****Chapter 4****
****An aged vampire****
When Shido entered the door he found that the entire room was cold and dark, a strong sign that the vampire he was seeking was in fact there.
"What do you want Shido?" A male's voice asked from the darkness.
"I come in search of advice Maru." Shido answered, "Perhaps you might light a fire?"
As he said it so was it. The light came from a fireplace so suddenly it nearly threw Shido off his balance and onto the floor. He remained stationary however, having the advantage of already knowing that Maru would do that.
"So what do you want exactly, Shido." He said coming into the light. No one would believe that this particular vampire was the oldest in the castle, for he didn't look it. He was somewhere around 400 and some years old, yet his body was doomed to take on the characteristics of an 11-year-old for the rest of his eternity.
"I need to know something, there are some questions that I need to find the answers to but," he sighed, "I am lost."
"So I see," he walked over to where two chairs sat adjacent from one another. "Please, feel free to sit."
Shido did as he was invited to and sat.
"Now, tell me what troubles you so badly." He said bringing his feet in a crossed position in his chair. "Trouble with the humans perhaps? Or maybe the portrait hanging in that hall. The one covered in pink?"
"No," he said flatly, "it is something I have been dwelling on for a while but has now taken on a new position in my mind."
The boy put his elbows on the arms of the chair and raised an eyebrow, "So I see, could this have anything to do with the new vampire girl running about?"
"Well," he said scratching the back of his head, "I'm kind of surprised you know about her already Maru."
Maru put his hand up in dismissal, "I know of everything that goes on in this castle Shido, you can hide nothing from me."
"Yes, very well." Shido took on a serious attitude, "I want to know, or rather I need to know. Do I still posses a soul?"
Maru sat back in his chair, "Shido you come to me with a very hard question to answer." He sighed, "Many vampires wonder of this, and until their demises they do not know."
"Are you telling me that you yourself do not know the answer?" Shido wondered in disbelief, would he have to wait so many years before he learned?
"No. I do know the answer, I've known for the longest time." He looked Shido directly in the eyes. "Are you positive you want to know?"
"Yes, I need to know." Shido answered seriously.
"Very well, tell me Shido, do you think of death often?" Maru asked.
Shido thought for a moment, "Yes, on many more than one occasion."
"Do you desire it, do you desire to die, leave this world of heartless hate and destruction?" Maru asked.
"I do and yet at the same time I don't." Shido looked away from Maru, instead concentrating on the fire as he spoke. "I want death for the lack of pain there should be, yet I fear it all the same. If I do have a soul certainly I will be condemned to hell, if I don't then I fear non- existence."
"Shido, turn your head to look at me." Maru ordered. Shido did and Maru put a light spell in the air forcing Shido not to loose eye contact. "Listen to me and listen carefully. A spirit does something the mind alone will not. The spirit questions what will happen to it's consciousness after the body stops working.
A soul wants to belong with everyone around it, even if the person themselves denies it. The mind also judges itself and the world around it. But the mind wouldn't desire such if there were no soul to control it." He paused and leaned closer to Shido. "Answer me honestly Shido, do you *only* think of what it takes to live?"
"No." he said flatly, apparently the aged Maru had put a truth spell on him as well.
"The mind only thinks on what it takes to sustain itself in the world. So tell me now Shido, do you believe yourself to posses a soul?"
Shido opened his mouth but no sound came out.
"You are still unsure I see. Think of this Shido, how does a person loose their soul to the flames of hell?"
Shido answered this time. "They die."
"Yes, this is a truth young Shido but also they have to do something in their lives that is horrible. They have to do this and not feel bad about it right?"
"Yes."
"Then most vampires, as the living dead, had their souls ripped from their bodies and pulled into hell. Their bodies continue on without the soul, needing food to continue on. They will continue until something stops them and destroys their bodies." Maru leaned back again. "Do you feel guilty when you kill a human?"
"Yes."
"Do you wish you could give them back their lives? Rid their families of the morning they will go through?"
"Yes."
"Shido, do you have a soul?" Maru said seriously.
Shido's eyes widened, "Y-yes."
"Very good young vampire." He smiled a bit. "You should leave now. You don't want this old man to continue ranting on and on now do you?" he blinked hard and the spells that were previously cast disappeared. "Besides that young vampire girl and Guni do have to stop arguing one day or another."
Shido found himself laughing at this, the few times he really laughed an honest laugh. "Thank you Maru." He said as he got up to leave. "I really did need to know that."
"I know Shido, believe me, I know." He heard Maru say as he left through the door he had come in.
Shido looked around and found he was in the hallway again. So he didn't have to try and pick a door again, that was a bit of a relief, after all, having gained all that to have it thrown away in an endless maze wouldn't have been very pleasant.
Walking down the hall he could still hear Guni and Riho arguing loudly. He couldn't even identify what exactly it was they were screaming at each other about but he had a feeling he didn't want to know. 'How does Guni get that loud?' he found himself wondering feeling almost light-hearted.
He came up next to them and put a hand on a screaming Riho's shoulder. "It is almost sun rise. We should rest."
"REST?!?" Guni yelled, "Together?" her mouth dropped about a meter, bigger than she herself was.
Shido nodded, "She is still adjusting to being as she is Guni." Shido said smiling a bit.
"Humph, pervert." Guni whispered as Shido and Riho left down the hall.
"I heard that Guni." Shido said over his shoulder.
"So where did you go any way?" Riho asked with a huff, "Leaving me there to deal with that flying blue-blue-blue whatever she is!"
Shido sweat dropped, "You actually noticed? I thought you were to wrapped up in your arguing to even know where you were to be honest Riho." He scratched the back of his head, "Don't worry about her I think she's just a bit jealous is all."
"I don't like her very much is all." She ranted. "What a little flying brat! She actually called ME a brat can you believe that?" she looked up at Shido who only continued to sweat drop and scratch his head. "Oh I'm so mad!" she said averting her eyes from him. He wasn't exactly encouraging her, but then again why would he? He didn't really know her or anything.
She stopped walking in an instant. She thought about the man she had just drank from, there was no way, there couldn't be, he couldn't could he?
Shido stopped when Riho did, confused as to what was keeping her, "What is wrong?" he asked using a serious tone.
"You, my blood," she put her hands around her throat saying that, "Drank. Know. How. No. Why. I. Everything." She said completely incoherently. Or at least that's the way it appeared.
Shido raised an eyebrow "Um, Riho?" he asked confused.
"You drank my blood! You know everything! How everything has happened! NO NO NO!" she blushed a bit, and for having a lack of blood in her system it wasn't a lot, but even that was plainly visible on her very pale skin. "Why did this happen? I can't believe it you know everything!"
"Not everything Riho, just enough."
"How much is that exactly?" Riho pulled her hands in front of her chest in balled fist.
"Well, I um," he had two choices, lie, or tell the truth, both of which would be bad for him in some way.
"Do you, do you know that I'm, I'm." she began unable to finish the sentence for embarrassment.
"Still a virgin?" he regretted saying it the moment it left his lips. She turned to look at him, her eyes glaring wholes in his head.
"YOU KNOW THAT?!?"
(Birds in the distance flew away from the castle.)
****An aged vampire****
When Shido entered the door he found that the entire room was cold and dark, a strong sign that the vampire he was seeking was in fact there.
"What do you want Shido?" A male's voice asked from the darkness.
"I come in search of advice Maru." Shido answered, "Perhaps you might light a fire?"
As he said it so was it. The light came from a fireplace so suddenly it nearly threw Shido off his balance and onto the floor. He remained stationary however, having the advantage of already knowing that Maru would do that.
"So what do you want exactly, Shido." He said coming into the light. No one would believe that this particular vampire was the oldest in the castle, for he didn't look it. He was somewhere around 400 and some years old, yet his body was doomed to take on the characteristics of an 11-year-old for the rest of his eternity.
"I need to know something, there are some questions that I need to find the answers to but," he sighed, "I am lost."
"So I see," he walked over to where two chairs sat adjacent from one another. "Please, feel free to sit."
Shido did as he was invited to and sat.
"Now, tell me what troubles you so badly." He said bringing his feet in a crossed position in his chair. "Trouble with the humans perhaps? Or maybe the portrait hanging in that hall. The one covered in pink?"
"No," he said flatly, "it is something I have been dwelling on for a while but has now taken on a new position in my mind."
The boy put his elbows on the arms of the chair and raised an eyebrow, "So I see, could this have anything to do with the new vampire girl running about?"
"Well," he said scratching the back of his head, "I'm kind of surprised you know about her already Maru."
Maru put his hand up in dismissal, "I know of everything that goes on in this castle Shido, you can hide nothing from me."
"Yes, very well." Shido took on a serious attitude, "I want to know, or rather I need to know. Do I still posses a soul?"
Maru sat back in his chair, "Shido you come to me with a very hard question to answer." He sighed, "Many vampires wonder of this, and until their demises they do not know."
"Are you telling me that you yourself do not know the answer?" Shido wondered in disbelief, would he have to wait so many years before he learned?
"No. I do know the answer, I've known for the longest time." He looked Shido directly in the eyes. "Are you positive you want to know?"
"Yes, I need to know." Shido answered seriously.
"Very well, tell me Shido, do you think of death often?" Maru asked.
Shido thought for a moment, "Yes, on many more than one occasion."
"Do you desire it, do you desire to die, leave this world of heartless hate and destruction?" Maru asked.
"I do and yet at the same time I don't." Shido looked away from Maru, instead concentrating on the fire as he spoke. "I want death for the lack of pain there should be, yet I fear it all the same. If I do have a soul certainly I will be condemned to hell, if I don't then I fear non- existence."
"Shido, turn your head to look at me." Maru ordered. Shido did and Maru put a light spell in the air forcing Shido not to loose eye contact. "Listen to me and listen carefully. A spirit does something the mind alone will not. The spirit questions what will happen to it's consciousness after the body stops working.
A soul wants to belong with everyone around it, even if the person themselves denies it. The mind also judges itself and the world around it. But the mind wouldn't desire such if there were no soul to control it." He paused and leaned closer to Shido. "Answer me honestly Shido, do you *only* think of what it takes to live?"
"No." he said flatly, apparently the aged Maru had put a truth spell on him as well.
"The mind only thinks on what it takes to sustain itself in the world. So tell me now Shido, do you believe yourself to posses a soul?"
Shido opened his mouth but no sound came out.
"You are still unsure I see. Think of this Shido, how does a person loose their soul to the flames of hell?"
Shido answered this time. "They die."
"Yes, this is a truth young Shido but also they have to do something in their lives that is horrible. They have to do this and not feel bad about it right?"
"Yes."
"Then most vampires, as the living dead, had their souls ripped from their bodies and pulled into hell. Their bodies continue on without the soul, needing food to continue on. They will continue until something stops them and destroys their bodies." Maru leaned back again. "Do you feel guilty when you kill a human?"
"Yes."
"Do you wish you could give them back their lives? Rid their families of the morning they will go through?"
"Yes."
"Shido, do you have a soul?" Maru said seriously.
Shido's eyes widened, "Y-yes."
"Very good young vampire." He smiled a bit. "You should leave now. You don't want this old man to continue ranting on and on now do you?" he blinked hard and the spells that were previously cast disappeared. "Besides that young vampire girl and Guni do have to stop arguing one day or another."
Shido found himself laughing at this, the few times he really laughed an honest laugh. "Thank you Maru." He said as he got up to leave. "I really did need to know that."
"I know Shido, believe me, I know." He heard Maru say as he left through the door he had come in.
Shido looked around and found he was in the hallway again. So he didn't have to try and pick a door again, that was a bit of a relief, after all, having gained all that to have it thrown away in an endless maze wouldn't have been very pleasant.
Walking down the hall he could still hear Guni and Riho arguing loudly. He couldn't even identify what exactly it was they were screaming at each other about but he had a feeling he didn't want to know. 'How does Guni get that loud?' he found himself wondering feeling almost light-hearted.
He came up next to them and put a hand on a screaming Riho's shoulder. "It is almost sun rise. We should rest."
"REST?!?" Guni yelled, "Together?" her mouth dropped about a meter, bigger than she herself was.
Shido nodded, "She is still adjusting to being as she is Guni." Shido said smiling a bit.
"Humph, pervert." Guni whispered as Shido and Riho left down the hall.
"I heard that Guni." Shido said over his shoulder.
"So where did you go any way?" Riho asked with a huff, "Leaving me there to deal with that flying blue-blue-blue whatever she is!"
Shido sweat dropped, "You actually noticed? I thought you were to wrapped up in your arguing to even know where you were to be honest Riho." He scratched the back of his head, "Don't worry about her I think she's just a bit jealous is all."
"I don't like her very much is all." She ranted. "What a little flying brat! She actually called ME a brat can you believe that?" she looked up at Shido who only continued to sweat drop and scratch his head. "Oh I'm so mad!" she said averting her eyes from him. He wasn't exactly encouraging her, but then again why would he? He didn't really know her or anything.
She stopped walking in an instant. She thought about the man she had just drank from, there was no way, there couldn't be, he couldn't could he?
Shido stopped when Riho did, confused as to what was keeping her, "What is wrong?" he asked using a serious tone.
"You, my blood," she put her hands around her throat saying that, "Drank. Know. How. No. Why. I. Everything." She said completely incoherently. Or at least that's the way it appeared.
Shido raised an eyebrow "Um, Riho?" he asked confused.
"You drank my blood! You know everything! How everything has happened! NO NO NO!" she blushed a bit, and for having a lack of blood in her system it wasn't a lot, but even that was plainly visible on her very pale skin. "Why did this happen? I can't believe it you know everything!"
"Not everything Riho, just enough."
"How much is that exactly?" Riho pulled her hands in front of her chest in balled fist.
"Well, I um," he had two choices, lie, or tell the truth, both of which would be bad for him in some way.
"Do you, do you know that I'm, I'm." she began unable to finish the sentence for embarrassment.
"Still a virgin?" he regretted saying it the moment it left his lips. She turned to look at him, her eyes glaring wholes in his head.
"YOU KNOW THAT?!?"
(Birds in the distance flew away from the castle.)