• CHAPTER 134 - LOSE IT ALL

    How far is far enough before it's time to let go? How much do you need to be prodded to fear almost everything?

    My body was unconsciously tossing and turning in my sleep, but not too much. Sweat was beading down my neck and back as my breathing was kicking in. My feet were rubbing together, as they usually did during a dream. Time was running quickly but it was as though I was running through knee-high mud.

    With a gasp, I woke up with my face smothered in my pillow. It happened again; the dream of my parents' murder. Only this time, it was very different--and scarier. I figured nothing could be scarier than the actual murder of my parents, but the murderer was incomprehensible. I was held against a wall by Minoru and Kaiba and forced to witness Kai murdering my parents, as he was supposed to. the murder had made me sick to my stomach. Just as I was about to pass out, Kai had licked the blood from his fingers, leaving no evidence behind.

    Surprisingly, when I woke up, Kai didn't move an inch. I glanced behind my shoulder and he was still sleeping like a rock with his arm draped over my waist. The alarm clock on the nightstand said it was almost noon; almost everybody would be sleeping, since a majority of the residents were nocturnal. I'd have woken Kai up to keep me from freaking out, but he hadn't slept on a regular schedule for a while. I slowly lifted the covers off of me and started sliding off the bed, only to have Kai weakly grip my nightgown and try to pull me back. I smiled sentimentally and pried Kai's hand off and kissed his cheek. Right after I climbed off of the bed, I slid into a jacket, trying to hide the marks on my neck and chest.

    After noticing nobody was downstairs, I immediately exited the back door. I was right; Matsuda was tending to his blooming garden. I approached him slowly and nervously, "Hello, Matsuda,"

    Matsuda looked back and smiled at me, "Good afternoon, Arisa,"

    I crouched next to him, "Gardening?"

    Matsuda nodded, "They've finally grown. We're going to have a fresh meal tonight."

    There was a pause before I blurted out my question, "Matsuda, what do you know about nightglares?" I decided to ask, although the dream I just had wasn't necessarily a nightglare.

    Matsuda's eyes widened a little and he looked at me seriously, "You've started having them?"

    I fondled with my fingers, "My first one was in February, when I was with Akatsuki,"

    Matsuda ran his hand through his hair, "Oh," he thought for a moment. I was concerned; Matsuda actually looked somewhat afraid for once.

    "Kai already told me what they were," I explained, hoping I'd ease him the trouble of explaining. "I just wanted more of an insight."

    Matsuda sighed and thought for another moment. He stood up and brushed the dirt off of his knees, "Come with me,"

    I scrambled to get onto my feet and I nervously followed Matsuda back inside. He stopped at the kitchen sink and started washing his hands in lukewarm water. The silence was uncomfortable and eerie, causing my insides to churn.

    "Nightglares are caused by Vampires," Matsuda started, looking down at his hands as the speckles of dirt washed off. "They manage to delve into somebody's mind in their sleep and induce a horrifying dream on them.

    "In your case, it's Minoru and Kaiba." He kept his hands under the water. "They're not only trying to make you fear them, but they want you to fear Kai as well.

    "Vampires are able to read minds from up to a mile away. So, in other words, when you were having your nightglares, Minoru and Kaiba were no more than a mile away from your location. They make up their own methods of murdering you and the put it into your head."

    "O-oh," I stuttered.

    "Eventually, they'll make your nightglares so unbearable that you'll go mad," Matsuda informed with regret. "And there's nothing you can do about it." He finally shut off the water and started drying his hands off.

    "I knew that nightglares were possible outcomes of my death, but I had no clue that Minoru and Kaiba were making them," I bit my lip.

    "We'll be sure to keep you sane," he smiled sentimentally. Hearing that made my stomach churn again, making me think I would turn into a mentally impaired lunatic. Matsuda furrowed his eyebrows together. "What happened to your neck?"

    My face immediately started burning and I pulled the jacket up to cover my neck, "It's nothing; there's nothing there."

    Matsuda smiled at me, "You and Kai are a couple; there's nothing wrong with a few love marks."

    A few? It was more like a civilization of hickeys on my chest.

    "And you have an issue with that?" an alluring voice whispered into my ear.

    I gasped and covered my head, "Don't say that!"

    Matsuda chuckled as two slender arms wrapped around my waist firmly. I suddenly grew irritated at the man holding me, "Guten morgen,"

    "So now you're German?" I mumbled under my breath. I looked behind me at Kai, who was almost a foot taller than me. "You're supposed to be sleeping."

    "You disappeared, so I came looking," Kai mumbled sleepily as Matsuda left us in the kitchen, chuckling.

    "Well, now you know where I am, so go back to bed," I huffed, treating him like a child.

    Kai nuzzled my head, "Only if you come with me,"

    I paused a moment, "Aren't you supposed to go back home?"

    Kai paused as well, "I'll try to convince Matsuda to have me stay another day,"

    "Yay!" I turned around and slung my arms around Kai's neck. "Slumber party!"

    "I was thinking about teaching Ai a little more," Kai interrupted, "about teleporting and reading minds."

    "Can't Kira teach her?" I cocked an eyebrow.

    Kai shook his head, "He can't read minds,"

    Out of nowhere, Kai's hand reached for my nightgown and he partially pulled it down, revealing my bra and my hickey-infested chest. I screeched, lifted my nightgown back up, and flat-out slapped Kai across his hard face, "Pervert!"

    "I was just observing the damage," Kai held his hands up with an innocent smile.

    The pitter patter of little feet came running down the stairs and an exuberant--yet tired--Ai came dashing towards Kai and I, "Nana, uncle Kai!" she greeted happily, running towards Kai. Kai scooped her up and propped her on her hip. Ai's face lit up. "You're teaching me tonight?"

    Kai nodded, "Sure thing,"

    I scrunched my mouth and propped one hand on my hip, "Why is Ai awake too?"

    "Young Vampires don't necessarily have a sleep schedule," Kai informed. "They phase into the nocturnal stage later in life, usually in their teens."

    "Oh," I rose my eyebrows, informed.

    "Want to hold her?" Kai asked with a smile.

    I couldn't help but laugh at that; Kai was treating Ai like a puppy or even a baby, "No, I won't be able to hold her,"

    "You're right; she weighs more than you." Kai noted sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    "Wait for me, Nana!" Ai called out, running out of the house.

    Kai and me were standing at the center of the circular driveway at the front of the house, hand-in-hand. While Ai came running towards us, Kai gave me a quick kiss on the forehead; we wouldn't be granted any sort of alone time with Ai--not that we would really do anything. Once Ai approached us, she smiled widely with a bag of snacks in her hand.

    "Snacks?" I cocked an eyebrow.

    "In case I get hungry," she giggled.

    I looked up at Kai and he shrugged, "Training takes a while,"

    I sighed impatiently, "We come back when I'm tired,"

    Instead of Kai answering me verbally, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him and grabbed Ai's hand. My eyes closed and the feather-like feel of teleportation rushed over me for what nearly felt like forever until we finally came to a halt. I pried my eyes open and was looking deep into a forest.

    "A forest?"

    "Trees make better obstacles to aim for," Kai informed, referring to teleportation.

    "Let's start! Let's start!" Ai cheered, jumping up and down.

    "I'll just stay here," I sat down and leaned against a tree. "I'll watch."

    Kai crouched down and gave me another kiss on my forehead before he stood up, grabbed Ai's hand, and took her several feet away from me. He began speaking to her but I couldn't hear what they were saying; they had probably gone anywhere between thirty and fifty feet away from me. I merely stared in awe at both of them; Kai adored Ai so much. Even though he claimed he wasn't good with kids, he had been doing great with Ai.

    While Kai was teleporting from tree to tree, I started nibbling on the nail of my thumb. I was absorbed in my own mind, losing track of time. I continued to daydream, thinking back to what Matsuda told me about nightglares in the afternoon. Shaking my head, I refused to think of the negatives of the future. I couldn't distract myself from what was important.

    Had I not been so distracted, I would have heard the subtle, distant foot steps of the Succubus and her hybrid lover.