A New Family

The World of Humans

The wind blew through the long blades of grass surrounding us, making it ripple in waves. A train was chugging away on a bridge off in the distance. A few people were milling around on the roof of a building..... Wait, what?! The world was supposed to be destroyed......

"It's not true that all the adults died," Yuu mumbled. "The world isn't in ruin. L-look Mika. They lied to us...... Was there a point to anything we did?"

I put my hand on his shoulder. "There was a point to all of this. Now we know that we can make it in this world somehow, right?" I explained. Yuu looked at me with wavering eyes and blinked a few times before lunging forward and wrapping me up in a tight hug. Despite the agonizing pain in my shoulder, I hugged him back just as tight. I buried my face in his trembling shoulder and tried to catch my breath; the loss of blood was finally catching up to me. I looked up and pulled away when I heard footsteps approaching the two of us. It was two men and a woman in militaristic uniforms. 

"There they are," the dark-haired man announced. "Just like the prophecy said. Two test subjects of the Hyakuya Laboratory showed up." He smirked at us, taking us in. "You two will help us destroy the vampires."

I looked at the ground as tears filled my eyes once again. I didn't want to think of revenge or killing or anything of the sort. I just wanted to curl up in a bed and get over the loss of most of my family and perhaps get a blood transfusion or something. I was steadily growing more and more lightheaded. 

"Yeah......I'd like nothing better," Yuu responded quietly. "I wanna kill those damn vampires!" He looked over at me to see what my response would be, but I couldn't answer. "Sachi? Are you alright?" Yuu questioned worriedly. I shook my head slightly before falling to my knees. "Sachi!!"

The men and woman ran over to my side. "What's wrong with her?" the woman asked.

"Extreme blood loss and a broken collarbone," Yuu explained hurriedly. He had a hold of my arm and was in my face trying to get me to look at him. 

"I see no open wound, though," the dark-haired man said. Yuu gently pushed my hair aside to reveal the bloody fang holes in my shoulder. The three adults' faces grew grim; the man grabbed my wrist and checked my pulse. "Barely there.... We'd better get her to the hospital ASAP."

"Wait," Yuu protested. "Who are you?"

"I'm Lieutenant Colonel Guren Ichinose of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army," he replied while carefully picking me up. "Let's go," he said to the others. That was the last thing I remember before I passed out.

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I woke up in a bed with an absolutely massive headache; I groaned and shielded my eyes from the blinding sunlight. I heard a low chuckle coming from the other side of the bed.

"So you've finally woken up, have you?" Guren asked.

I turned to face him. "Um....yeah," I replied quietly so as not to further pain my head. "Where am I, exactly?"

Guren's face turned serious. "You're in the hospital, Sachiko. Do you remember anything?" he said. I shook my head slightly and watched him attentively for answers. "Well, you passed out after me and my team showed up and told you and Yuuichirou about our plans. We-"

"Yuu! Where's Yuu?!" I demanded as I tried to sit up. Guren grabbed my good shoulder and pushed me down.

"He's fine. He's getting a medical check-up right now, just in case," Guren explained. "Anyway, we brought you to the hospital after you passed out. They gave you a couple blood transfusions and set your collarbone. You're lucky they didn't need to operate."

I nodded slightly. "Thanks....." I whispered.

"One of the nurses reported that you were screaming in your sleep last night," Guren told me. "Did you have a nightmare or something?"

I paused for a moment as tears spilled from my eyes. I was really becoming a major crybaby. "Yeah..." I croaked.

"What did you dream about?" he asked with obvious concern lacing his voice. 

"My family.....dying in front of me....... My little sister getting her neck snapped..... Mika bleeding out on the floor.... Everyone getting killed," I explained, my voice cracking as I tried to prevent myself from breaking into sobs. I covered my eyes with my good arm and tried to block out the images I saw in my dream. I heard Guren sigh softly and stand up. He wandered over to the window.

"I know life may seem tough right now, but you just have to hang on until the day comes when you find that staying alive and sane was the right thing to do," Guren advised. "That's what I did."

"But is it even worth it to stay alive?" I whispered. "My real parents were horrible, and the only real family I ever had was just massacred."

"What do you mean your real parents were horrible?" Guren questioned.

"See all these scars?" I asked, gesturing to my scarred exposed skin. "My parents abused me in every way, multiple times a day sometimes. They threw me out of a moving car in front of the Hyakuya Orphanage. The director took me in; she saved my life."

Guren glanced at me with sad eyes. "Sounds a bit like Yuu's past...." he mumbled. "Hey, Sachiko, I'll be right back, okay? I'm going to get someone who might be able to help." 

When Guren left the room, I curled up into a ball and let my tears flow freely. The physical, mental, and emotional pain was unbearable. After a few minutes of depressed sulking, the door to my hospital room slammed open. "Sachi-chan?!" Yuu yelled. My head shot up, and I saw my only remaining family member standing in the doorway with a frantic face. "Sachi, are you alright?"

I jumped out of bed and tackled Yuu in a bone-crushing hug, making us fall to the floor. "Yuu," I whimpered. "I'm so glad you're okay." He was still for a moment, but then he returned my hug and stroked my hair.

"Yeah....you too," he whispered. I was surprised to hear tears in his voice. "Gotta stick around to protect my sister, right?"

I giggled. "I guess so."

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"Hey, I need a favor," Guren told his friend.

"What is it?"

"It's that girl from the Hyakuya Lab. She's been through a lot, obviously. I want you to look after her," Guren explained. "I'll still be in charge of her, of course, but you've always been better with people than me. What do you say?"

"Oh, um...sure. I guess I can do that. Where is she now?"

"She's with Yuu in the hospital. Thanks, Shinya. I owe you one."