You Belong With Me
A/N: The fanfic is inspired by Hino-sensei's latest manga chapter, VK 53. I got the title after I got hooked on Taylor Swift's You Belong with Me. I would like to thank YenGirl again for her effort to beta this story and Blackened Wing for her lovely support. I would also like to thank my readers for their awesome support for the rest of my VK fanfics. Hopefully you will enjoy this story as well.
Pairing: Zero x Lily, minor Zero x Yuuki pairing
Summary: Confronted with the loss of Yuuki, Zero goes to visit Lily in the stables. Sensing Zero's pain, the mare tries to comfort her master. Will she get more that what she was hoping to give? Minor lemon.
Disclaimer: All the Vampire Knight characters do not belong to me. There are solely Hino-sensei's. I'm only using them to satisfy my fanfic muses. No one was hurt during the production of this fic, just so you know. X3
Indications:
Italics – Zero's thoughts
Bold Italics – Lily's thoughts
/ /- Flashbacks
How long has it been since you have left me, Yuuki?
Was it a month or two? A year, maybe?
I don't know. I have totally lost count of time.
Well, to be honest, it doesn't matter. Without you, nothing matters anymore. Even if the whole world were to end, I would not give a damn about it.
The hunter's uneven emotions had caused his vampiric aura to flare, freaking out all the four- legged inhabitants inside the stable as he entered it. He could hear the horses squeal in fear as he walked pass their respective stalls. It was natural for horses to be afraid of vampires since the herbivores could sense their predator-like aura, even though the animals were not being directly threatened.
Ignoring the horses' reactions, Zero continued his way up to the end of the building. There stood White Lily, his favorite. She was a beautiful mare with a thick white coat and a long tail. She also possessed a stunning pair of golden eyes that shone brilliantly like the sun, framed by long eyelashes. The other horses paled in comparison to her looks.
Zero-sama!
Sensing her master's presence, Lily trotted happily to the railing and nickered when she saw him approaching her stall. In response, the hunter patted softly on her forehead, acknowledging her presence.
"Hey, Lily. Long time no see. Miss me? " he asked, giving the mare a gentle rub under her chin. The white mare shuddered a little, feeling incredibly good when the hunter's calloused hand brushed against her. She leaned her head forward, craving for more and occasionally nuzzling playfully at the side of her master's tattooed neck.
"I'll take that as a yes," Zero laughed as he opened the latch and let himself into the stall. He made his way towards a pile of dried straw at one corner and lay down on top of it. Lily followed and lowered herself onto the straw just behind her master, letting his head pillow against her barrel. Still not satisfied with the brief greeting session she had earlier, Lily nuzzled at Zero to gain further attention.
Noticing his friend's body language, the boy continued to let his nimble fingers stray into the horse's heavy mane; playing with the disarrayed hair and tucking a few white strands on the top of her head behind its ears once in a while. To his surprise, Lily's presence was unbelievably soothing and gave him a momentary distraction from his frustrations. At other times though, it would be the direct opposite, as though they were bipolar magnets.
Sometimes, it was a wonder of how destiny had brought them both together. In fact, they almost shared a common story. Zero, a vampire hunter who was orphaned at very young age when his family was slaughtered by a vengeful pureblood. Lily who had lost her mother due to birth complications. Miraculously, these two distinctive individuals met under very different circumstances and managed to find solace from one another.
Lily might be Zero's favorite, but she was generally disliked by the rest of her stable mates. The white horse was famous for her notorious temper and her cold personality that was partially due to the painful events of her past. Even the stable caretakers were afraid of her. Being the 'odd one', Lily was shunned by the rest of the horses before Zero had come into her life. The older foals used to bully her on the fields or in the paddocks; forcing her into unnecessary fights that left her with a few heavy bruises and cuts. At times, they would get her into trouble with the caretakers, resulting in heavy punishment – starvation and whipping. Lily's hatred towards the others had built up immensely over the years of abuse, until on one fateful day, she finally snapped.
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/Flashback starts/
"The mare's gone mad! She had just trampled poor Rain to death!" shouted Bill, the head horse caretaker as he grabbed his rifle from the nearby shelf.
"You mean Lily? That horse has been giving us trouble since the beginning. I knew I should have put her to sleep when I had the chance," grunted Vex, the caretaker's assistant, fetching the rifle next to Bill's.
He smirked as he loaded his weapon with bullets and gunpowder. He had waited a long time to exact his revenge on that crazy mare. After all, he would not be blamed for killing a horse that went amok and posed a threat to the rest of the horses. The scar on his face was a bitter reminder of their first encounter when he first arrived at the stables, after being sacked by his previous employer. He was employed by the current caretaker with the interest of breaking foals into obeying their riders. Vex Rider was known for his superb gentling skills, though it involved utter inhumanly methods such as severe whipping.
Upon hearing the complaint that Bill made over Lily, an ambitious Vex took up the challenge and tried to bend the white mare to his will. Alas, Lily was a beast of fury; she was too strong and aggressive, even for Rider to handle. The arrogant teenager finally gave up on the mare. He bore a deep grudge against her after being thrown from the saddle when he forcefully rode her, leaving an ugly scar on his face after the fall. With that incident, Vex Rider's reputation as the best horse trainer was completely tarnished. He was later assigned to other stable chores such as cleaning and feeding the horses.
Consequently, Ranger, the owner of the popular Dark Horse stables placed Lily in a separate shelter to keep the other horses safe. Although Bill and Vex both greatly opposed Ranger's action, the old man paid no heed on their words. Lily was the last of the White Wings, one of Ranger's finest horse breeds. He was also very fond of the young foul as he had named it after his deceased wife, Lillian. Before she passed away, the old man had vowed to the mare's mother, that he would take care of little Lily so that she could continued the family lineage when she was matured enough to settle down with a mate.
Unfortunately, things did not go as Ranger intended. The following year, Ranger was diagnosed with liver cancer and was hospitalized in the intensive care unit. Without any children to take care of the stable, he put Bill in charge to manage the stable in his absence. It was then when all had begun to fall apart…
Abusing the legitimate power that Ranger gave him, Bill secretively channeled a large portion of the old man's fortune to illegal horse gambling. Rather than having the animals lying around being idle, he made them earn their keep. Horses that were deemed to be less useful were used as fighting horses for people to bet on. As a result, the animals' well beings were neglected. Most of the injured ones were put to sleep since medication was too costly to be obtained. Vex Rider took part in Bill's evil scheme by organizing illegal gatherings and was well commissioned by his manager.
Though Lily was lucky not to be part of the plan, she was too traumatized by the appalling treatment dished out by the stable caretakers who would blindly abuse her for their amusement. Since she was an outcast from her herd, she had no luxury in seeking protection from the others in times of need. Thus, she was an easy prey for random caretakers who were looking for entertainment during feeding hours. Furthermore, Bill knew that he could not risk getting the mare killed without incurring the wrath of old man Ranger. He gave his men the liberty to "play" with the foal as long as she did not incur anything more than minimal injuries.
As dire the situation was, Lily continued to fend for herself. She knew well that vulnerability was one thing that she absolutely could not show to her tormentors. The horse caretakers were like hungry vultures circling their wounded prey waiting for an opportunity to strike her down. Lily was only a horse but her gifted intelligence gave her added leverage for outsmarting her opponents and that had allowed her to survive those painful years of ordeal. She was very glad for that.
Right now, Lily's sharp sense of hearing caught the sound of a few footsteps getting louder as they approached the stable doors. She moved away for the bloodied corpse lying on the ground. It felt good to feel your enemy's blood soaked between your hooves. The horse licked off the dried blood splattered on her forearm, feeling satisfied in mutilating the dead stallion's body. Fierce golden eyes eyed the group of the horses cowering in fear at the corner of the paddock, where they had huddled as they watched their friend being trampled to death.
"Stay where you are, monster! " shouted Bill, his finger itching to pull the trigger.
The white mare whipped her head around and saw a few men equipped with bolt-action rifles and lassos. Retaining her confident posture, she backed away a little, allowing two men to advance onto the dead horse lying in front of her.
"Look, sir. The beast has crushed Rain's skull! " cried Sutak the stable boy as he pinched his nose to stop the stinging odor from entering his nostrils. The boy almost gagged when he saw some lumps of a soft white substance splattered in the pool of crimson blood; Sutak recognized them as the horse's brain instantly. The scene looked nauseatingly similar to a horror movie where the psychotic killer would practice the same deed on his poor victims.
"Bill, we need to put an end to this. I don't care if we need to compensate Ranger for it," barked Vex Rider furiously as he cocked his rifle at his target.
"I guess we have no choice. Restrain that beast! " ordered Bill sternly.
Two lassos were formed and thrown toward Lily. But before they could reach her neck, she negated the attack with her agile speed. Lily countered her assaulters with a powerful kick, sending the duo crashing through the stable wall. With the two men down, she dashed forward with full speed, tackling the rest who were blocking her way. The attack took many of them by surprise; they were totally awed by the horse's power as she sprung over the paddocks fence and fled.
"Hurry up, men! Don't let it get away," Vex shouted as he ran to get his horse at the nearby stall.
You're dead meat once I get you, mare, he muttered to himself as he mounted Lightning.
Where on Earth am I?
With only the glitter of moonlight as her guide, Lily galloped blindly through the dense woods. She had never before ventured beyond the stable perimeters. The mare felt excited as well nervous at the same time as she paced through the thick bushes.
Lily's sharp hearing soon caught the sound of pounding hoofs as the men caught up with her. The mare had to run slower since she could not see well, thus giving her pursuers an advantage to catch up with her. Three men on horseback rode past her and blocked her way. Others followed suit and soon the mare found herself cornered by approximately twenty men. In short, she was trapped.
A few moments later, Lily let out an outraged squeal as she wrestled with the strangling tension of the lasso around her neck. It was a hard struggle between the two parties in the mini tug-of- war. Judging by the look of things, the outcome would be pretty obvious, but the hard headed tamer would not allowed it. As powerless as he might be, Rider has a few tricks up his sleeve.
Lily screamed in pain when two bullets pierced through her hind legs. The hot searing pain ripped through her senses, making her stumble a little. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to regain her composure. Her stubborn pride would not allow her to give in under any circumstances. Even if that meant Lily were to forfeit her life, she would fight her enemies until the very end. After all, she had nothing left to lose.
However, the intense struggle ended when Lily's bleeding wounds finally took a toll on her body, already weakened from fighting Rain earlier. Finally and fully against her will, the infuriated horse was brought down by the men's restraints.
Satisfied with his victory, Vex Rider dismounted and approached his prize.
Dark eyes met golden ones. The man's cold gaze held no mercy.
"You don't have to worry, beast. I will make sure your death will be slow and painful…" Vex chuckled evilly.
Lily felt a sudden chill running up her spine. Her fear escalated when she saw Rider untie a sack attached on Lightning's saddle. Lily' restraints were tightened further, immobilizing her completely. With her head tied down onto the ground, the mare could only wait for what was coming .
Lily suppressed a painful cry when Vex stomped one booted foot on top of her head.
"You think you can escape me, huh? Guess you are not that invincible after all… "
Rider signaled his men to secure their position as he retrieved his torture instrument lying on the grassy ground. It was a long bull-like whip with nine tails, each decorated with sharp iron tips at the end.
Lily vaguely remembered seeing the weapon ; it was Vex's tool for to inflict severe punishment on rogue horses. She had never been the victim before, since Ranger forbade his employees to hurt little Lily. But now that the old man was no longer around to protect the mare, Vex could easily dish out his punishment on her. Moreover, Rain's death would gave him a legitimate reason for Rider to declare that Lily had gone mad and was punished it for her unspeakable behaviour. If things were to go right, Rider would even escape without having to pay any compensation for the damage.
The horse held back a cry when the sharp claw-like tips raked through her skin, drawing lines of crimson from the painful friction. The mare braced herself for the second strike when the first lash landed unexpectedly on her back. The lashes came harder and more frequent; soon Lily's back was filled with bloody gashes. To make things worse, the spikes were drugged with acid- like chemicals, causing the open wounds to sting with twice the pain. She reinstated her useless efforts to break the tight bonds as the rain of whiplashes landed repetitively on her body but to no avail. As time passed, the pain was slowly replaced by numbness and after what it seemed like an eternity, Lily finally passed out.
.
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Looking extremely proud of his handiwork, Rider stopped the whipping. He felt satisfied after having vented all his anger towards the animal now lying unconscious on the blood-stained grass. The damage the horse tamer left was fatal towards the mare; even if she survived she would never be able to walk again. The twin bullet wounds at Lily's hind legs confirmed that fact.
"Let's go, boys. Our job here is done."
"What about the horse, mister ?" asked Tong Tong, the youngest among the stable caretakers, looking at the injured animal.
"Leave her be. She got what it deserved for all the trouble she had caused us," replied Rider callously as he mounted Lightning.
"Not a word to the old man, people. We don't want to lose our jobs, do we?" he continued and rode away.
The whole hunting group dispersed into the dark, leaving poor Lily behind. Heavy rain and claps of lightning followed after, creating a mild storm in the area.
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.
.
"Darn, it's raining again. Yagari-sensei, why do we have to train in the middle of the night? We've barely had any sleep for almost two nights now…"
A young boy about the age of thirteen was wading through a puddle of mud with only a kerosene lantern as his light source. Not that he needed it anyway. Ever since he was bitten by the pureblood Shizuka, he had experienced changes in his body - his night vision had improved tremendously and his his sense of smell had gotten better as the days passed.
As much as Zero was fascinated with the extra skills that he had obtained from his changed vampire DNA, he was equally afraid of them. They meant that he was gradually turning into an ex-human; a Level E vampire, to be exact. Zero was becoming the thing that he was born to hunt; a Level E that would threaten the safety of humanity. A hunter that would soon be hunted by his own kind without any sense of remorse.
"No excuse, Zero. Kaien has specifically instructed me to train you for the next hunter's tournament. Besides, you stopped your hunter training some time ago. Now is a good time for you to catch up on what your skills still lack," replied his sensei, ruffling his apprentice's silver locks.
Zero knew that Yagari was right. If it weren't for Cross, he would probably be dead by now. No one had ever survived an assault from a pureblood due to its lethal poison – unless, of course, you were meant to live as the pureblood's servant. Zero's adopted father, Kaien Cross, had rescued him from what was left of his family's massacre and given him a new life.
Next, there was Yuuki. The stubborn and overzealous little girl who had refused to leave him alone ever since he came to reside in the Chairman's house. Although she was sometimes irritating, Zero found her presence for the most part comforting. That girl would take care of him as if he were a baby and even accompanied him throughout his restless sleep just to make sure he was okay. Deep inside, Zero felt blessed to have these two individuals in his life, although he was too proud to admit it. For them, he would continue fighting to remain his sanity, and hopefully exact his revenge on Shizuka Hiou one day.
Zero's sharp sense of smell soon picked up a coppery scent as he walked and his sensei eyed on his pupil's face.
"What is it, Zero? You sense something? " asked Yagari curiously.
"Someone's bleeding. I'll go ahead and check it out."
With his vampire speed, Zero dashed away and disappeared from Yagari's side before his sensei could say anything.
"Oh boy…" grumbled the older hunter resignedly.
.
Zero's sensitive nose led him to a heap of tall grass located at the end of the woods. He glimpsed something white beneath the underbrush and drew closer to it…
.
.
The young hunter knelt beside the bloodied mare. He quickly checked her vitals for any trace of life. Luckily, there was a very weak pulse throbbing at the side of her neck.
Zero couldn't help himself but enraged towards whoever was responsible for Lily's condition.
Just because she happened to be an animal, so these people think they could do anything to her?
Applying all the first aid knowledge that he was taught as a trainee, he treated the horse's wounds. His mini first aid kit always comes in handy at times of emergency. Fortunately for Lily, Zero had spent two whole summers taking care of horses in the Hunter's Association. Thus, he was well-prepared for circumstances like this.
"Looks like someone left them in on purpose," said the older hunter after crouching down to inspect the mare's bullet wounds.
"We need to get the bullets out this instance, Sensei! At this rate, she's gonna be crippled!" cried the young hunter.
"Am already on it," replied Yagari, lighting his lighter. Next, he brought the fire near his pocket knife, sterilizing it in the process. Carefully, he made a cut near the bullet wound, big enough to remove the silver metal stuck amongst the torn muscle and tendons. He repeated the same procedure on Lily's other hind leg and ended the treatment with firmly- tied bandages on them.
At the same time, young Zero was busy cleaning the other wounds on the mare's body. He made use of Yagari's bottled sake as an antiseptic to prevent the ugly gashes from being infected. Zero could feel the animal shivering a little as he dabbed the sake soaked cloth on her injuries and speeded up his ministrations. Soon, Lily's treatment was completed. At least for now.
"What do we do now, sensei? She's not looking so good…" Zero enquired, feeling the horse's forehead burn under his touch.
"Unless we can somehow bring her back to the Academy, my hands are tied."
Zero suddenly thought of an idea. He reached for his backpack and retrieved a folded tent from it. He unfolded the green canvas on the wet ground and spread it next to the white horse. Yagari caught onto the idea a second later and helped Zero to roll the unconscious mare gently onto the material.
"Good job, my apprentice. Though you owe me one sparring session for this," said his master as he locked his fists on the front edges of canvas and positioned himself to drag the heavy load on top.
"I will be looking forward to it." Zero replied from behind, doing the same thing as well.
On the count of three, both hunters started dragging the injured mare all the way back to the Academy.
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TBC
A/N : After writing for almost a week now, I have realized that this fic was way too long for a one shot. I will try to update the next part as soon as I can. Please remember to review once you are done reading!