Note: This is a PRE-ETERNAL BOND story, as it is a Halloween special.
Second Note: I'm sorry, but I was HEAVILY inspired by Chapter 87 of the manga as is very obvious by the end. DON'T EAT MY FACE.
Eternal Bond: Halloween Special
Disclaimer: Do I look like Matsuri Hino? No, I thought not.
~o~
Well, it was that time of year again; Halloween. For some students, it was an exciting time of year which allowed the teenagers to expand their imaginations and either entrance or horrify their peers.
For others – for one in particular – it was pure Hell.
Seventeen-year-old Zero Kiryuu stared at his unofficial caretaker in shock, violet eyes wider than usual and mouth agape – but just so, so one couldn't see the horrible fate he'd been forced into. He couldn't believe that this man, not only a loving father but the Headmaster of a school educating both humans and vampires, could possibly think that this idea was going to run smoothly. It was absolutely ridiculous.
But, he couldn't bring himself to say a thing, because his partner was standing beside him with the biggest smile on her face, which reached her large cinnamon-colored eyes, wide in wonder and excitement.
"Headmaster, are you serious? You're really going to let us do this?" the brunette asked, practically jumping and squealing beside the rigid statue that was Zero. "We can dress up in costumes, wear wigs and make-up, the whole shebang?"
The light-haired, spectacled man nodded with a large smile on his face. "Of course, Yuuki! This year marks the very first of Cross Academy's own Masquerade Ball! All faculty will set up the ball in the Mess Hall, and come Halloween night, all students will be required to wear costumes and masks that cover their eyes! Oh, isn't it just splendid?"
Zero just couldn't stop himself and he slammed his palms on the Headmaster's desk with a loud Slap! "It most certainly is not!" he exclaimed, his violet eyes housing a fire that he hadn't seen in the boy's eyes since he saw Kaname for the first time. "Do you realize that something could go horribly wrong? Halloween is their time to lurk the streets, searching for prey, sucking the blood of innocent people! They will undoubtedly take advantage of that and suck the blood of all of your precious students!"
Headmaster Kaien Cross barely reacted, continuing off the tail of Zero's sentence. "Oh, but all of that is just folklore, Zero!" his pale hand was waving in the air, his eyes hidden behind the sun reflecting off of his glasses lenses. "Nothing bad will happen because we'll have all faculty working the Ball, including three – count 'em, three Hunters scoping out the grounds the entire week of Halloween. The night before Halloween and the day of, the Mess Hall will be closed to all students until that evening, when the Ball will be set up and finally attended. It will all be perfect, I just know it!"
A few moments later after the Headmaster explained the rules of the Ball and the events taking place afterward, both Guardians were released from the Headmaster's study and were informed to begin their nightly duties. It was a calm night, with glittering white stars shining over a blanket of darkness. Almost as soon as she had seen them had Yuuki noticed the sparkling faraway stars nearly disappear when Zero turned on his flashlight and shone the light in his partner's face.
"You don't really think something could go wrong, do you Zero?"
The boy in question turned to his partner briefly, not a single emotion on his paler-than-pale features, before digging his other hand in his trouser pockets. "It's a hunter's instinct, Yuuki; you never know what those vampires are thinking."
It took all of Yuuki not to mention the fact that he himself was one of 'those vampires', but she knew what he meant; the Academy, built for bridging the gap between the two entirely different entities, had been an attraction for all things trouble. Just in the past few months, her loyalty and affection to her father's goal – and to Kaname – was compromised by horrifying nightmares and hallucinations, as well as Zero being targeted by the Senate even after Kaname had told them to back off.
Things had gone all out of whack for the excitable brunette, who watched her silver-haired partner stalk off into the darkness. She hadn't had a full conversation with Kaname in those short months – especially after she denied his request to be his lover – and had ended up sticking close to Zero up until now. But yet again, he was pushing himself away as he always did, especially around this time of year.
It's as if… he's punishing himself, Yuuki noted before digging around her school bag and flicking on her own flashlight. …for being... one of 'them'. A vampire.
With this thought echoing in her self-conscious, she began patrols.
-x-
It was finally the week of the Halloween Masquerade Ball, and Yuuki was freaking the hell out.
Usually, she didn't have to worry about what she should wear or how much make-up would make her look 'just right' because she usually attended Ball's in either her school uniform or would wear a dress that the Headmaster (or Sayori) would pick out for her. But, this year… she had to put a lot of thought into what she was going to be when she entered that Mess Hall.
The Ball's theme was 'Haunted Masquerade', which probably meant that the students had to dress up like creatures of legend: zombies, ghosts and ghouls, devils and angels, werewolves …vampires. Each student was going to be given masks at the door – white masks with gold glitter for Day Class students, and black masks with silver glitter for Night Class students – so they didn't have to worry about running into town or making one themselves.
She had come up with a basic costume idea, but it was all about gathering the pieces she desired to put the final piece together; she still needed a light body paint, black eye liner, pieces of fishing line and a dark ribbon. She figured getting it in three days would be the perfect amount of time so that she could be ready in time for the Ball, but it was much harder than it looked to gather these things in the time she'd allotted herself.
And so, there she sat on her bed in her shared dormitory, her face in her hands and her toes tapping soundlessly on the wooden floor in a rhythm she seemed to be making up the longer she thought. In an instant, she groaned and crashed backward into her bed, staring up at her ceiling; if only she'd decided she needed these items sooner, she wouldn't be in a panic days before the event!
I'm so boned.
I… am so… boned.
-x-
Once darkness blanketed over the Cross Academy grounds, a plethora of undead creatures made their way toward the main building; ghouls, sorcerers, witches, ghosts and other creatures of myth slithered their way from both the Sun and Moon dorms, following the path lit up by tacky orange-tinted lamps. Not a single part of the cobblestone path was uncovered by some sort of dress or hood or prop to enhance the look of their costumes.
Voices traveled on the autumn breeze, all the way up into the ears of one rather short, ghoulish-looking doll. Her arms and chest were painted in a light blue color with stitch marks on her shoulders, collarbone, and on her cheek. Plain medium-light brunette locks were illuminated with streaks of red and purple with glitter sticking to a few front strands. Dangling silver earrings hung from pale lobes and onto delicate shoulders, where dark lace dipped down into a light, puffy dress. The skirt started at the start of her hips and draped down to the rise of her knees, where black and white striped stockings met with black ballet flats.
If she could say so herself, she looked positively ghoulish.
The minute the students entered the main building and made their trek to the Mess Hall, the large mass of students turned into their usual cliques, with the jocks and cheerleaders breaking off from the nerds and geniuses. She was left all alone for a minute, walking in silence, humored by her own thoughts and heavy heart until she met a large skeleton at the door to the Mess Hall. A light mask was handed to her and she wasted no time putting it over her eyes.
And, the minute that mask was on her face, the minute she became what it was her costume portrayed; a battered doll stitched back together to keep from falling apart. Everything she was, a pure girl who never could do any wrong in the eyes of her peers, father, and the man who saved her life… now an entirely different person by simply slipping on a beautiful white, gold-glittered mask.
The Ball was filled with phantoms and ghouls conversing, mingling, and easily keeping up conversation as if they weren't all separated by a huge, near-impossible gap. She could tell, by the black masks mingling with white masks, that everything was going splendidly, just as her father had predicted. And Zero had been so worried-
-Wait a minute… where was Zero?
In an instant, the Doll transformed into a Guardian, scoping out the large hall in search of her partner; he couldn't be that difficult to find since he was easily one of the tallest guys in the school, not to mention he had the lightest hair… she gulped as she dodged being pushed about by goblins and angels. Tall, fair hair and a white mask, as he was a Day Class student, and all of this while trying to avoid being checked in the shoulder by a zombie football player… which landed her on the terrace, tripping over her own feet.
And she prepared to hit the hard concrete and shut her eyes… but the pain never came.
Instead, she stumbled into a tall, light, masked Phantom.
"Walk much?" came his smooth reply, and the girl let out a sharp sigh of relief as her hands gripped his wrists. ...Thank goodness.
And for most of the evening, the Doll stood there beside the Phantom, laughing at a joke he'd said or yelling at a smart quip he'd made regarding her 'lack of purity and height'. Neither wanted to be back inside the stuffy Mess Hall, because there were things neither of them wanted to face inside, like the large beast prince charming conversing with the other maidens playing their best damsel in distress bit to get him to notice them, and…
…and oh gods, did it sicken her.
"Hey, you okay?" the Phantom stared down at the battered doll questioningly; if he were unmasked, worry would have flashed through his eyes.
The barriers were down now; they were just two friends, sitting on a terrace, a glass of orange soda in their hands. She didn't have to keep her insecurities at arms' length, nor was it going to be allowed. With a soft inhale, the Doll nodded, her colored tresses falling over her white mask –the only pure part of her costume. "I'm fine, just… thinking." It took a moment for her to word what it was she was thinking about, but she looked to her masked Phantom, chewing on her lower lip. "Have you ever seen yourself in someone else, and didn't like what you saw?"
You could say that… thought the Phantom, but he didn't say anything. His lips pressed together, as if thinking about something totally different, before he heard a slower song play in the background. …perfect.
A long, white glove reached out for her, and at first, the Doll wasn't sure how to react; what was he expecting her to do, give him a high-five? She had to fight the urge to rip off her mask and shoot him the most incredulous look she could muster, but instead she placed her bare hand in his gloved one. "What're you… Ze-"
"Ssh," he pulled her close into his arms, her body slamming into his hard, warm chest. "Here, I'm not Zero, and you're not Yuuki. Right now, here, out on this terrace…" he gestured around, and opened his mouth to speak before realizing he might as well be quoting an old, corny movie.
Instead, the Doll gave him a soft smile, brief, and looked straight into his eyes –at least, where she thought they were. "…out here, we're just a boy and a girl, enjoying the other's company, sharing a dance. Was that what you were going to say?"
The Phantom let the corner of his lips quirk up and gave a curt nod before each relaxed their stances, his other hand wrapping around her waist as hers lay comfortably on his shoulder. And for once, she believed that they really were just two childhood friends dancing together. That night, on that terrace, there was merely just a boy and a girl- a Phantom and his Doll.