Bloodthirst

"I've been expecting you." Bane straightened up and circled his shoulders to relieve some tension.

"So you have figured it out?" Va asked with a scowl on her face as she walked up to Bane's cell.

Bane smirked. "It's really impressive. It's really impressive how flawlessly Keiichi has programmed you; a doll that is in no way inferior to a human. Keiichi should actually be awarded a Nobel Prize for you."

Ignoring Bane's praise, Va continued "Do you still stick to your promise that you’ll be at my feet when you get out of here?"

Bane nodded and confirmed playfully "I officially resign my club chairmanship and transfer the position on to you. I am a faithful servant of your orders."

"Lenin, lockpick feature!" Va ordered and within seconds Lenin had transformed into the desired tool.

Va began working on Bane’s lock with Lenin and had it opened a few moments later.

"Make sure all the technology here gets destroyed and make sure that every information on how to rebuild it disappears too! Do you understand? Anime characters must never again be brought to life. I'll take care of Keiichi." 

Having said these words, Va turned her back on Bane and walked straight for the door leading to Keiichi’s house. A deeply determined expression graced her face when she exited the basement.

As soon as Bane was alone, his face contorted into a devilish grin. Bloodthirst overcame him.

"I wonder my axe is." 

---

*10 months earlier*

"Va? Va, is that you? For God's sake, what are you doing here? You'll end up freezing to death!"

"Professor Kjeld..." Tired, Va looked at her geography teacher as he frantically began to take off his coat. Va felt a gust of snow blow around her ears as the coat was put on her.

"Come on, get up already!" Kjeld ordered, grabbing her under the armpit to pull her up, "It’s so late already. Why aren't you at home?"

"Home...", Va mumbled as she looked dejectedly at the ground. She wished for nothing more than to be at home. But she refused to return to the place that she had been introduced to as her home a couple of months ago. No, she wanted to go back to the place where she actually belonged. And it pained her immensely to remember that this place did not even exist.

Kjeld noticed her reaction and assumed that something bad must have happened. "I live just two streets away. Don't you want to come to my place?" he asked cautiously "No matter what has happened, you can certainly be helped! But sitting here in the snow is definitely no solution!"

Va nodded and started moving with slow steps.

Arriving at Kjeld's place, he first turned the heating to full and prepared her a warm cocoa with soy milk to drink.

"Thank you", Va said politely, brushed a strand of hair from her face and began to sip her drink.

Kjeld eyed her worriedly through his glasses while scratching his stubble beard. As a young teacher who had only recently graduated and had only been teaching for one and a half year, he had not yet encountered a similar situation. He tried to recall in his mind what they had been advised to do in such circumstances.

"Would you tell me why you were sitting in the middle of the snow?" he asked carefully.

Va sighed and then asked hesitantly "Where else would I be sitting?"

"At home?"

"That doesn't exist."

"Did something happen between you and your parents?"

"My parents don't exist either."

Kjeld frowned. It was difficult to gain Va’s trust but giving up was no option for him. He reminded himself of his motivation to become a teacher in the first place. He had wanted to support young people in their development and help them overcome the hurdles of teenage life.

"What would you have done if I hadn't found you?" Kjeld continued "Would you have sat there all night?"

Va shrugged. "Who knows..." She realized that Kjeld expected more comprehensive answers from her and wasn't going to let go of her so easily. "Listen, it’s not like I enjoyed sitting there. But believe it or not, I really don't have anywhere to go. The only person I could stay with is an abusive pervert. And I can't take that anymore, I'd rather be out in the cold."

"Abusive?" Kjeld startled. "Are you being sexually harassed by your father?" Kjeld felt that now was probably the moment when his role and responsibility as a teacher would come into play. They had even discussed this scenario during their studies and Kjeld felt well prepared.

"No, it’s not like that!" Va objected immediately "You have to know, I don't really have a father in this world, just a… I guess you would call it "creator". I'm not really a human being, I'm a doll."

"What?"

Kjeld looked skeptically at Va, who sighed deeply again. She was a doll? He had been warned that victims often retract their accusations or make up trivializing excuses for their perpetrators. Still, this was very bizarre.

"Va, if you want to be helped, you have to tell me the truth. What did your father do to you?" Kjeld asked in a calm voice, looking at her as empathetically as possible.

Va, however, now seemed rather annoyed. "Yes, I know, it’s not something you hear every day, but it's the truth."

"Va, we both know that's not the truth. You can...", Kjeld was about to follow up, but then faltered. Va had suddenly jumped up and, with one powerful movement, ripped her top apart. With a bare chest she now stood in front of him and looked deep into his eyes.

Kjeld shook his head in irritation "Va, what are you doing? You can’t just..." Again he faltered and this time fell completely silent. With her nails, Va had started scratching across her chest, and beneath her silky skin something Kjeld would never have expected revealed itself: cables.

"Va, is this some prank, some trick, some game? Am I dreaming?" he asked after a brief moment, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Do you want me to show you more?"

"I think that's enough", Kjeld declined, visibly overwhelmed "Put your clothes back on, please."

It wasn’t until the next moment that he realized Va had torn her clothes apart. Silently he got up and walked to his wardrobe to give her one of his pullovers. Hundreds of thoughts ran through his head. They had indeed been prepared for a lot in their studies. Still, they weren’t given instructions on what to do when one of their students revealed themselves as a doll. He had no clue what to do now.

When Kjeld arrived back in the living room, Va had started sipping the cocoa again. "Tastes really good", she said appreciatively and added "Don't worry, even if I don't have a digestive system, I can empty the cocoa later. It's actually quite convenient; that way I can drink it several times in a row."

Kjeld nodded absent-mindedly and handed her the pullover.

"I know, I know, it must be a shock for you", Va continued, having realized Kjeld's reaction "For me it was also a shock to suddenly find myself in this strange world and in a body like this."

"In this world...?" Kjeld asked.

"You must know, I'm actually from another world. And in this other world I am not a doll, but a queen. They call me the Dice-Queen there and I rule over a population of dices in the We Trust in Pi - Kingdom, also called the WTP-Kingdom."

"Right... How could I not realize that right away?" Kjeld replied, still being in complete disbelief and irritation.

Now that Va had already revealed so much, she decided to simply tell the whole story right away. As much as she hated to admit it, she would be lost in this world without Keiichi. Where would she recharge her batteries? Where would she protect her body from the weather? What would she do in her daily life? And how would she make sure that the software that kept her alive would not be turned off all of a sudden? Kjeld had always appeared very sympathetic and caring to her. Maybe he would be able to help her.

Va talked about waking up in Keiichi's room a few months prior and being told that she had been transferred from an anime into the real world. She reported that, at first, she had refused to believe this; her memories of the WTP-Kingdom had seemed so real. But after Keiichi had shown her the series, she had no chance but to admit the truth to herself. She described how Keiichi had been very possessive of her in the months that followed and how, at some point, she simply could not stand it any longer. She ended her story by stating that she had decided to never return to Keiichi again.

Kjeld listened attentively. Even though he was still very irritated, he saw the pain and desperation in Va’s eyes. He comprehended how much she struggled.

When she finished, he spoke "Va, as your teacher I am afraid that I cannot help you in your situation. That is beyond my competence. As a human being who definitely doesn't want to see you sitting alone in the cold, I can offer you to stay here with me. I have enough space in this apartment... That would at least give you an opportunity to get some distance from Keiichi and contemplate what to do next."

"You would do that!?" Va was touched by the offer.

"I hope it's not weird for you to stay with your teacher", Kjeld continued hesitantly.

"No, no! Of course, it's no problem; the only important thing for me is to get away from Keiichi. Thank you very, very much!" Va confirmed, feeling a little bit of hope rising in her. Kjeld seemed to be a generous person. "And if it makes you feel any better", Va continued "I'm actually over 2000 years old already, so technically, I'm not even a student anymore."

Kjeld, who by now could not be caught off-guard by anything anymore, replied sarcastically "Of course, I should have noticed that right away..." Then he thought for a moment and said "But you have to pay attention that no one sees you entering and leaving this apartment. Otherwise, it could be misinterpreted very quickly. You don't look like a 2000-year-old after all."

Va understood what he was getting at and reassured him that she would be careful.

Looking at the clock, Kjeld announced that he would prepare Va a place to sleep and suggested to discuss how to proceed with Keiichi the next day. While Va familiarized herself with her new flat, Kjeld reflected on everything Va had told him. When looking at Va he thought to himself that it was actually crazy how, from her appearance and her behavior, nothing distinguished her from a human being. It was indeed fascinating, but at the same time incredibly sad.

Before Va went to bed, Kjeld said "I am very grateful that you put your trust in me. Nevertheless, I would advise you to keep your identity a secret. While humans are usually compassionate and caring toward other humans, most of them sadly are cold toward everything that isn't human. If you don't want people to be 'possessive' of you, if you want to be treated as an equal, I think it's best if people don't know your true identity."