling the warmth bubbling up inside. "I missed you too," I said. Perhaps Dio had changed, but I didn't mind.
My eyes slipped closed and I leaned up to meet my lips with Dio's. Our tongues entwined passionately and I could feel the heat of his kiss stirring up a fire inside me. I had missed him so, so much. At that moment, I didn't care where I was. As long as Dio was there too, it didn't matter. I was happy.
__________________________________________
JAMAIS VU
[zha - meh - vu]
French (ʒa. mɛ. vy)
"Never seen"; the opposite of deja vu
Refers to the phenomenon of a person feeling
that something/someone familiar is unfamiliar
despite knowing rationally that this is not true.