AN: Hey there! Karasu here with her almost-completed JulNoWriMo novel. :D This is a slash novel, in case you aren't familiar with my previous works. Slash means male/male relationships as well as female/female. If that doesn't float your boat... well, sorry. :3

The challenge, of course, in JulNoWriMo is to write 50,000 words in a month.

My final tally was 51,078.

This is still in the editing stage, so I might make some changes after I originally post this.

This is also in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. It's more like a... steampunk, vampires vs. humans, save the world kind of fic. I've never done one before. And I've had this in mind since 2005. Makes me feel old. XD

So, without further ado (if you have any questions, check my LJ; beware it has spoilers, too), I present to you...

--

“I Miss You”

Chapter One

“Iu!!”

He sat up, the sheets drenched with the sweat that was pouring off of him. His breath was ragged as it escaped him, inout, inout, inout. A clawed hand brushed back white bangs and he rested his palm against his eyelids, trying to conjure up the images that just roused him from sleep.

It was the same dream he had had for four years now. He just couldn’t believe it. It had been four years since his parents were killed. The days went by too fast. And still, his mother’s voice echoed through his mind, screaming his name as she took her last breath.

Iu got up from his bed and padded over to the large bay window that occupied an entire wall of the hotel room. It was still nighttime in Deron City, and the lights of the city shone bright against the midnight sky. Everyone but him, the shop owners, and the “red women” that prowled around were asleep.

He couldn’t keep doing this. This whole waking up in the middle of the night business was starting to take a toll on him, both mentally and physically. As he looked at his reflection in the window, the strain was made al the more apparent.

Iu hated the way his eyes looked sunken into his skull, the way his cheekbones were only made more prominent by the giant craters beneath them. His colourless eyes only offset his colourless hair, and how pale he was. Not to mention that the tip of his too-large incisors poked out over his lower lip. He felt like he couldn’t win for losing in the looks department. He was plain.

Sighing, he brought his hand to his forehead again. He also hated how he couldn’t remember the images from his stupid dream. He could hear his mother screaming plain as day; it echoed off of the walls in his head, but he just couldn’t remember the visuals. And, oh, how he longed to see his parents like he remembered them.

Disappointed, Iu walked into the bathroom. He wouldn’t be able to fall asleep for at least three hours, and a hot bath was sounding pretty good to his cramped muscles.

The whole reason he had come to Deron City was to go to Magan Salath, the only official fighting school in the Autre Côté galaxy. He’d been practicing every day to build what muscles he had, and to improve him skills with his trademark weapon, the scythe.

Iu turned on the hot water and took in a breath as the steam hit him full force. Maybe this would take his mind off of his reoccurring nightmare…

--

Morning in Deron City, the capital of the planet Ricagumberda, was always a sight to behold. As the sun peeked over the horizon, the city came to life. The buildings were built so that the shadows cast on them (at any time during the course of the day) would only enhance their beauty, and not mask it. Everything was built with spirals and odd angles that almost reached the tips of the clouds (or so it seemed), and the iridescent material used to build (almost) everything sparkled with a majesty that left whoever gazed upon it spellbound.

Iu was awoken by the glittering gold interior of his hotel room. The morning sunlight reflected off of the accents and cast everything in a yellowish glow. As Iu blinked away the sleep that still tugged at his eyelids, he thought about what to do that particular day. Deron City was beautiful, and he had yet to take some time off and explore what wonders it held.

“I think I might go get some coffee first,” Iu mumbled to himself as he sat up, the air conditioning blowing across his bared chest. It was cool in the room, just like he liked it. He couldn’t stand when it was too hot. It was bad enough that Deron City got into the 100s during the high points of the summer.

Iu slipped on the only outfit he had (he noticed that it had started to stink; ew, he needed to wash it again sometime soon), a short-sleeved, open jacket that didn’t quite extend to his waist, accompanied by high-waisted black jean material pants, and black, low-heeled, boots. He paused to look at his reflection in the wall-length mirror in the bathroom. His white, short hair stuck out at random angles and even the longer strands that were dyed a dark black were frizzy. Shrugging, he decided that it was as good as it was going to get, and he left the hotel.

He descended the stairs, captivated (as he was every time he left the hotel) by all of the gold that glittered (but the hotel was reasonably priced!). The hand railings on the stairs were coated in gold, the chandelier that 

dangled with the brilliance of thousands of diamonds had a healthy golden coat, the floor, the ceiling, everything that could be gold was gold. Well, the name of the hotel (the “Golden Star”) just wouldn’t be the same, don’t you think?

The door attendant waved at Iu (who, of course, waved back), wishing him a good morning.

Iu opened the doors and took in a majestic sight of Deron City before stepping out into the warm morning sun. It was just after sunrise, but already the temperature was climbing. And the town was bustling. Vendors arrived before the first hints of sunlight to open their shops, which sold a variety of items, including food, jewelry, clothing, and much, much more.

But Iu was on a mission. He knew just where his favourite coffee vendor was brewing the latest imported roast. His nose led him to the scent of a caramel mix, and the vender laughed as Iu approached.

“Ya want the same as th’other morning?” The vendor, a portly man that looked like he was in his mid-to-late 400s, grinned to the boy. One of his incisors was missing, and his gut fell over the top of his waistband, but he was the friendliest guy that Iu had encountered in Deron City. Not to say that the other inhabitants weren’t neighborly. Ricagumberda, and Deron City especially, was a melting pot. Members of the “super race” (known to humans as, and referred to as from here on out, vampires), the human race, and everything in between belonged there. The public was always friendly, too. Hardly any fights broke out, and there sure weren’t any robberies or murders that took place (that they knew of, at least). All in all, Deron City was known as “paradise” to the people of the other planets, be it in the Autre Côté galaxy, or in the Milky Way.

Iu couldn’t help but smile at the vendor’s slurred interpretation of the Common language. “I’ll have the same,” he said fluidly. The shop owner nodded vigorously, and toddled over to the brewing machine to mix up Iu’s favourite drink.

While the merchant was doing his job, Iu liked to let his eyes wander. Before he came to Ricagumberda, he had never seen a human, and it was fascinating to him to just watch. Already he had seen a lovely young woman with the longest, prettiest hair chasing after what looked like her brother. He had witnessed an interracial couple buy engagement rings just across the street. But today, however, was different.

Usually, Iu could differentiate between males and females, whatever the species. But this beauty could’ve been either one. They had their back turned, so Iu couldn’t see breasts or a bulge, and he took this opportunity to examine their dress. The androgynous being was obviously a vampire, and had shoulder-length, wavy blonde hair. Said hair was tied back with a red sash and loosely hung down his or her back. Iu’s eyes traveled down and he got a full view of what looked to be a black shirt made out of cotton with bright, fire engine red fishnet sleeves. Back, super-tight jeans hugged their slender frame, vivid red basketball boots, and a swastika necklace completed the outfit.

“Tha’ there is S.O.P.”

Iu grabbed at his chest as the vendor popped up beside him.

“Didn’ mean ta scare ya,” the merchant smiled and handed Iu his drink. “But I noticed ya checkin’ out S.O.P. and though’ I’d tell ya who ‘twas.”

“Thank you,” Iu took a sip of his scalding hot coffee. “But who exactly are… they…?”

“Why, he’s only tha greatest fighter Magan Salath has eva seen! Gradiated las’ year.”

Iu’s eyes went back to the boy across the street. So he had been checking out another guy. But S.O.P. didn’t look like much of a man. He was skinny as a rail, but had the potential to possess curves a woman would be proud of.

Just as he was thinking he would like to see S.O.P.’s face, said blonde turned around. He had a cupcake in his hand (that was decorated red and black), and was in the process of licking some of the icing off.

Iu sucked in a breath as his silver eyes caught sight of the slightly almond-shaped eyes, the slender nose and plump lips. S.O.P. was delicate all over.

“Don’ letchyer eyes fool ya, he’s a beast with tha’ weapon o’ his!” The vendor grinned as he saw the way Iu looked at S.O.P. Anyone with eyes immediately fell for those golden curls and beautiful clear blue eyes, and it seemed that Iu was no exception.

The coffee in Iu's hands felt like a ton of bricks as he watched S.O.P. lean back on the counter he was standing in front of, dipping a slender finger into the icing and then licking said finger. But S.O.P. happened to share the same liking for people watching. The blonde’s eyes gazed around for a second before they locked with Iu's.

A twitch of those succulent lips later, and Iu was hurrying to pay the vendor and get the hell out of there.

Iu’s feet propelled him forward at the swiftest pace manageable to get back to the hotel. He could feel the heat emanating from his entire face, and he was sure that he looked just like a little boy with his hand caught in the cookie jar.

How embarrassing, he thought as he floated to the front desk of the hotel, getting caught staring at someone like that!

But the embarrassed feeling passed as he reached the elevator. It wasn’t as if he would ever see S.O.P. again, was it? The vendor said that S.O.P. had graduated last year from the fighting school Iu wanted to attend, so unless there was some weird custom that had the graduates teaching the next year’s students, there was a huge possibility that Iu would not, in fact, see S.O.P. ever again in his life.

As he reached his room (today was going to be a rejuvenating day, he decided), Iu also decided that he was going to go up to Magan Salath’s large pewter doors and request entrance.

It was probably going to be hard work, but he was prepared for it.

After all, he enjoyed a good challenge every now and again.

And, oh, a challenge he would get.

--

The next morning, Iu was wide awake. He watched the sun rise over the distant purple mountains and grow to illuminate the entire city. He watched out of the bay window as shops opened and sleepy-eyed customers bought breakfast before going to work. But mostly, Iu watched the rooftop of Magan Salath.

Every morning, at 4:00am sharp, the President of the school and his Cabinet would go through the morning ritual (involving prayer to the gods and goddesses, thanking each other, and wishing luck to all the students), which ended with the lighting of the sacred fire. The fire would be sifted out through the smokestack at the East end of the roof. When the fire was lit, the Cabinet was awake. When it wasn’t, it was either a holiday or something was very wrong.

As soon as Iu saw the white smoke trailing through the pre-dawn sky, he got dressed (his clothes were now spotless and smelled of “fresh blossom”). His hair wasn’t quite as unruly today, for which he was thankful. It wasn’t really a good idea to go up to a potential place of schooling looking like a scoundrel.

He took a deep breath, and repeated in his mind what he had practiced to say when he met with the Cabinet. The king of Ricagumberda (or that section of it, at least) had taken a new bride just before Iu came to Deron City, and he knew that to get into the school, he had to pledge an allegiance to King Vishnu, whether he wanted to or not.

It wasn’t really a good idea to bad-mouth the King in a government-run facility.

When Iu knew he had his speech perfectly prepared, and he had gathered enough strength to at least get him out the door of the Golden Star hotel, he grabbed his scythe and left.

--

It was a short walk to the fighting school, so it didn’t give Iu much time to talk himself out of the idea. Butterflies took wing in his abdomen and fluttered against his ribcage as he walked up the massive stone steps.

The great pewter doors of Magan Salath greeted him as he made his way past the columns. It was said that the doors had been there since the founding of the school, and the writing and drawings inscribed on them told about past wars with the humans. Iu could see very detailed illustrations of both vampires and humans (the only difference being the pointed ears and incisors, and, of course, the wings), but in some of the drawings, it looked more like the two species’ were fighting with each other as opposed to against each other.

The doors were huge, too. Most people towered over Iu’s 5’5” frame, anyway, but these doors were at least fifty feet tall. Everything that decorated the outside of the school was a silver or grey or black or white colour, too. Even the uniforms were monochromatic, too (Iu knew this because he had studied about the school before finally setting his mind to gain entrance). It didn’t bother him in the least, though. He happened to like the colour grey, and thought that he looked best in that colour (hence his one-colour outfit).

After admiring the structures outside of the school, Iu finally thought that he would like to admire the structures on the inside of the school. He brought up a clawed fist, and knocked three times.

The great building shook as the doors opened to reveal a long, well-lit hallway.

Boy, Iu thought, they sure like to go all-out on these things.

As his gaze made its way down, he finally saw someone. The man in the doorway was almost a foot taller than Iu, and stared at him with emerald green optics. He was wearing the uniform, of course, but it had been altered a bit to fit the vampire’s personal style. The jacket had been cropped so it just barely reached the tops of his hips, 

revealing milky white skin that was branded with “LD” in dark black script. The dark grey pants rode low and just barely covered what they were supposed to. Iu also noticed the patch of a colonel on the vampire’s shoulder (when his gaze traveled back up, that is).

The man looked at Iu and cocked an eyebrow, saying just five words.

“I’m Colonel Legna Dansha, who’re you?”