To Set Things Right (a Moonchild fic? what is this IDE...)

[radhaj]

Title: To Set Things Right
Pairings: none, but if this had gone on, it would have become Tetsuya/Kei
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Let's leave Gackt the ownership of his precious movie
Warnings: none, really
Note of explanatoriness: Honestly, I never intended to write a Moonchild fic, but I was talking with a friend about how frustrating the movie is, with Sho being a complete (selfish) idiot and Kei a self-pitying one, and how there should have been someone inteligent and decisive enough to balance it out so the things would have gone better. Tetsuya came to mind. The drabble got written, and then I realized how long it has been since I actually posted anything, and the rest is history.


To Set Things Right

“Sometimes, I wasn't even sure anymore if there are any other vampires left alive except for me,” Kei spoke, a bit distrustfully staring at the not-quite-stranger who was standing across the room from him and keeping his voice down not to disturb Sho who had yet to wake after his change and was sleeping restlessly in the bed in the next room, “Not even someone like you.”

“Mallepa might be a good city for finding incredibly easy prey that won't be missed, but most vampires rather take the risk than live in the screwed up society of this hell-hole,” the other man answered confidently, “You might indeed be the last one left here. Your Sire always has been weird like that, I am not surprised he left you with an impression it would be a good choice to stay here. But believe me, there are plenty left. You just have to know where to look.”

Kei believed the man indeed. He had only met him twice before, right after he had been turned himself and after Luka... died. Tetsuya, The Keeper of the List. Probably the only vampire to actually have a title and a role in their twisted, blood-lust infected world. Luka only whispered rushed explanations to him about this man. Rumours went he was the oldest, maybe even the first, but rumours were always exaggerated anyway and nobody knew what should be actually believed. The man never cared to shed some light upon himself, however, and all anyone knew for sure is that no matter what, when a new vampire was turned or when an old vampire died, Tetsuya would appear. No-one knew how he sensed where he'd have to be, but it was fact that he was the only one that had the complete list of those of their kind that were alive at any given time.

“So... This Sho. Our new kin. Tell me about him,” the taller man prompted him after a few moments of silence as he finally sat down on a chair opposite of Kei and looked very much prepared to listen. Kei wondered if it was routine. Did Luka have to talk about him to this man too? He wondered what his Sire had told about him then, the spoilt brat that he had saved from himself. He also wondered if this was some kind of test, and he was supposed to justify why he had turned his only friend. Or maybe prove that Sho deserved his new immortality.

Whatever was the reason, the older vampire asked the question, and whatever he intended to do with the information once he got it, Kei found himself starting to talk and soon was blurting out the whole story from the beginning, because even though he never thought about it before, he needed someone to listen to him. He needed to talk, to get it off his chest, and there was finally someone here to talk to.

He didn't know how long it took for him to finish, but Tetsuya had stayed quiet the whole time barely moving, and Kei could feel the other's whole attention focused on him. When the words had run out however, the man closed his eyes and sunk deep into thought seemingly. Kei held his breath, waiting for the verdict, or judgment, or whatever it was that was coming, and after a minute or so of tense silence, the other vampire opened his eyes again.

“So if I understand right, your friend went out seeking out death, though he knew he would be leaving his daughter without a parent? All for the sake of revenge, and despair in the heat of the moment?” the man asked, and even his voice betrayed no emotion, Kei was left feeling rather scolded for some reason. Those were the exact same things that bothered him about the situation the most too, the thought that Sho would apparently carelessly abandon his daughter, blindly trusting Kei to take care of her, all for his own petty reasons. But Tetsuya's wording was even more unforgiving than the younger vampire's thoughts ever came close to being. Regardless, the blonde nodded in response.

“You are a vampire, boy. You could have stopped him, with one hand ties behind your back. And since you have taken the responsibility of guiding that human through life, that is what you should have done,” the voice was still even, but the tone didn't have to be accusing for the words to be so, “Your Sire has failed you,” the next words came as surprise, and Kei was taken aback by the change of subject, “He was supposed to get you ready for life on your own before leaving you, but the solitude that he actually chose for himself became too heavy a burden for him too soon, and you were left alone while still but a child. He taught you no confidence he should have instilled in you. Only insecurities, self-hate and doubt, all the feelings that have no place in the mind of a creature as powerful as we vampires are. He was too crude for this life himself. I should not have left you alone after his death, it was my duty to take over, but I underestimated his shortcomings as a Sire. Because of him, you were left with the belief you deserve to be nothing but a wimp.”

Kei winced at the last word, knowing it to, once again, be the allusion to his inability to stop Sho from striding towards his own death. His heart was beating fast from all the harsh words, his heart rebelling against hearing his old friend and Sire be talked about in his way, but his mind supplied that the man before him was right. Luka never showed him any reason to see himself as anything but a monster or to keep holding onto this life, other than the fear of death. And here was Tetsuya, obviously older than he could even imagine, proud of his heritage. There was obviously something that Luka failed to impart to him, or probably more likely – something he had failed to understand himself.

“As I said before, your Sire had always been a bit weird. However, I apologize for failing you after him. I will attempt to make up for it now, however.”

Kei's eyes, which had been affixed to the floor guiltily, suddenly snapped upwards at those words, and he stared quizzically at the other.

“What do you mean?” he whispered, confused.

“I will try to teach you the things that your Sire hadn't, and I will try to stop you from making more mistakes. Such as not noticing, right now, that the man you had turned is about to try and escape from you,” the man explained, as intonation-lessly as ever, and that was exactly why it took Kei a few seconds to understand what he said. But when he did, he snapped up to his feet and slammed through the door leading to the room where he had left Sho sleeping, only to see the newly-turned vampire was swervingly approaching the window, obviously intending to leave through it. At the sound of his mentor bursting into the room, however, he briefly looked back, but only grimaced and got ready to jump out, with absolutely no intention in his eyes to stop what he was doing. He thought Kei wouldn't actually stop him, the vampire realized.

Kei's vision flashed with determination not to neglect his duties again, the word “wimp” that was repeating in his mind in a dry, colorless tone urging him on, and with the ease that was allowed to him as a vampire he grabbed Sho, pulling him back into the room and throwing him angrily back onto the bed.

“What do you think you are doing?” he hissed as angrily as he had ever been, and from Sho's expression it was obvious the boy hadn't expected it from his usually gentle-voiced and mannered friend. But surprise was soon replaced with a look of matching anger on his face as well.

“You turned me, Kei! I asked you to just let me go, but you just couldn't help it, could you? What do you expect me to do, stay? Raise my daughter when I'm a monster?!”

“Well that's a whole lot better than raising your daughter when you're dead!” Kei shot back, and once again Sho looked taken aback. The older vampire was breathing heavily, and was glaring daggers at the taller man, not even paying mind to the twinge of his heart at hearing Sho call vampires monsters, something he used to argue tirelessly with Kei about, “You were behaving like a monster already when you justified yourself leaving her parentless, dooming her to the same childhood that you yourself had to live through!”

Sho seemed quite subdued by those words, and though anger didn't leave his features, they had frozen, showing that Kei's words actually hit him, and the smaller man sighed in relief. It showed to him that at least deep inside, Sho also understood that what he had chosen to do was wrong. But before he could say anything else, he heard a soft chuckle from behind himself and both he and Sho suddenly snapped to look at who the sound came from. Unsurprisingly, it was Tetsuya standing at the door.

“This is good,” he spoke, his voice showing quite a bit of emotion for the first time in Kei's presence, and it was amusement, “It seems neither of you are as hopeless as I have feared,” he said, lips curling into something between a smile and a smirk.

“Who the hell are you?” Sho asked, obviously torn between surprise and annoyance.

“Someone who doesn't like you much at all,” was the ancient vampire's answer, as he looked at the tall man with a hint of disgust in his eyes, “But someone who feels a duty to help you grow up a little,” he turned more to Kei then, his eyes clearing up, “Let's hope I can straighten the both of you out. I wouldn't wish you to end up like your Sire, I like you too much for that.”

Kei couldn't help but hope so too. At least, he wouldn't have to do any of this alone anymore.

Comments

[skyressfly.livejournal.com]

I like how tetsu seems biased towards kei~ xD

Really liked the story. ^^

[radhaj.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the late reply m_ _m

But yes, of course he's biased towards Kei XD That's what happens when the author is biased towards Kei after all XD

I'm glad you liked it :)