Same But Different

Staring up from her desk at the chalkboard the teacher hastily scribbled today's lesson on, Sakura found it hard to focus on anything. Normally she was quite the attentive student, but today the sounds of the white chalk scraping against the dull green board brought her nothing but a headache.

She didn't even notice her consciousness slipping, and her head beginning to dip. Slowly her eyes closed, only to be awoken by a sudden familiar voice.

"Sakura? Earth to Sakura!" The voice said, followed by a firm but a gentle pat on the back.

"Huh?!" Sakura awoke with a jerk, she would have fallen back out of her chair if it weren't for the hand behind her.

"Awe come on, don't tell me you've forgotten our years together after a little nap," The voice teased.

Sakura rubbed her eyes and turned to the figure beside her. "Ruby?"

She and ruby went way back, as far as she could remember really. Their parents both worked for the government, so they weren't around very often, sometimes months would go by between visits. With the ever-looming threat of "Monsters" as they were called, there was no time for their parents to have any rest.

Of course, they both had babysitters until they were old enough to care for themselves. The two grew up as neighbors, so they spent a lot of time with each other.

"That's my name, don't wear it out! Seriously though...are you feeling alright Sakura? I've never known you to sleep in class."

Of course, she didn't, She didn't even know what she was. She couldn't let Ruby know that though, sure she trusted her more than anyone, but not with something like this. Swallowing the guilt of lying to her best friend, Sakura spoke with a shaky voice.

"Yeah...I'm just tired, late-night remember?"

"I remember...I'm just, worried about you. You don't do this often but...If you say it's just because you're tired, I'll take your word for it."

It wasn't entirely a lie in her head, which eased some of the guilt. She really did stay late yesterday to finish up studying, but it's what happened that had her so shaken...

The sun had already set and the streets had become empty with all except for the moonlight cast by the scarlet moon above. She walked down the street with a bag over her shoulder and her phone in her hand, browsing stories of recent monster attacks. Carelessly, she didn't notice the sounds of footsteps behind her quickly approaching.

In an instant, the figure was behind her with their hand over her mouth to stop her screams. Eyes wide in shock, she felt a sharp pain in her neck. Her vision began to go dark, her strength to struggle fading with each passing moment. Soon, everything went cold...dark...numb. That was it, her story ended prematurely by the very monsters her parents swore to protect her and the city against.

Under the scarlet moon that gave birth to the monsters of the world, something changed within her. Her eyes shot open, followed by a gasp of air. Slowly she pushed herself up off of the cold hard pavement but paused for a moment to stare at her hands. They seemed alien, they were obviously hers, yet they felt...wrong.

Sakura gazed around the classroom now, finally noticing that they were the only two there.

"It's time to go home already?"

"45 minutes past that actually, track stays 30 minutes past remember? I heard you fell asleep in class so I came to find you right after I changed. Think on the bright side though, at least you weren't waiting for me today."

"Don't phrase it like that, you're making it seem like it's a chore to wait for you," Sakura said with a chuckle as she grabbed her bag and pushed in her chair.

Their walk home was nothing unusual, sharing stories they had seen and heard throughout the day, stopping to pick up their dinners at their favorite restaurant, all concluding with a wave as they parted their separate ways.

Sakura fumbled getting her keys out of her bag and into the lock. Slowly she unlocked the door and turned the knob, the door creaking as it opened. The house was empty and still like most days, how she would have loved to have her parents home just this once to give her some guidance, well...maybe not. Who knows what her father, the head of the "Red Moon Seekers" would do to her when he figured out she was the very thing he was supposed to be exterminating.

She locked up the door behind her, setting her things down on the kitchen counter and putting her food in the fridge as she went straight to the bathroom to run a bath. Stepping out of her uniform, she stared at herself in the mirror. Her body, her pink hair, her amber eyes, they were all the same, so why did she feel different? The more she looked at herself in the mirror, the more something started to build within. Anger? Fear? No...it was more like...a hunger.

She felt the control of her body start to slip away, her body starting to move on its own, and in a quick movement the mirror in front of her shattered.

Sakura stood there in silence, staring at the pieces of the broken mirror in front of her. Everything was quiet, as though someone had switched off all the noise around her, all except for the blood dripping from her arm into the sink.

"What is happening to me..." She whispered to herself as she slowly pulled her hand back from the mirror. When she pulled her hand back, she noticed that she had cut deep into her palm, staining the piece of glass lodged within a deep shade of crimson red. Before she would have been repulsed by the sight of blood...so why did it look so enticing now?

Then again...if she was changing into one of them, wouldn't she be attracted to the taste of blood? Slowly, she took hold of the glass fragment within her fingertips and pulled it out of the wound. She took a deep breath before bringing it towards her lips, letting the warm liquid trickle down her throat.

Instantly, the pain was gone, the anger and fear vanished. All that remained was a sense of calmness, a serenity that had never existed within her before. Instead of the metallic taste she expected, she was greeted by a taste similar to that of wine-a sweet, addicting taste. It was then that she had an idea about what happened. In a flash, she ripped the paper towel off of the countertop and wrapped it tightly around the wound. After a few deep breaths to try to slow her racing heart, she turned around and headed for the closet to grab a broom to clean up the glass.

Once the mess was cleaned up, Sakura stepped into the warm water of her bath and sank until the water was up to her shoulders, letting the warmth wash over her skin. She closed her eyes and let loose a long exhale, finally relaxing into the soothing sensation of the water.

Soon Sakura exited the bath, wrapping a towel around herself as she drained the water from the tub. She walked to her room, grabbing pajamas out of her dresser and stepping into them. She flopped onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling as the red light of the moon peered through her window. She closed her eyes as she tried to clear her mind, trying to come to terms with the changes taking place within her.

"Mother...Father...Can you really even call me your daughter anymore?" She asked herself in a soft whisper as she drifted off to sleep.