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Snippet #2450704

located in Cross Academy, a part of Vampire Knight: The Prophecy, one of the many universes on RPG.

Cross Academy

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Character Portrait: Shizuka Leoht
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Reiko smiled at the girl seated before her, inclining her head slightly. ā€œPlease, consider it a favor to me to eat what you please. I donā€™t often get the chance to cook anymore, and it is something I greatly enjoy.ā€ But the conversation was always meant to turn to more grave matters, and it did. The smile did not fade as the crimson-haired girl bowed her headā€”indeed, Reikoā€™s expression only gentled further. There was no way she could think of withholding this information from any of the heirs of those powers, but she was relieved to see that the one who had inherited the creatureā€™s powers in full seemed to have a level head and a measure of understanding. She would need both, before her time was done.

ā€œSome call it that,ā€ she said, not thinking the question silly at all. ā€œOthers you meet may simply refer to you as ā€˜the Creature,ā€™ for that was what she was known as before anyone thought to name her condition. The more proper term is lycanthrope, for as you are well aware, you do not actually transform into a wolf, but a being somewhere between human and lupine. This has been termed a lycan, for lack of a more appropriate designation. Not counting my son, there have been only two of you in history, though now it seems that Hikaru is not alone in his strange duality, either.ā€ She looked for a moment at the mark on Shizukaā€™s neck, and something in her eyes darkened and grew sad all at once.

Tipping her head to one side, Reiko tugged down the collar of the elegant dress she wore, exposing a mark of a similar kind, though a different pattern, on the side of her own neck. ā€œIt is not being a lycanthrope that enables one to give a mark such as that, after all.ā€ She neatened her collar again and folded her hands back into her lap. For now, she would address the question she had been asked first, and then, she would speak to anything the girl wished to know about such marks. ā€œAs to your control, that is largely dependent on you. Your predecessor was a gentle woman, and generally unfond of violence. Learning to accept her own darker half was a process that took her much time and soul-searching. Hikaruā€™s control was learned faster, from needā€”his own beast was much more violent. As you have no doubt noticed, his control came at the price of a fissure in his personality. He now lives almost, but not quite, as two separate people. I do not think that you will have to do that, but it is not as easy as speaking an incantation or going through a ritual. You must learn, and then master, yourself. I can help, and so can he, but in the end, the trials of this are your burden to overcome. For that, I am sorry. It is not something that anyone should bear alone, but something that each of you must.ā€

Shizuka listened intently to every word Reiko spoke. Lycanthrope, that was what she was. A creature not entirely wolf, nor entirely human. Shizuka glanced at her hands as she rolled the information around. That explained a bit, however; her eyes returned to Reiko when she finally addressed the question, not without mentioning the mark though. Shizuka instinctively placed a hand on the mark and allowed her eyes to fall into slits. She wasn't entirely fond of being reminded of the mark, however; it seemed that Reiko possessed knowledge of them. Perhaps she could inquire about that as well, however; she asked a particular question that had been addressed.

Her predecessor was a calm woman? Shizuka was nothing of the sort, that much she knew. She was brazen, loud-mouthed, and hot-tempered. She wasn't exactly the epitome of water, more like fire. How could she hope to control a creature when she couldn't control her own emotions? She sighed softly in frustration at that thought. She must learn, and then master herself, that is what Reiko was saying. She frowned slightly as she cast her gaze once more to her hands. That was easier said than done, and Reiko knew it. Her attention was pulled when she mentioned Hikaru's own trials. That would explain a lot, she thought.

"If things were meant to be easy, I don't think there would be a need for teachers," she replied dryly, though she meant nothing by it. It was just how she saw things. Which was, in fact, a bit true. If things were meant to be easy, what use would they have of teachers? That was what they served, to teach things to people who had difficulty learning something. She shook her head of that thought. "I am well-aware of your son's shift in personality. I don't like either," she stated a bit freely. She was being honest though. She didn't like Hikaru as much as she liked Hotaru, though recently, they were coming to a bit of an understanding.

"I mean nothing by it, it's just that since he's been helping me, his scent has been nothing but distracting. He makes it very hard to concentrate," she stated, huffing and crossing her arms over her chest in the process. She rubbed her neck softly, releasing a held sigh. "I take it you know more about these marks then," she finally stated, holding Reiko's gaze once more. The woman had shown Shizuka a similar mark on her neck just a few moments ago. So it must mean something else then if she also had one. She was intent on knowing what they were created for.

"What is this mark and what does it entail? Is there a way to get rid of it?" she finally asked. If there was a way to get rid of it, and Reiko knew, then she wanted to know.

Reiko chuckled quietly to herself at Shizukaā€™s opinion of her son. It wasnā€™t at all surprising; the boy could be difficult at the best of times, and until he truly let someone in, they were always fooled by the faces he showed them. His gentleness and his kindness and his genuine happiness were gifts, and unfortunately, he did not bestow them nearly enough upon anyone. Unlike Sora, who was free with his kindness and his light, Hikaru hid his behind a seemingly-impenetrable veil of darkness. Shizuka was closer to piercing that veil than she knew, that he had agreed to teach her at all. As for the matter of his scentā€¦ well, that was amusing for its own reasons. The girl clearly did not understand what she had just admitted to the boyā€™s mother, but Reiko would leave that alone for a while. She liked Shizuka, but if the girl was already marked, the realization of what it meant that Hikaru smelled the way he did would be uncomfortable at best, devastating at worst.

ā€œIt is called the Royal Mark,ā€ she said quietly, her fingers delicately tracing the pattern of hers. She knew it as she knew her own handsā€”it had been part of her for so long that she might as well have been born with it. She hardly considered the life sheā€™d had before him to be a life at all, when compared to everything that sheā€™d known after. The sheer joy of his company, the heat of his kiss, the way he felt moving in time with herā€¦ and the keenness of his betrayal, too. Everything had been amplified. Because of him, sheā€™d lived her life in color. She could hardly blame Fumiko for being as in love with him as she was. He was just that kind of person.

ā€œIt is an ability, I suppose one could call it, of a very specific line of vampires. Hikaruā€™s father was of that line, and Hikaru himself is heir to the house. The only one, or so I had thought. But there is no mistaking itā€”the one who gave you that mark must be of Hidekiā€™s descent. I suppose that, if someone had managed to get ahold of his blood, such a thing might be possibleā€¦ā€ It saddened her, to know that there was another child of her husband out there in the world that she had never known. It made her angry that he would abuse his mark in such a way. ā€œThe mark has always been used for one purposeā€”to designate the one chosen by the line to live alongside its heir. When conducted properly, it is a betrothal and a promise: to love the one it is given to until time itself should end. It is only ever undertaken with the cooperation of the recipient, because it binds the lives together. When he was alive, Hideki and I could communicate telepathically, and he had the ability to compel me, though he swore never to use it.

ā€œIt also means that the other party will know when you are injured or endangered, and that your lives are linked. Should one of you die, the other will as well. The only reason I yet live is that the bond between my husband and I was annulled by his decision to have a child with Fumiko, your predecessor. I suspect you know what child that is.ā€
Reiko smiled sadly, the heartbreak shining right out of her eyes. Oh, how she had loved him, even after heā€™d told her what he intended to do. The world needed a child like that, heā€™d said, so that everyone would know that Fumiko and her kind were not to be hated, scorned and hunted, but celebrated. Their child would be a prince of two worlds, and secure the safety of all the lycans to follow. That was what heā€™d wanted. Fumikoā€¦ well, sheā€™d just wanted some part of the man she loved. It had worked out well for none of them, but only Reiko had survived it.

ā€œUnless the one who gave you that mark does something like that, there is only one way to erase what he has done to you. A stronger bond must be created, and your bonded must use his power to replace the mark with his own. There is only one person in the world that could do this for you.ā€ Reiko looked down into her teacup. She doubted very much that either of them would be amenable to the idea, just yet. Perhaps, with time, they might come to mean something so important to one another, but unless and until that happened, Shizuka had more than one unfair burden to bear.

An ability, that was what she had called it. Shizuka kept her hand over the mark as she felt it pulse a bit. Her eyes narrowed slightly as Reiko began explaining it, what it meant, and how it could possibly be removed. She allowed the information to settle in, however; she didn't miss the way Reiko's eyes seemed to express something she couldn't quite explain. Was it heartbreak? Or something else? Whatever it was, Shizuka felt something in her own heart clench. Then, the reminder that she was bound to that man in that way caused an unexplainable anger to course through her veins.

"That thing that left this mark, is nothing like Hikaru. I do not believe he is of the same house, but there is still that possibility. For one, Hikaru doesn't fully shift as I do. He still retains more of a humanoid appearance than I. That man shifted fully as I did. Though he and Hikaru were about the same in strength and speed," she stated. If Esaias and Hikaru were related, kin even, then wouldn't they both have the same transformation? "I do intend to find a way to remove this another way. I will not ask him for help," she stated more-so to herself.

It was enough that she had swallowed her pride to ask him in controlling her beast, but to do something such as that? She couldn't, she wouldn't. This was nothing that concerned him, and she wasn't going to allow herself to be bound to another. She sighed, sinking into the chair in the process as she placed her elbow over the armrest, leaning her head into her hand in the process. Perhaps she shouldn't have asked about the mark, but what was done was done. She couldn't take back the question. So, if Esaias were to die, so would she? Her mark must be a bit different from Reiko's. She has yet to hear the man speak with her, however; she has felt the power of his compulsion.

Reiko considered this information, tilting her head to the side slightly, but part of it was easily explainable enough. ā€œHikaru has a full shift,ā€ she said mildly, ā€œbut he does not use it. He has mastered the beast in him to the extent that he does not have to, and he despises that part of himself very deeply. The last time he used a full transformation, he nearly killed me. I do not think he will ever use it again, but regardless, the ability is his if he desires it. Your condition is very rare, Shizuka. There are no others in the world like you, and I had thought Hikaru the only one of his kind as well. But if this other man exists, and he has the abilities he has, he can only be kin of Hikedi and Hikaru. There is nothing else to be.ā€

He had compelled her to him as if she were nothing more than a puppet, and she gritted her teeth at that memory. "It seems you truly loved Hideki," Shizuka finally stated, changing the subject a bit. "It must not have been an easy thing to do, loving someone who loved another," though she could not say she knew how it felt, she did know how it felt to love someone. She had loved Judai, with everything that she was, and she had accepted the fact that he would never love her in return. She accepted it, but loved him still. Was it the same thing as what Reiko had felt? Probably not, however; she shook her head from that that.

"Thank you Reiko, for everything. I am not sure of what that is quite yet, but thank you," she stated, returning her attention back to the pure-blood. "I may not get along quite well with one of your sons, but I am grateful that you had one of them. It is because of him that I will have a better understanding of what I am and how I can control it, but," she paused, looking away sheepishly. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but still, "Don't tell him I said that," she murmured. She wouldn't live it down if he found out that she was grateful he was alive, or around at that.

ā€œMy dear, love is never easy. Even two people who love each other more than anything else in the world, who are free to be together as they choose, will face difficulty. The world is an unkind place. It is why I have made this home my sanctuary, so that my sons might remember the good with the bad. Because love, like anything truly good, is worth the sacrifices we must make for it. Hideki did love me, in his way, but it was not the way he loved Fumiko. That was fate, and I am what was left behind. But whether they intended to or not, they gave me something just as precious in return. Were it not that they had loved each other, I would never have been able to meet Hikaru, and love him as my own son. That is a gift unmatched, and I regret only that they died for their love, instead of being able to live for it.ā€ Yes, he had broken her heart, but Hikaru and Sora had made it whole again. And not a day went by when she wasnā€™t grateful for that.

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