The Academy - Side B

Blood and Dreams (The Bloodstained Demon Pt. 3)

This ain't an AU ;)

Kazu's eyes shot open, and he sat up, gasping for air and clutching his night shirt around the chest. Wildly looking around the room, he started to calm down after he realized where he was.

There's no death here. I'm not a demon covered in blood. Eri's not dead. We're getting married in the morning.

Unfortunately for him, he could still see blood on his hands, even with the dim light of the fireplace.

He gulped, careful not to wake a sleeping Marcus, with whom he was sharing the room. Hands shaking, he brought them closer to his face to try and make the blood disappear. It faded from his vision for a moment, bit returned in no time at all.

The little spots were covering his forearms, while the bigger blots were on his hand and fingers.

"Why won't you go away?" Kazu whispered, tears dripping down his nose and cheeks. "Why have you been here all these years?"

It had been many years since he'd first started seeing blood on his hands. He hadn't breathed about it, convinced that they would think he was mad. What else would they say about a person who saw blood that wasn't really there?

But it was distinct. It was even spaced out in such a way that it looked like he'd been stabbing people left, right, and center.

I'm not mad. I know what I'm doing these days. I can understand the world around me. I'm NOT mad.

I am completely sane. If I was mad, people would see.

I'm not mad. I'm not going mad.

A knock on the door jolted him out of his inner monologue. He quietly left his bed and opened the door.

Kazu wasn't surprised to see Eri there. Rather, he was relieved.

"Can't sleep?" He whispered.

She shook her head. "I've been trying for hours. I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"No, I was awake anyway. Let's go downstairs."

He held her hand as they walked down the stairs and into the back garden. There were a few chairs set up around the back door; Kazu settled into one before looking up at Eri and holding out his arms.

Eri found herself on his lap, one arm around her waist, the other in her hair. She noticed that his heartbeat was faster than usual, and he seemed tense. She could have told herself it was wedding nervousness, but given that there had been tear tracks on his cheeks when he'd opened the door, and how he was shaking a little...

It must have been a horrible nightmare.

"I'm here, Kazu," she said softly. "I'll always be here for you."

"T-thank you," he mumbled. He couldn't see the blood anymore, for which he was grateful. Kazu knew Eri had something to do with it. Perhaps it was the way she and her innocence brought him peace.

"It's finally the day," Eri continued. "The sun will rise in some time, and then Marcus will take you to his house to get ready, while Lila and I will be here."

"The next time we'll see each other will be at the ceremony, where we will recite our vows. Did you give the envelope to your grandfather?"

"Of course!" Eri pretended to be shocked. "As if I would forget something so important."

"You forgot to stitch your wedding dress."

She was laughing now, laughing so hard that her sides hurt. When she finally calmed down, Eri looked up and kissed Kazu on the lips. "Is it wrong to want to stay like this forever?" He murmured against her lips. "Just us, nobody else."

"No, it's not," she breathed, her hand curling into a fist on his chest. "Why would you even ask that?"

He said nothing, but started at his hands in silence. The blood had slowly faded away from his vision, and he let out a sigh of relief. No madness, he thought. I'm not going mad. The last thing he needed was to lose his composure the night before his wedding.

Kazu made a mental note to never tell anyone about the blood he saw on his hands every few days. Well...everyone except perhaps Eri. If she was the reason behind the blood fading away, then maybe she should know.

"Eri...there's something I need to tell you."

She looked up at him, her warm brown eyes clearly expressing her love for him and her wish to hear his voice more. "What is it?"

Taking a deep breath, he began.

"I...over the years, I've been seeing blood on my hands. Human blood. I know it's not really there, but it's so vivid, as though it's really there."

"Kazu! Why didn't you tell anyone? How long has this been happening?" The worry in her voice was evident. She cupped his face in her hands and looked him in the eye. "Answer me!"

"I'm not sure." Try as he might, he couldn't look away. If he wanted to, he could pull his face away. But the force of her gaze was so intense that he had to keep looking. "I know I saw it after we graduated from school-" He paused. Eri still didn't know what he'd done to Alistair. "I remember seeing blood on my hands while I was at your farm that summer."

"Why didn't you say anything?" She whispered. "Why?"

It would have been better if she'd lost her temper. The disappointment in her voice was too much to bear. 

"I was afraid." For the first time in years, he openly confessed to being afraid of something.

"Afraid of what?" Eri's voice was gentler now.

"Of everyone thinking I'd gone mad."

"Let them think what they like," Eri said firmly, still cupping his face. 

"That's not all...when I'm with you...I don't see the blood."

Her eyes widened. "You don't?"

"No. You make the blood go away."

Stunned, she stared at him in silence for a few moments, before breaking into a smile. "Well then, if that's the case, it's a good thing you're marrying me in a few hours."

Sunrise and sunset had always been special moments for them. In those few moments before the sun fully rose and their friends invaded their privacy, Eri and Kazu shared a kiss as innocent as their first. The hands with engagement rings on their fingers held each other as lips touched to communicate what words were never enough to say. What "I love you" or "Thank you" wouldn't communicate half as well as the kiss.

A white and gold dress stood near the window of Eri's room. As the sun rose, it shone with the first light of the day. The first light of the day.

And the​ wedding day is here!!