• ALTERNATIVE ENDING 2 - LONG-DISTANCE CIRCUMSTANCES

    You did as you were told, and it's slowly tearing you apart from the inside. How long can you keep yourself sane after such a drastic change?

    .:{{Continued off of Chapter 178}}:.

    After Kai had--for the most part--gotten over his temper of me deliberately leaving Matsuda and Orihime's house, he came back into the bedroom to sit with me. He seated himself next to the bed and I wrapped one arm around his shoulders and sobbed silently. Our moment of departing was nearing, and I understood that I had to leave for the sake of me, Kai, and the babies.

    With enough persuasion, Kai and I shared one last passionate night together that, despite I was getting sick, lasted for a few hours. Exhausted, I immediately fell asleep in his arms, refusing to allow him to let me go. His arms were secure and trusting. Oh, how I would miss those arms.

    The next morning, we woke up to Matsuda, Orihime, and Kira sitting in the driveway, waiting in Matsuda's car. Swallowing my words of protest, I dressed myself after showering and stood outside with my belongings in the trunk of the car. Kai and I gave each other one last long, passionate, heartbreaking kiss, and I stepped into the car, keeping my head down. I didn't want to look at Kai anymore; if I did, I would jump out of the car and stay with him.

    Once we left the house, I unbuckled my seatbelt and laid myself down in the back seat, resting my head on Kira's lap. He brushed my hair around while looking down at me in apathy. I sobbed silently on the way to the airport. Surprisingly, nobody had to force me onto the plane. On our way to the airport, I had the realization that it was truly the best thing for everybody. My life with Kai was gone; I would never see my lover again. But I wish I could have told him there were two babies...

    .:{{Four Years Later}}:.

    "Kira, help me with the twins, please," I asked as I lifted Yasuko onto her chair at the dining table. "Help me get the food ready for them."

    "What are they going to eat?" Kira asked, sifting through the fridge.

    "Just get them some veggies and rice for now; we can feed them blood later." I offered.

    It had been four years since Matsuda, Orihime, Kira, and I left on a plane to Europe and left Kai forever and I was already twenty-two years old. I still kept in contact with him, but only over the phone every now and then on a hidden number. He was unaware of our whereabouts. If he were to ever find out, he would be forced to find me and bring me back to Japan to be killed. We were located near the Alps Mountains in a cottage--it was very similar to the scene in my dream where Kai abandoned me in Europe. The scenery was exactly the same, except that there was no cottage in my dream. Europe was beautiful, but it was diffcult to share the beauty without Kai around.

    Six-and-a-half months after we moved to Europe, I went through the painful birth of the twins on January 29th, 2010 by c-section--just a day before Kira's birthday. Both babies came out healthy and I managed to survive--just barely. I didn't have to be turned into a Vampire in order to survive, which everybody was amazed at, but I did have to spend several weeks on bedrest. I was right about the genders; there was one boy, Hiro, and one girl, Yasuko. For the longest time, I hardly wanted to see the babies; they reminded me of my painfully resurfacing memories I longed to relive with Kai. My feelings for him would always resurface and I would make everybody else take care of the twins for a while.

    Kira and Chi were in a long-distance relationship; they would communicate over webcam and phone and keep in touch with each other daily. Kira was deeply in love with her; he knew she was finally the one for him. She had saved up enough money for a one-way ticket to Europe to come live with us so she could be with Kira. I knew it wasn't her intention to smother that in my face; I was incredibly happy for both of them and wished them the best of luck in their future.

    It was unneccesary to say that I had outgrown Kai; my feelings hadn't diminished in the least bit. I merely learned to press my intense feelings down and focus on my children. But it was difficult; both Hiro and Yasuko looked exactly like Kai. Every now and then, my feelings would get the best of me and I would embrace either one of them and allow a few tears to run down my cheeks. Kai was never able to be the father he wanted to be. We couldn't raise our family together. My kids had only heard stories about their father, but know nothing about what he looks like or where he is or know about the contract ordeal. They didn't know that they would likely never see him.

    "Arisa?" Kira approached me after giving the food to the kids and he wiped a tear from my cheek. "Is there something wrong?"

    I looked up at Kira and then shook my head, "It's nothing; I'm just reminiscing again."

    "Go get some sleep," he ordered. "It's been a long day."

    I sighed and nodded, agreeing with him, "Alright. Thank you for helping."

    Without another thought, I beckoned Hiro and Yasuko goodnight and went into my bedroom. In actuality, I wanted to go out and go shopping and run around the streets of Italy carelessly, but I still had to live a sheltered life. Just because I was away from the contract business didn't mean other Vampires wouldn't attack me. I was always trapped in the cottage in the middle of nowhere. The last time I ever carelessly ventured to the mall was with Aya, years ago.

    Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard Matsuda and Orihime walk back into the house and I heard Hiro and Yasuko's exuberant cheers. Sighing, I pulled the comforter over my head to muffle the cheering; I was going through a short depression stage again. Every time my memories of Kai would resurface, I would mellow in them for a few days. I wanted to see him again; I didn't want to keep my only contact with him over the phone. I wanted to touch him again.

    After several more minutes, Kira walked into the bedroom quietly and shut the door. I sighed loudly, signaling that I was still awake. I felt the bed behind me sink a little and Kira sighed as well.

    "Is there anything I can do for you?" Kira asked, mumbling.

    "I want to see Kai," I was border-line ready to break down. "I want my children to see their dad...they can't grow up without a dad..."

    "Even though it's been four years, you still feel like it was just yesterday," Kira sighed again. "We all miss him."

    "He's probably in so much pain," I started crying. "He's probably enduring so much torture right now. He's in so much pain..." I cried harder. "I miss him so much; I thought I would get over him but he's on my mind every minute of every day. It doesn't help any to look at Hiro and Yasuko; they're just like him!"

    "Arisa...I hate to say this, but you need to get over it for the sake of your children," Kira admitted regrattably. "You don't want them growing up remembering your misery caused by their father, whether it was good or not."

    I covered my face with my hands, "I want to see him..."

    "So long as you're alive, it's impossible," he mumbled. "He would have to commit the inevitable."

    "I hate this; I hate everything." I shook my head.

    A long moment went by and, just as I assumed Kira had left, he ended up pressing his mouth against my neck. He seemed hesitant, though, even though I was one of his sources for blood. I removed the comforter from over my neck, brushed my hair aside and waited. After a while of hesitating, Kira finally bit into my neck. For some reason, I never really felt guilty for giving my blood to Kira instead of Kai anymore; I knew that what I was doing was a good deed; Kai shouldn't get upset over that.

    But something was different to how Kira was feeding; he barely drank any blood. My concern grew when he firmly wrapped both of his arms around me from behind. It wasn't until a few seconds later that I found out why he was acting so strange. I opened my mouth to shriek but he was quick to cover my mouth. I started struggling furiously, suddenly unable to control myself.

    Everything was burning.

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    "Arisa, may I see your neck?" Matsuda asked, holding a syringe in his hand.

    I lifted my head from my knees and leaned my head over, revealing my pale neck. Matsuda inched closer to me and slowly inserted the syringe into my neck. Once he pushed the plunger, the pain in my neck and body immediately calmed down. Matsuda and Orihime had been trying to come up with a serum to calm down a newborn Vampire's cravings since I came into the family, and they finally made a successful one. It had been a year already since Kira infected me and I hadn't killed anybody yet. Yasuko and Hiro were at low risk; a hybrid's blood smelled and tasted unappetizing.

    Matsuda pulled out the needle just as Yasuko and Hiro walked into the bedroom. I stood up and smiled at them, "Hey, you two,"

    "Mom, look what we found!" Yasuko exclaimed and they both ran up to me.

    In Yasuko's hands was a jar with a monarch butterfly and in Hiro's hands were a few shiny, beautiful rocks. I took both of their possessions and smiled, "They're beautiful," I held up the butterfly jar. "Yasu, you should let the butterfly go in a little bit."

    Yasuko's face dropped, "Why? I wanted to keep it..."

    I smiled sentimentally, "You wouldn't want it to live trapped in a jar, would you?" I handed her the jar. "It won't survive if it's trapped."

    "Your mother is right," Kira walked in as Matsuda and Orihime left the room. "That butterfly probably has a family that misses him."

    Yasuko's complexion shifted to joy and she nodded, "Okay!" she held the jar up to her face. "Sorry, butterfly!"

    I smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead and I turned to Hiro, "How are you doing, Hiro?"

    "I'm fine," he smiled shyly. It was surprising; I had imagined Hiro to be the upbeat, headstrong child but that turned out to be Yasuko. Hiro was the shy child. "How are you, mom?"

    I smiled weakly, "I'm doing alright," I knew he was referring to my thirst; he didn't know about Kai. He didn't know about his own father. I kissed his forehead as well, brushing his hair around. "Go play with Yasu."

    Yasuko grabbed Hiro's hand and beckoned him to come with her into the other room. As soon as they left, Kira approached me and bore his wrist. Without another thought, I delved into it and started drinking. Even though most of my appetite had been suppressed by the serum, I still needed to drink blood frequently. Even though Kira was a hybrid, his blood was what I was allowed to drink.

    Kira visited the house every day for the past five months. Him and Chi moved into a house a few miles away from us because Chi couldn't be near me in my newborn phase. Eventually, Chi begged Kira to infect her, and he did so, for the sake of being together. Chi and I were both newborns, but weren't able to have physical contact with each other for a few decades; newborn Vampires tend to become unconsciously violent and hurt each other.

    I stopped drinking as soon as I heard the doorbell ring and heard some frantic knocking on the door. I wiped my mouth and walked into the living room just as Yasuko and Hiro started calling out to answer the door. As soon as I opened the front door, I was immediately ambushed by a rough hug and a nastalgic scent overwhelmed me. For several long moments, I stood in confusion. I didn't know who was holding me, and I couldn't put my finger on the scent and who it belonged to.

    "Arisa..." a painfully familiar voice cooed.

    Hearing that voice instantly caused my tears to pour out of my eyes and onto his shirt. I never cried out loud; I was in too much shock to make any noises. His arms tightened around me and I weakly wrapped my arms around him, believing I was hallucinating. He couldn't have been back; he couldn't have come all the way to Europe.

    "I was told...I was told everything..." he mumbled. "Kira told me everything..."

    I wasn't paying attention; I was paying too much attention to his familiar scent. It was a scent I had missed for five years, and it was so much more potent with my new sense of smell. I squeezed my eyes shut and gripped his shirt and buried my face in his stone neck. I couldn't get a physical grasp yet; I still couldn't believe I was holding him.

    In an instant, I was pulled back by my shoulders. I caught a glimpse of his beautiful face for no more than half a second before he gripped my face and pulled me in for a wet kiss. What started out as a slow, passionate kiss soon started heating up. His fingers tangled in my hair and my fingers tangled in his hair and we were about ready to get carried away.

    "Kai..." I finally managed to make myself choke out. Once his name passed my lips, thousands of pounds lifted off of my shoulders.

    "It's over; it's all over." he pressed his forehead against mine and breathed deeply. "The contract is broken..."

    My dead heart leaped, "What?"

    "Kira infected you...If you were ever to become a Vampire, the contract would be voided." he breathed.

    "Oh...oh God..." I sobbed. "Kai..."

    "Mommy, who's that?" I heard Yasuko's voice finally chime in.

    Kai and I pulled away from each other but still held each other in an embrace. He stared at me in shock and never looked over at his daughter. I continued to stare at him in shock and he kissed me again. I was knocked back into my sense when Yasuko started tugging at my pants. Soon enough, Hiro stood next to her and looked up at Kai in curiosity and Kai returned the expression.

    "Mom?" Hiro looked up at me.

    I reached down and gripped Yasuko's little hand and continued to stare at Kai and smiled weakly, "Your daddy..."

    Thank You
    Thank you guys so much for sticking with me for the past two-and-a-half years and over two hundred total chapters. Thanks for messaging me for your support/ideas--over half of my chapters came from inspiration from your comments :3 I never intended my story to be this long, but I'm glad it's lasted this long; it was so fun to create. Now that it's all over, I'll be sitting on Quizilla, thinking of what to write, because I'll feel like I have to write another chapter D: I love you guys all so much; I really wouldn't have made it this far without you. I might not have the most popular story in the world, but I'll get there :3 Thanks again, guys <33333

    If you want to put any last thoughts or ideas into a few comments or a PM, feel free to :3

    And be sure to keep updated every now and then because I'll be working on the manga pages!

    - Mon Amour Antoinette