A/N Well, first off, I'd just like to say a huge thanks to everyone whos read and reviewed 'The Shower Attack!' It was great to hear that so many people enjoyed it!
Secondly, this is a kind of semi, loosely related sequel to 'The Shower Attack!' but its not necessary to read it before this one.
Thirdly, I'm afraid that this story turned out to be less funny and a little more morbid than I'd hoped for......
Heheh, hope someone enjoys it!
The Cat
It was a rare occasion to see the normally unmovable Pureblood discomfited about a turn of events, really, he had planned every part of Yuuki's life so carefully it was impossible to think that things wouldn't turn out as he wanted. Yes, there had been a couple of mishaps, unwanted attentions between Yuuki and Kiryuu and a couple of close scares with Yuuki's life; he never should have trusted the Chairman to be able to cook. But overall things had been going great; Yuuki had been mad at Kiryuu for a while, something about a shower, Yuuki had finished that dreadful 'Baby Pink' shower wash so he no longer had to compromise his image by wearing a nose plug to be around her and Yuuki seemed to be fonder of him than ever.
The fact that life had been going so well for Kaname Kuran made it a little difficult for him to process the scene in front of him. He had come to the Chairman's house under the pretence of discussing Night Class business in order to see Yuuki before her Prefect duties but instead had been met by the sight of Yuuki sitting cross-legged on the floor cuddling what looked like a large ginger mop head.
Kaname would later wish that he had never discovered the truth about the mop head but fate was not so kind to him for as soon as Yuuki realised her adored hero was in the room she gave him a smile that would put the sun to shame and squealed, "Kaname-sama!"
"Ah, hello Yuuki," he replied, still a little preoccupied with the ginger mop head that had now started vibrating and making funny noises. Choking back a yell, Kaname managed to ask Yuuki in a strangled voice, "Yuuki, what is that?"
Already making a mental list of suspects to kill for giving Yuuki a vibrating mop head, he was a little surprised when Yuuki broke into a fit of giggles, "K-Kaname s-sama, he's not a t-that! He's a kitty!"
Kaname guessed he must have looked a little shocked for Yuuki continued to giggle then held up the 'kitty' for him to inspect. Upon her lifting the 'cat' into the air, Kaname was able to see that the ginger thing was indeed a cat. Or, at least he guessed it was with his limited knowledge of animals, it had four legs and a tail anyway and was that, a face?
The normally unshakeable Pureblood had to hold back a shudder as for the first time he saw the face of the ginger scruff ball that had taken what should have been his placein Yuuki's arms. To put it bluntly, the thing was hideous! It appeared to be missing half the fur on its face and one of its ears, its nose looked like it must have been broken, 'Is that even possible for cats?' Kaname wondered, because it was squished to one side and, 'Hang on! RED EYES? No way were cats supposed to have red eyes!'.
As Kaname looked into the face of pure evil he realised that the strange rumbling noises the fleabag had been making earlier had stopped and instead it was giving distinctly hissing noises.
"Oh, shush shush Moggy, its okay, Kaname-sama isn't going to hurt you, no he isn't, 'cos you're gorgeous aren't you sweetheart? Isn't he gorgeous Kaname-sama?"
It took Kaname a second or two to realise that Yuuki had directed that last question to him and he valiantly fought the urge to rip the mongrel from Yuuki's arms and throw himself there instead, "Uh, of course Yuuki. He's, uh, gorgeous."
Kaname let his response trail off but Yuuki looked pleased with his agreement and continued, "I decided to name him Moggy. It was so sad, I found him on the way back from town and it looked like he had been abandoned. Who on earth would want to abandon such a cute little kitty?"
Tuning out Yuuki's chatter, it had taken a lot of practise to be able to do that and still look interested in whatever Yuuki was prattling on about, he made a closer inspection of the cat. Besides it being horrendously ugly, with eyes of evil and still making that hissing sound, Kaname didn't think that the cat would be too much to handle.
'Perhaps I could even just remove it instead of killing it outright' Kaname mused, 'Yuuki does seem awful fond of the hairbag'.
"Here Kaname! You can hold him!"
Kaname was jerked out of his musings to find Yuuki in front of his face, 'so much for paying attention', and suddenly the ginger thing was dropped unceremoniously into his arms. There was one of those moments, where time seems to take forever to pass, then Moggy attacked.
"AAUUUGHHHHHH!!"
Kaname was not ashamed of his blood curdling shriek as the ginger monster launched itself at his face and attached its claws into his tender skin. An attempt to throw the thing through the wall was thwarted by the needle sharp claws still trying to permanently disfigure his beautiful face by removing his cheeks. Kaname was barely aware of Yuuki dancing around in front of him until she managed to grab the monsters rear legs and pull it towards her gentle arms.
"KKKKAUUUUUUWWWWWWWWWW!!"
The claws that had been embedded into Kaname's cheeks managed to achieve their goal as they were ripped along his face by Yuuki's pulling.
"Oh! Kaname-sama!"
Kaname prepared himself for some well earned Yuuki pampering, only to find his heart struck cold at Yuuki's next words.
"You shouldn't have frightened him! Poor Moggy, poor baby. Its okay, he can't throw you anywhere now, mummy's got you."
Kaname's mouth dropped open in disbelief, that thing had clearly attacked him! But now the cat was safely back in Yuuki's arms and she was cradling him close as she swayed back across the room. Hang on, was that cat SMIRKING? Kaname felt his blood pressure rise at the blatant display of victory the ginger mop was parading, how dare that thing take precedence over him with Yuuki.
"I'm afraid I don't think he likes vampires very much Kaname-sama, so I don't think I'll be able to see you as much anymore," Yuuki softly intoned.
Kaname didn't believe that his day could have gotten any worse and that cat was still smirking! There was only one appropriate response that a young Pureblood vampire could have given in this situation and as his eyes met the gleaming red of Moggy's he silently promised,
'This means war'.
What Kaname had not expected to find upon leaving the Cross' house was one Zero Kiryuu crouching against a wall and wheezing into the grass. Of course, if this had been any other normal day Kaname would have made a disparaging comment about Kiryuu's state of health but what stilled his tongue was the sight of dried blood trails creeping down Kiryuu's cheeks and neck.
Sensing his sworn enemies arrival, Zero managed to gasp out, "What the heck do you want Kuran?"
Weighing his options, Kaname decided it would be more beneficial for him to act civilly if he wanted to gain any information, "How long has Yuuki had that ginger Thing?"
Slightly startled, Zero's head snapped up and he couldn't help but smirk at the sight of blood trails on the great Kaname Kuran's face. Of course he couldn't gloat for long as his lungs rebelled against him and he started wheezing into the grass again.
"Attacked you too huh?" he choked out.
Kaname was seriously considering leaving Kiryuu to die against the wall, he might be contagious, but allowed his honourable nature to play out as he commiserated with his enemy, "Filthy hairball nearly took my eyes out!"
Another wheezy chuckle from Kiryuu, "Yeah, Yuuki arrived with it this morning," a careful glance to Kaname, "She's pretty attached to the thing."
A low growl was Kaname's only answer to Kiryuu's statement, looks like he couldn't just kill it in front of Yuuki, he'd have to get it away from her first, which might mean touching it again. Giving a shudder, Kaname realised that Kiryuu was still partially squatted on the ground, "Kiryuu, not that your condition would concern myself in any way but why do you feel the need to get so acquainted with the earth?"
Another growl, but this time coming from Kiryuu, "Haven't you ever heard of freakin' allergies Kuran?"
A puzzled blink, a slight look of dawning comprehension, a gloating smile, a superior smirk.
"Are you allergic to cats Kiryuu?" came the delicately asked question. Answered only by a rude gesture from Kiryuu in Kaname's general direction as he decided now would be a great time to cough up that lung that no longer wanted to live in his body.
Filing away the information that Kiryuu was allergic to cats, he hadn't even known it was possible for vampires to have allergies, Kaname once again considered his options and he didn't like the best solution that his mind had to offer.
"Kiryuu?" he began softly, another wheezing gasp that he took as an agreement that the silver-haired boy was listening, he continued, "In order to end our problems with this 'creature', I would propose an alliance."
Startled silence met his statement.
"What!"
More coughing as Kaname repeated his offer irritatedly.
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time okay!"
Today really was trying his patience Kaname thought as Kiryuu dissolved into another round of gasping, "And do you ag-"
"Yes, fine, whatever!"
Biting his tongue in an effort not to strangle the boy, he laid out the terms of agreement, "We shall of course use every means available to us to rid ourselves of this mammal monstrosity but once the cat is gone we shall forget we ever co-operated together and shall give the other no quarter in our battle to claim Yuuki."
Kiryuu looked like he was going to give a sarcastic comment about the over-dramatisation of the speech but instead just nodded his agreement.
"Well then," Kaname gave an evil smile that made even Kiryuu flinch, "Let us get to planning the ginger toilet brush's demise."
A couple of hours later found Pureblood and Hunter side by side in the town's Public Library with Zero's condition much improved with a few gulps of Kaname's blood. Kaname figured it was for a righteous cause and the librarian had threatened to throw them both out of the library if Kiryuu hadn't shut up. Of course, some local town resident had seen Kiryuu at his neck and presumed that they were ravishing each other in the pet-care section. This had nearly gotten them removed but a little bit of sweet talking the librarian and glaring at the man accusing them managed to get them off the hook.
Nonetheless, the librarian did watch them a little more closely after that and they'd had to try and keep their arguing to a minimum in order to not attract attention, "Kuran you idiot! Get out of the breeding section! The last thing we want to do is grow more monsters!"
However, after several hours of scanning books varying from 'How to Groom Your Pet' to 'Get the Diet Right' they realised that people simply did not want to get rid of cats and instead found them rather useful to get rid of mice.
After this crushing defeat by the library and finally getting thrown out at closing time, Kaname and Zero were depressingly no closer to their goal and with very few ideas in mind of how to actually remove the cat without Yuuki causing them bodily harm.
"I guess we could ask the Chairman," Zero stated doubtfully and Kaname gave him a withering look.
"Kaien Cross practically breathes for Yuuki, if she wants to keep the ginger monstrosity then she'll get to keep it."
Kaname expected Zero to try and retaliate with another cutting remark but upon glancing at the boy he found him staring at a sign, a thoughtful look on his face. Peering closer at the sign Kaname read, "Puppies For Sale! 5 Labrador Puppies looking for a good home. Please Enquire at the door."
Kaname felt the cogs turning in his head and he saw Zero looking at him, waiting for him to acknowledge the sheer simple brilliance of his plan.
"You really think that would work?" Kaname asked quietly and Zero considered his question seriously.
"I think its worth a try," he finally replied and Kaname gave a nod, reaching for his wallet as Zero rang the doorbell.
Less than thirty minutes later they were once again walking towards the Academy but this time with Zero holding a rumbustious little black puppy that was so insistent on licking his face and neck that even Kaname couldn't hold back a small smile at seeing the normally stoic Hunter trying to handle a puppy.
"I think he- eugh!- likes me," Zero managed to say between being licked on the mouth.
Kaname snorted his amusement, "Indeed Kiryuu. In fact, I think those reproduction texts may come in useful for the both of you after all." Kaname just managed to dodge a vicious kick to the shins.
Upon arriving back at the Academy they both made a beeline for the Cross' house, managing to avoid any unwanted attention from the Night Class who were undoubtedly wondering where their precious Pureblood had disappeared to.
"Kiryuu," Kaname asked as they reached the door, "How do you propose that we should bring this plan to fruition?"
An incredulous look from Zero, "Kuran, who the heck says fruition anymore? And anyway, its simple. We just take the puppy into the house, tell Yuuki we found it by the roadside in a box or something, she falls in love immediately with its adorable sweetness but realises that she can't possibly keep both that hideous creature and this cute puppy and so she chooses the puppy!"
"And do you really think that Yuuki is stupid enough to think that we might actually voluntarily spend the amount of time together that would have been required to find this puppy?" Kaname asked doubtfully.
"Are we talking about the same Yuuki Cross here? She's denser than a doorknob."
Kaname considered punching Zero in the face for the casual derisiveness of his Yuuki but then reconsidered the facts of Yuuki and nodded in grudging agreement, "Very well Kiryuu, if you're sure it'll work."
A nod from Zero as he gripped the puppy in one arm and swung open the door with the other.
Then deathly silence in the hall should have been a warning to the two brave vampires but both were too preoccupied with their plan to pay any heed to the feeling of foreboding that hung over the house.
"Yuuki! Are you home?" Zero called loudly as he stalked towards the sitting room, Kaname following closely in his steps, carefully checking open doors in case the ginger mop decided to spring a surprise attack. However the sitting room was as empty as the hall and Zero gave a short sigh of frustration as he dropped the squirming puppy and flopped onto the couch. Looking over at Kaname still standing in the doorway he shrugged, "I guess she must be out with Prefect duties."
Kaname hmmed lightly and posed himself on one of the chairs, both the vampires watching the little black puppy that was now excitedly sniffing the carpet and yipping in time to his wagging tail. Kaname was surprised to see a slight smile on Kiryuu's face as he watched the puppy but guessed that it must be a human thing to attach oneself to an unintelligent animal.
A loud hiss from the doorway into the kitchen was all it took to break the semi-peaceful mood in the room. Both vampires whipped their heads round and stared with wide-eyed horror as the ginger monster stalked slowly into the room, its red eyes fixed on the form of the small black puppy still playing on the carpet.
Zero felt his heart plummet as he yelled, "Blackie! No!"
But the innocent little puppy didn't understand that the silver-haired boy was yelling at him as he bounded forward to inspect the new animal in the room.
Both Kaname and Zero couldn't seem to force their limbs to respond as Moggy gave a yowling screech at the approaching puppy and attacked.
"Blackie," Zero managed to whisper as he and Kaname both watched horrified as Moggy proceeded to rip the puppy from the inside out, its dying yelps lost beneath the sadistic cries of the triumphant predator. The two vampires had never seen a more horrible sight than that of Blackie's broken body being swallowed whole by the ginger monster without a single drop of blood being left on the carpet.
Having finished his evening snack, Moggy raised his head to look at the two vampires who were still sitting frozen with shock. A singular shudder ran through both Kaname and Zero as the red eyes focused on them and they felt the fear of a hunted animal.
"Run!" Kaname managed to rasp sharply as Moggy paced closer, Zero nodded rapidly in agreement and both made a wild lunge for the door just as Moggy gave another yowl and pounced... SMACK!
The two vampires on the other side of the closed door gasped with relief at their close escape, their hearts still hammering in their chests and their bodies shaking with adrenaline as Moggy began his systematic attack on the other side of the door, his claws shredding easily through the wooden panels.
"RUN!" Kaname yelled this time as he and Zero sprinted out the front door and didn't stop till they had reached the Night classroom and had locked the door.
The Night Class had been having a very boring and uneventful evening, listening to some teacher drone on about Vampire politics and wondering what had happened to Kaname-sama. Ichijou assured them that he was simply visiting the Chairman and that there was no need to worry but they had heard Yuuki muttering something about Kiryuu being missing most of the afternoon and about Kaname-sama running from something and most were desperate to satisfy their curiosity about where Kaname-sama was. Especially if it meant that something nasty had happened to Kiryuu.
Therefore, it was more than a slight surprise to the Night Class when Kaname-sama came bursting into the Night Class, followed by none other than Zero Kiryuu, and then both of them immediately slammed the door shut and jammed it with a chair.
There was several moments of stunned silence as Kiryuu and Kaname bent over double, trying to catch their breath and ignoring the shocked stares of the Night Class. Eventually Ichijou was the only one brave enough to ask a tentative question.
"Uh, Kaname-sama, is everything, alright?"
Any other day Zero would have shot himself for voluntarily entering the Night Class, let alone running after Kuran into said class but today was not an ordinary day. So he didn't glare at Ichijou's stupid question, or at the other stupid bloodsucking vampires giving him stupid looks, but instead rushed to the windows to check the grounds in case the homicidal cat was still chasing them.
The teacher was looking a little stumped as to how to react to the situation that was clearly not in the 'How to Teach Vampires' guidelines but fortunately for her Kaname had managed to regain his senses and realised that this situation did not make him look good in the slightest and strove to save a remnant of his tattered reputation.
"I'm afraid Cross Academy has a serious problem." Kaname paused to make sure that his words would have the maximum effect on the eagerly listening vampires, "There is a monster on the loose."
The Pureblood rather expected that his class of vampires would immediately rush to his aid and vocally voice their concerns over his safety and the situation. What he didn't expect was for them to sit staring at him like he had grown another head. But the most surprising thing was that Kiryuu actually came to his aid.
"Its true! We're not crazy you imbeciles! There really is a monster and if we don't get rid of it it might kill us!"
In retrospect Kaname thought that Kiryuu might have been a little hysterical at this point but all that mattered was that the Night Class were now seriously considering that this might not be some kind of practical joke and that there might be something lurking around the grounds that was powerful enough to take down both the Hunter and the Pureblood.
Having managed to successfully project the seriousness of the situation, the vampires in the Night Class were beginning to look a little frightened and one young female even broke out in a scream before Ruka delicately whacked her over the head and calmly asked, "What do you require us to do Kaname-sama?"
It was fortunate for Kaname that he held the full presence of a Pureblood even while being scared witless on the inside. It was these powers of self-possession that allowed him to pause and consider the situation rationally, "This calls for Emergency Plan 53."
Kiryuu had been getting steadily more anxious and the vampires' reactions to Kaname's statement was not promising; most grew pale and some even fainted into the aisles, but Kaname's brave group of closest followers clenched their fists and stood up behind their desks.
"We're with you Kaname-sama," they all bravely saluted.
If a stranger had happened to enter Cross Academy that fateful night they would have been utterly confused, or would have thought that a game of ultimate hide-and-seek was going on. Either way, the fact was that during the dead of night, useful for the vampires, there was a group of vampires running stealthily across the grounds of Cross Academy in full Army Commando gear. It had taken a lot of convincing to get Shiki and Rima to put on the black face paint, but Emergency Plan 53 required the utmost stealth and secrecy.
Or, at least, that was what Zero had been told.
He still wasn't quite sure how he had gone from nearly choking due to an allergy to creeping through the grounds in league with his ultimate enemy and rival.
"Sccht. This is Black Panther. Silver Crow? Come in Silver Crow. Repeat. Silver Crow? Sccht."
Zero rolled his eyes at the stupidity of his codename while whispering into his headset, "What the heck do you want Kuran?"
"Sccht. You have to use your codename Zero! Otherwise we won't know if you've been compromised. Sccht."
Once again Zero wondered how the vampire race was expected to survive with the idiotic Pureblood as their head, "Its a freakin' CAT Kuran! It can't talk!"
There was silence for a few moments, then, "Sccht. Use your codename Silver Crow or I'll cut you from this mission. Black Panther Out. Sccht"
If it had been a less serious situation Zero may have smirked at the obvious pout in Kaname's voice but as it stood he didn't trust the vampires to effectively deal with The Problem. So he decided to appease Kaname's controlling nature, "Fine! Black Panther! What the heck do you want?"
"Sccht. Have you caught sight of the target? Sccht."
Zero ground his teeth at the Pureblood's smug tone but scanned the surrounding trees and lawn before replying tersely, "No Black Panther. I can't see anything."
It was at this moment that Zero would later look back and consider how lucky he was that he hadn't strayed upon Moggy alone that night. The first signs of warning came from the earpiece in form of a dramatic scream from Aido, "Black Panther! Orange Phoenix! White Swan! Brown Bear! Red Squirrel! Grey Gull! Yellow Duckling! Silver Crow! I SEE IT!"
After clearing his ear after this violent outburst by Aido, and shaking his head a few times for good measure to ensure that he hadn't totally lost his vamparic hearing, Zero set off at a sprint to Aido's location while contemplating the ridiculous code names and potential for blackmail.
However, before he could reach Aido's location his earpiece crackled into action again, this time a hideous scream from Aido, before falling dead. Zero felt his blood run cold as he remembered what Moggy had done to Blackie. It was time to consider his options once again. Option A: he runs in like a hero and attempts to save Aido from a horrible fate. Option B: he groups up with the other vampires before taking on Moggy. Option C: he runs far far away in the opposite direction.
Zero skidded to a halt as he considered the last option; running away seemed like a very good idea... But then another groan from the earpiece and the sounds of vampires frantically asking if 'Golden Lion' was okay reminded Zero that he had pledged his lot in with the vampires and 'Silver Crow' would not abandon his fellow fighters! As soon as he convinced his feet to run in the opposite direction anyway.
After a couple more seconds Zero was well on his way to Aido's position but unfortunately was too late. The scene on the forest floor was the sight of nightmares and haunted Zero many years into the future. The Doctors said that it was only because Aido was a Noble that he even survived the attack.
Carefully leaning to the side so he could quietly vomit, Zero could hear the shaken vampires attempting first aid on Aido while Kaname dialled for a Vampire Medic. Moggy was no where to be seen but none of the vampires were leaving their backs unprotected and Zero moved closer into their midst, fearful of the night and monsters and trying to ignore the scent of Aido's freshly draw blood.
Kaname looked up as he approached and nodded solemnly, fear tingeing his normally stoic gaze.
"Do you think it'll ever grow back?" Zero whispered gruffly. Kaname glanced once more at Aido's blood soaked form and slowly shook his head. Fear lanced through Zero's body as he realised the full potential of Moggy's destructive powers and gave a mental prayer for Aido.
Kaname could feel his vampires' distress and silently motioned Zero to the side and whispered, "This is unacceptable Kiryuu. You and I both understand that we can no longer allow other innocents to take the consequences of something we should have destroyed on first sight."
Zero stole a look at the distraught Night Class then nodded his head in agreement, "You're right Kuran, for once. We should never have involved anyone else."
Kaname felt his eye twitch in irritation at Kiryuu's first statement but allowed it to pass unchallenged, petty rivalries were no longer important at this point in time, "In that case Kiryuu, I suggest we devise a plan that will actually work this time."
Zero shot a quick glare at the Pureblood, "As far as I can see Kuran, at the present moment in time we've both had a failed plan. So perhaps we can now use both our brain powers to come up with a master-plan, hmm?"
The Pureblood raised an eyebrow in surprise at the Hunter's sudden maturity with the situation but another groan from Aido reminded him once again of the task at hand, "Very well Kiryuu, I suggest we leave immediately so that the thing can be removed by tomorrow and Cross Academy will be safe again!"
Zero didn't even bother trying to hide his scathing look at the Pureblood's dramatics but followed him towards the Night Dorms anyway.
Several Hours Later...
"Kuran! Stop wiggling! You need to stay still!"
"Well I AM sorry Kiryuu but you happen to be just a LITTLE bit HEAVY!"
"SHHHHHH!! Do you want to wake her IDIOT?!"
"WELL PERHAPS YOU SHOULD BE ON THE BOTTOM THEN!!"
If any passersby had happened to be walking outside Chairman Cross' house at about 4 in the morning they would have seen a very unusual sight. As it was, there were only a couple of birds watching the two teenaged boys attempting to reach the bedroom window of Yuuki Cross. One might assume that this was simply a romantic gesture of undying love from said boys but no, this was a mission of utmost importance.
With Aido now safely in a vampire clinic and having conducted some reconnaissance, the two boys had discovered that Moggy was now asleep in Yuuki's bedroom. After some initial panic, "KURAN! THAT THING IS GOING TO SMOTHER HER IN HER SLEEP!!" that was taken care of by a well placed smack to the head, Zero still had the bruise even with his vampire healing, the two vampires had come up with their ultimate master plan.
To creep into Yuuki's room and force-feed the sleeping mop-head a dose of lethal poison.
At least, that was what they hoped to do. As a matter of fact they had gotten stuck on the first hurdle; sneaking into Yuuki's room. It had been unanimously decided that it was far too dangerous to try sneaking in through the door so they had turned to the window and that was the situation they were in now.
"Kuran! More to the left! NO YOU HUMUNGOUS IDIOT! THE LEFT!!"
Needless to say, both vampires were facing slight problems with Zero perched on Kaname's shoulders, trying to catch onto the windowsill so he could slither into Yuuki's room. Initially Kaname had thought he'd gotten the better job but now he wasn't so sure as Zero kicked him in the face again, he'd better not be doing that deliberately!
"Kiryuu! Will you hurr-"
"Got it!" Zero hissed in triumph.
Kaname gave a silent sigh of relief as Kiryuu began to pull himself up to the open window but then let out a vicious growl as he was kicked one last time. Looking up and opening his mouth to reprimand Zero he was surprised to see that the Hunter had gone deathly still, "Zero?"
Zero could feel his arms trembling as they supported his weight as he looked into the face of evil.
Moggy sat eyeing Zero from inside the window and flexing his rather large claws and Zero felt the blood draining from his face.
Moggy extended his body closer to the window and Zero started whimpering.
Moggy unsheathed his claws and placed them gently over Zero's fingers and Zero felt his heart pumping wildly in his chest.
Moggy let out a hiss of satisfaction and Zero screamed.
Moggy dug his claws deep into Zero's fingers and Zero immediately released the ledge.
Kaname had been getting steadily more worried as Kiryuu ignored his whispered questions of concern and then let out a sqauk as Zero suddenly dropped from the window and flattened the Pureblood.
Completely winded, Kaname could only mouth in surprise as Moggy's head appeared through the window and gazed down in triumph at the bodies lying in a heap. Kaname looked at Kiryuu, who was still shaking frantically, and was about to push him off when he suddenly heard Yuuki's voice.
"Moggy? Oh, Moggy sweetie! You shouldn't stay by the window, you might catch a cold. D'you reckon that was a bird making those noises just now?"
Kaname could only watch in numbed silence as he saw Yuuki's gentle hands reach and pull Moggy from the windowsill and then close the window. He felt Zero give a sigh of relief from on top of him and took the occasion to throw the Hunter to one side, ignoring the squeak of pain from the traumatised boy as he did so.
Giving Kiryuu a withering look he commented, "Well, that didn't go so well now, did it?"
The full glare of Zero's hate was intensified as he snapped back, "Well I'm so sorry that I didn't want to risk my life with that hairball!"
The two vampires continued to bicker as they crawled defeated from the Cross' house.
It was two broken and dispirited vampires that finally made it back to the Night Dorms, covered in scratches, blood, sweat and tears. It was fortunate for Kaname that none of the Night Class were still awake as he and Kiryuu traipsed back to his room and promptly fell asleep, dreading tomorrow.
Kaname woke, feeling slightly groggy and was surprised to see the sleeping form of Zero sprawled on the other side of the bed. A moment later however, after considering pouring freezing water on the sleeping boy, he remembered the failure of the previous night and let out a tortured groan.
Of course, this then woke the sleeping Hunter and this resulted in much exchanging of insulting words. Which then led to the brandishing of feather pillows, which led to the hitting of each other with said feather pillows.
Half an hour, a feather explosion and a promise to never speak of the incident again later Kaname and Zero were once again trying to think of an idea to remove the homicidal cat. With no avail.
"Come on Kuran! Can't you use that thick head of yours to come up with just one idea?"
"You're just jealous that I won the pillow fight Kiryuu." Kaname replied smugly, enjoying the dark look on Kiryuu's face and the feather sticking up behind his head that the Hunter hadn't found and removed yet, not that Kaname was going to help him.
"I thought we agreed not to mention that again?" Kiryuu asked tersely, trying to figure out whether punching Kaname broke any commitments of their alliance. The Pureblood just gave a superior chuckle as the Hunter began to pout.
Thus, both vampires were surprised when Yuuki suddenly appeared and sobbing in distress, "K-kaname-sama! Z-zero-k-kun!"
Both vampires rushed forward to comfort Yuuki and, after an accidental head bash and resulting glares, they finally realised what she was trying to tell them, "M-moggy's, hes, h-h, hes... DEAD!"
Yuuki finally succumbed to her grief and as she slid to the ground both vampires looked at each other in startling comprehension.
"WWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!! YYYYYYYYYYEAAAAAAAAAA!!"
Both Hunter and Pureblood were about to begin a rabid victory dance when they realised that Yuuki was still sobbing and decided that it would be better to save victory celebrations for a more private occasion.
"Now now Yuuki," Kaname began gently, "The, er, Cat, lived a long and fruitful life!"
Zero gave a slight snort as he remembered Kaname's enjoyment of fruit based words but then quickly straightened his face and added to the Pureblood's statement, "Y-yeah Yuuki. We, erm, all loved him, so very dearly!"
Kaname gave Zero a look that plainly said 'What on EARTH are you saying? You are NOT helping!' but Yuuki gradually began to sob less until she was eventually at the hiccuping stage, "Than-hic-k you -hic- so much -hic-, will you -hic- come -hic- to his -hic- funeral? -hic-."
This last sentence took a couple of moments to translate in each of the vampires minds but then they both replied unanimously, with sadistic gleeful smirks, "Of course Yuuki! We would be happy to help you put him to rest."
Several Days Later
Cross Academy had once again returned to its state of semi-peacefulness, really, how could it be expected to be completely peaceful with such an eccentric headmaster. Strangely enough it was no longer completely unusual to see Yuuki's two sworn love rivals having a semi-civilised conversation. Such was the case this sunset as they sat watching the last rays of light filter through the grounds of Cross Academy.
However the peaceful scene was broken as Zero gave a soft snort and Kaname turned his head to give him a questioning glance.
"Still can't believe that Moggy died because he choked on a cockroach." the Hunter explained.
Kaname smirked slightly in response, "Well, even nuclear power can't kill cockroaches. I suppose its not too embarrassing to admit to having been beaten by one."
"Heh!" Zero jeered, "The great Kaname Kuran, Pureblood vampire, admits to having been outdone by a cockroach!"
The peaceful expression slipped off the Pureblood's face to be replaced with a look of intense irritation, "I thought Kiryuu, that we agreed NOT to continue civilities after the Problem was gone? Or is Yuuki still not talking to you?"
The expression on the Hunter's face showed that the the Pureblood had hit a nerve, "Just 'cos I tried to pour some Holy Water over Moggy's body at the funeral! Besides, isn't she still not talking to you too?"
Kaname pouted, "I thought it was a very good suggestion to dismember Moggy so that he couldn't return to the land of the living."
Kiryuu gave a sympathetic grimace in memory of Yuuki's anger at Kaname's suggestion, "Ah well, I guess its all turned out okay."
Kaname nodded his agreement.
Then they both screamed as they heard the sound of a cat yowling in the distance.
A/N Yeah, its, um. If you feel like leaving a comment please do! And please also check out a joint story that I'm writing, its under the Natarii-and-Rat-chan.
Thanks for reading!