Hakumei~Chapter 6

Chapter 61

I am sitting across from a stranger seated behind a bland and nondescript desk. He is looking at me over steepled fingers, which are long and tapered. Elegant. Artist fingers, best suited to a brush or a pencil. Mine, not so. Maybe that explains the vague inadequacy I feel in my artistic abilities. I haven’t got the hands for it. Absently thinking, I realize that he has not given me his name as of yet. Gee, I wonder if he even has one? Agh. I shouldn’t say that. Shut up, mind! 2

But this is really all too weird. I wonder what time it is? It feels like an eternity. Maybe I won’t go to school tomorrow. I cheer up considerably. I don’t feel like dealing with Seiichi, if he even comes to school tomorrow. He missed it today. Finally the person across from me speaks. 3

He is nondescript, like his desk; a man with short-cropped black hair, brown-black eyes, a little short, could be any businessman standing next to you on the subway. Creepy, huh? My feelings exactly. He looks like anyone and everyone and I don’t know if I would even recognize him were I to run into him on the street. This is what goes through my head as we sit across from each other, me waiting for him to speak, him organizing his thoughts--or just watching me. There is a large window--more of a wall of glass really--that looks down onto the designs of the floor below. They are much more beautiful up here, and I look through it, showing uncharacteristic patience.4

“Do you ever wonder, Ms. Arai, secluded as you are, about the workings of our society?” His voice, like his looks, like clouds, not memorable; not forgettable. I sense a rhetorical question. “No…I don’t suppose you have…” He stands and faces the window, back to the room elegant hands clasped behind his back. I clench my fists against the slight jibe. 5

“There must be organization in vampirism, Akane,” his words unknowingly mirror Kaz’ exactly. 6

“At least, such organization is a hope, an ideal. It’s not very realistic, but we must continue to attempt true peaceful autonomy or we will be destroyed. It may be a futile struggle, a wish against time and fate. Certainly it seems that there are few of us indeed who think this way, who believe that someday there will be peace and the world will know of us.”7

“Which is why disturbances cannot be tolerated.” He looks at me, eyes sharp. 8

“What you see before you is a place rebuilt just after the second World War. Yes, not even here escaped the bombings. It is where, for the most part, the yagari kikaku, yagari project, is based. For the most part this organization is made up of vampires who willingly are the governing power of this city’s rather extensive underworld. There are many such projects worldwide, the most prevalent being scattered throughout Europe, here, and, of course, the United States.” A hard edge creeps into his voice at the mention of that last country. I guess vampires have longer memories, and bigger grudges, than human society. That happens when you live through too many things.9

“We exist to ensure the council’s power and influence in our respective countries. We are an experiment in peaceful coexistence. We take care of disturbances and uprisings, handle disputes, and, when called upon, assist human groups. I guess you could say that we police the activities of vampires.” He sees my surprise and continues. 10

“This really shouldn’t come as a shock. While, as a race, it is impossible to rise to the surface of society, we are like a system of veins running through this planet. People just don’t see us. While it is true that the average people have no idea that we exist, most governments, intelligence, and military group leaders have full knowledge of us. It is fortuitous that we help them, because a good rapport is essential, or they would not tolerate us. It is helpful to them, too, that we can do things that they are not capable of.”11

The phrasing of that last sentence jerks my thoughts back to Ian. I force my heart to slow down from almost sleeping-human rate and listen.12

“Now, this ‘project’, for we have found no better name, that you see is the largest group in northeastern Asia. It has to be. Tokyo seems to draw in all the psychopaths. It must be something about the concentrated number of people. It is far too easy to disappear and never be even thought of again. So, you see the imperative in governing and law enforcement. This, I am afraid, is where you come in.”13

I avoid eye contact when he turns to look at me, and wait for the inevitable. This whole conversation has been giving me the willies like nobody’s business.14

“You should count yourself lucky that the council takes an interest in reform. If you ask me, they are too old for their own good, and have too many air headed ideas. If it were up to me…let’s just say you wouldn’t be sitting here.” He smiles, flashing teeth, a smile with no humor behind it. I am beginning to cultivate a great distaste for this man, and just want to get out of here, to forget the past few days, to continue a separate existence from all of this. Up until yesterday, I never even thought about murder, or vampiric criminal ramifications…..I just want to forget this whole thing. It’s far too late for that, in any account. And Gods don’t listen to vampires, I think bitterly.15

“Like any government, our council funds programs and loopholes that waste valuable funding in stupidity. Even though we are as of yet a race without a country.” My temper is beginning to flare at the poorly veiled insults. Dammit. Who does he think he is?! Wait. I don’t want that question answered.16

“Anyways, I’ll let someone else explain the rest. I will only say that you’ll be working for us for a time. Think of it as a temporary job. There’s about ten like you working for us at the present, and I expect you’ll meet them soon. All you criminal types will doubtless get along. Good-bye, Akane Arai.” With that he walks across the room and holds open the door. It is clear I am to leave.17

I run down the stairs to ground level, muttering to myself about people who think they’re so good, thoughts of guilt swirling through my head. Unsuspectedly, and rather painfully, I run smack into someone walking briskly in the opposite direction.18

“Owww….” we moan in unison, then laugh. Rubbing my head though the pain is quickly fading, I look up into luminous maroon eyes and gasp a little at the wincing face in front of me.
“ Hey, you must be the ‘Kane that Kaz warned--er--TOLD me about. It’s nice to meet you, I’m Celyn.” There is a twinkle in his eyes as he extends an arm feathered with scars, and I assume that the “warned” was a joke. 19

Another foreign name, Celyn. I like the way it feels in my mouth. He speaks flawless Japanese, only a small inflection wrong here and there. As I mutter yet another introduction, sick already of this whole affair, I look at him through my eyelashes. 20

In front of me stands a tall, slim, extremely pale-looking 25 or something seeming vampire. But that’s not really what made me gasp. He has the strangest features. As I said, dark maroon, clear eyes set off by shaggy blond hair and a hawk-like nose. His mouth is curved into a careless smile. Altogether, his looks are…distinctive. Not bad in the least, just…inhuman. Even the eyes…red is rare for vampires. So are my violet, but less so. 21

“So, Kane, do you always sprint everywhere you go?” There is a smile in his voice, but I am really too tired to meet all these ’people’. I sigh.22

“What do you want?” My voice sounds tired.23

He frowns. “ Wow. That’s some welcome you‘ve got there, seeing how I‘ve been hurrying to meet you…. Anyways, it’s getting pretty late, well…you were late, so…” He runs a hand through his hair, in a gesture that I pass off as nervous. He sees the look on my face and smirks.24

“I see you’ve met Sotomura.” He gives me a conspiratorial look then leans in and whispers “We call him the haiena. The hyena. It‘s fitting, right?”25

I can’t help it. A snort of laughter escapes me. He bows slightly, in a gentlemanly fashion, and offers his hand, saying something in a foreign language. Picking up on my bewilderment, he smiles.26

“May I accompany my lady outside?” I shake my head, and walk. He drops his hand and catches up to me.27

“You are just a bucket of joy, aren’t you? Geez…” He is thankfully quiet as we head across the great cavernous area once more. 28

“ Knowing the old haiena in there, I assume he’s left you with more questions than answers, right?,” not waiting for an answer he continues, “And now it’s going on two in the morning…..” He sighs. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll go by your high school tomorrow and get you, so there’s less time wasted in wandering about, hmm? Then you can meet the people you’ll be working with. I’m one of them, in case you haven’t gotten the message.” 29

I stop in my tracks and Celyn keeps walking for a few more, then stops, still looking ahead. In a voice too quiet for human ears a whisper floats back at me: “we all have our pasts“. And it seems the carefree Celyn is lost in his own thoughts as we continue upward, and go out through the house. It is only once we are back on the street that he snaps back to reality, forgetting whatever painful memories my unfortunate reaction dredged up.30

“ I’ll find you tomorrow, so…what’s your high school called?”31

I give him the name, then step out into the gently raining night, the quiet punctuated in miniscule splashes, music to supersensitive hearing. When I get almost to the end of the street I look back, intending simply to compound the location of the building in my mind, and see Celyn, still standing there, looking out into the hardening downpour with a rueful look on his face, lost again in memories, I suppose. He sees me looking and waves, retreats inside. 32

I run, and each drop becomes a single sheet of water that drenches me to the skin, the rain-music becomes one endless roar, I smile into the water, and the night carries on.