[Vampire TF]

0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

Five stacks of papers laid in front of a young black-haired girl wearing the Mimoto High uniform, each of them circled with a bright red marker and a fat 0 written within the circle. The papers themselves? Her homework for the week, as well as the week before, and the week before that, and so on and so forth.

She didn’t know what had come over her, but there was a point where she couldn’t be bothered to do anything. No matter how vital it was. No matter how important it was. That was why she hadn’t done any homework in weeks. And why she was facing expulsion, not only from the school, but the world at large.

The girl, Yomi Ikari, silently sighed. She brushed all of those papers off her desk, letting them fall into the trash bin she had already stuffed full. Causing them all to stack on the floor below, showing just how long she had neglected it and herself.

Why had all of this happened? Why had she lost all motivation? What about the world had caused her to become nothing more than a slacker moving through life itself? She hoped to understand, but everything just turned into 0s the more she looked at it. A brutal reminder of what she was.

“Go away…” Yomi muttered as she grabbed ahold of the latest 0 in front of her, ripping it to shreds as the sleeve of her spare uniform fell to the ground. She didn’t even notice, turning away from it and back towards her desk.

Stacked there, as if it had never been brushed aside, were the piles that made up her neglected homework. Each stack had a post-it note attached to it, with a bit of writing on top.

“If you do these, we’ll be even. Just try, alright? -Ms. Heathers”

Yomi narrowed her eyes as she looked at those encouraging words. They made her feel sick. Why would anybody dare look at her with an apologetic eye, after everything she had done? She had dug her own grave, she didn’t need their pity. If anything, that very pity was the reason why she had this horrid mood. They just had to disappear, so that she could disappear as well…

If nobody cared about her, if nobody put their expectations in her, then she wouldn’t be feeling this way. If they forgot about her, she could just go away peacefully. But while they looked at her, while they had these feelings about her… She had to endure the weight of it all. Whether or not she wanted to do so. Who would want to bear the brunt of unwanted responsibility, anyway?

“Just go away. Just go away and stop looking at me.” The girl muttered as she tossed these stacks into the trash as well, the papers scattering on the ground as she stomped towards her bed. She just wanted to sleep the day away and wait for night to roll in. Then she could be as free as she wanted to. Then, and only then, could she do whatever she wanted…

As she laid her head down on the pillow, face facing inward, she slowly started to close her eyes and whisk herself away to the land of dreams. Just for long enough that she could sneak out and have fun underneath the moon’s glow.

It’d all be good then. She wouldn’t have to worry about a thing, as her eyes snapped shut and refused to open…

“Really, you’re just going to sleep the pain away? And here I thought I found somebody that actually wanted to use their pain.”

Yomi’s eyes shot open as she heard that voice, and a chill ran down her spine. Upon looking towards the window, it was easy to explain both as the entrance seemed to be open wide, yet the world outside had darkened all of a sudden…

And sitting there on the windowsill was a woman. A lavender-haired woman dressed from head to toe in military gear, with a spider emblem adorning the cap atop her head. A woman that seemed awfully bored as she let her head rest on the knuckle of her fist, looking towards the girl who had tried to pass out.

Instead of asking a ton of questions, the black-haired girl just pulled herself out of bed and walked towards her, taking a seat on her chair as she forced it to face towards the woman. “You don’t seem like some sort of deity. More like one of the Monsters that’ve been plaguing the city.”

“Oho, you’re observant. That’s nice. Better to play around with somebody that knows what I want than an idiot like that heroine.” The woman chimed, before tipping her hat ever slightly. “General Spider. At your service, Yomi Ikari.” She said, her smile turning into a grin. “I think I have something you might want. Something that can solve this problem of yours.”

Yomi slowly raised her eyebrow. “Why should I trust you?” She asked, venom dripping from her words. “Why should I ever trust anybody again? You’re all just the same. Thinking you can help me. But you’ll understand that there’s nothing you can do. I’ll waste it all before long. And then I’ll return to this room and do it all over again. As I’ve done so many times since I lost my will…”

She blinked once that word left her lips. Will? Why couldn’t she ever think of that word before, when it clearly served as the cause of it all? Why had she been blocking it? ...Was it because she didn’t believe in herself, at her core?

“You don’t have to trust me.” The militant said, as she pulled off one of her gloves, before letting her gentle hand cup the girl’s cheek. “But, as an incentive to let loose… I’ll let you see what you’ve been repressing. Within that web of memories that you’ve been ignoring.”

Memories started flashing before Yomi’s eyes. Memories of her youth. Memories of those that cared about her neglecting her. Not emotionally, but at the most critical points in her life. Every time she wanted to show off an achievement, they just patted her on the head and told her it was nice. Not even looking towards it.

Whether it was her grades, the things she made, her performances in school that weren’t tied to her studies… All of it was just brushed aside. Like none of it was worth anything. And that, more than anything else, had been the crux of why she had begun to stop taking school seriously. Why she had stopped doing anything that seemed to be important. Because all of it was pointless.

“They… They…” The tears slowly started to well up in the corner of her eyes. She could feel her heart smashing against her chest. She could feel it wanting to escape. To try and make amends with the people that had done her wrong. To try and make them accept that she can make mistakes, and that they should’ve just looked at her when they had the chance.

A hand swept the tears away, and slowly pushed its fingers underneath her chin until the two looked into one another’s eyes. “That’s why you don’t feel your worth. But that worthlessness gives you strength, Yomi. It makes you who you are.” She said. Not with an intent to humiliate her, but rather to illuminate the fact to her. It wasn’t something to be ashamed of…

Yomi slowly looked up at the spider-themed woman, slowly sniffling as she tilted her head. “If… If that’s who I am, can I change that..?” She muttered out a question, her heart still smashing against her chest as she felt the pain of asking this. She didn’t want to stay worthless. She wanted to show that she had some sort of worth.

“Change that? No. But you can change the world. So that somebody as worthless as you has a place to belong.” Spider said as she slowly let go of the girl’s chin, letting her head tilt down, until she caught a glimpse of something golden on the militant’s lap. “Take it.”

The words rang through the girl’s ears as she reached out, her hand gravitating towards the golden object. A bracelet. Glowing, glinting to try and catch her attention. And once it had been caught, then there was no way for her to ever lose it from her sight. Especially as she held it up in front of her, letting it sink into her gaze until it had practically burned its way in there…

“What… What is this?” Yomi asked, as she slowly lowered the bracelet, feeling her heart pounding. Not with her explosive feelings, but with anticipation this time. She couldn’t believe she’d feel like this. What was this thing even..?

Spider smirked as she slowly ran a finger along the accessory, causing it to brighten up even further. “It’ll let your desires free. It’ll let you change this world. Make it yours. Change it so you won’t fit in, but it will fit around you.” She explained, while putting her glove back on. “And with that, you can get the revenge you want, deep down in that heart of yours.”

The black-haired girl didn’t believe what she was hearing. At least, not consciously. But she understood. And she knew that it had to be right. Otherwise, the woman wouldn’t be here in the first place.

“...What do I have to do to make it work?” Yomi asked again, while idly slipping the bracelet on. She didn’t hesitate, only asking the necessary questions. Because once she had that power, she knew exactly how she would put it to good use.

The smile on Spider’s face was telling. “You’ve already given it all that it needs.” She said, her voice booming as golden energies stated to coat the girl, starting from the arm that the bracelet was currently wrapped around.

A gasp left the girl’s lips as she felt the energy spreading. It was like she was being blanketed by something heavy. Something that wanted to press up against her. Something…

Something that made her smile as her face was covered in the golden energy, which quickly turned pitch black as it fully consumed her.

The blackened glow that had taken her place cracked apart, the shards falling to the ground as they dissolved, revealing the body that had been changed underneath. A body that let out a deep and relieved sigh, as a hand slowly stroked through her hair.

Yomi smiled from ear to ear, fangs popping out of her mouth. Her black hair, formerly short and a bit bushy, now reached all the way down to her feet as it had smoothed out. Her uniform had been replaced with an elegant dress, one that was just as laced as it was gothic. And on top of that, she wore a cape that she could use to obscure her body, should she wish to hide it from any onlooker.

Her now pale skin glistened as the light above tried to shine down on her, only for that light to be consumed as pure darkness jumped out from her shadow, wrapping around the room and coating it all in black colors.

This was her power. This was the soul-crushing darkness that she had turned against herself. Now, with the power of the night dwellers in her hands, and her own despair manifest, she could do anything…

Instead of saying another word, she laughed. Laughed as she made her power spread even further. Everything had to be coated in darkness. Everything. EVERYTHING! THEN AND ONLY THEN WOULD THEY KNOW WHAT THEY HAD DONE TO HER! WHEN ALL OF THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS HAD SUNK INTO THE SAME PIT THAT SHE HAD BEEN IN!

The girl slowly sank into the darkness she had made, disappearing in the process. She would move through the darkness and consume those that dared stand against her… And then, she’d be the Queen of all those that were ‘Useless’. Nobody was allowed to be as useless as she had been..!

General Spider clapped as she watched the darkness spread its way outside, adjusting her cap as she got up from her seat. She didn’t need to do anything else. All she had to do was watch as the newly birthed Jõtaijin did what it wanted to do.

“Have fun, D’Hesspair.” The militant christened her, before disappearing into darkness herself...