This is an AU story about Zero and Yuuki with my own original plot that starts from the beginning with their meeting and will hopefully span a decent number of chapters. I will enter the night class and some other characters in later chapters (like chapter 2). Please enjoy chapter one and leave a review to tell me whether you like it or not. Many thanks to Death2Smooky for being my beta.
A boy too young to be considered a teen and too old to be considered a mere child glanced up from the table he was currently serving to sneak a look at the crowd of people near the entrance. The little restaurant in which he had been working had been packed to the brim for the last five days; so much that half of the town must have visited his place of work. That, however, was not the strangest part for, although such an abundance of people had come, the settlement was still too small to be plotted on all but the most specific of maps.
No, the reason for the commotion was the small-framed girl sitting at the eatery's most prized possession, possibly the only grand piano in the entire area. Her fingers had been working away at producing a sound so captivating that it drew people in, leaving them to stand mesmerized while listening. Her chocolaty brown eyes were staring intently at the sheet of music in front of her while her digits worked furiously to keep up with the notes she was reading. The melody was one of contentedness this time, although she frequently switched styles and artists while taking a break every once in a while to swipe her shoulder length brown hair out of her eyes.
The boy, Zero, couldn't help but be more aloof and less conscientious ever since she came around. Although nobody knew what the reason was behind her sudden appearance, all welcomed her for the pure homey feeling she brought with her. Zero judged her to be about his own height and age based off of the few times he had seen her stand up away from the piano to either come in or leave the place.
Zero, belatedly realizing that he was still hovering about the table he was supposed to serve, quickly stood up. Running a hand through his disheveled silver hair he cast a fleeting look over the room with his violet eyes to find the next table he would be servicing.
As always, he finished up the night without incident and prepared his light jacket, which he chose to wear over his gray and black work uniform, to go out into the cool evening. The puzzling girl had left about ten minutes before. Her departure was becoming the sign to close up. It was perfect; she left just before closing time with the customers more or less following. The customers were beginning to train themselves by coming at the hours they knew she would be playing; therefore the restaurant would have a surplus of customers during the latter half of the day and a slight deficit during the earlier half.
Zero hadn't but a twenty minute walk to his dwelling owed to the fortunate occurrence a little while back of meeting the little, cheerful man who ran the restaurant he worked at. Zero had been looking for a place to work and live on his own due to the dreadful slaughtering of his family, which had been news around town for the last two months. The store owner had taken an immediate liking to Zero and his careful, business-like manner, offering not only a job suitable for his age of twelve, but also residency in the same apartment complex that his wife ran.
It was now that Zero realized he had been spacing out again and noticed, much to his own surprise, that he had already arrived at the planned destination. He took a set of keys out of his jacket pocket and opened the door so that he might step inside to change out of his work uniform. After throwing his uniform shirt down in the corner of the room, his pants following abruptly after, he quickly and sloppily dressed in a light blue sweatshirt as well as some comfortable matching sweatpants. After surveying his room he promptly came to the decision to get out of the stifling, ill-organized space to get some fresh air.
Walking in the direction that had become most familiar to him recently, his feet automatically carried Zero to the park which contained what he liked to call his 'quiet place'. The park was conveniently placed on the way to the supermarket the young boy often visited and the place suited Zero perfectly. He'd found every nook and cranny on the first visit and on every subsequent trip he had lazed around in the shadows beneath the trees or opted to stretch out in the sun behind numerous benches where visitors were unlikely to come across him.
Today's visit, however, was not to be as peaceful as Zero previously had hoped. Upon arrival there were clear indications of a struggle taking place. Before rounding the corner to a location in which the rest of the park was visible, for at the moment Zero was located behind a large willow, his excellent ears picked up a general scuffle and what sounded like someone being restrained.
A howl of pain sounded from an unknown source and there came a string of curses followed by a gruff voice panting out what it thought of the situation. "Dammit girl, ya ain't gonna be using those sharp teeth of yours no more if I knock em' outta your head!"
At this point in the fray Zero decided that revealing himself would be in the best interest of whoever the 'damn girl' was. He was generally a very quiet person who preferred to keep to himself, however in a situation where someone was in need of assistance right in front of him, there was no space in Zero's conscience to abandon the situation.
Picking a tree within a reachable distance, Zero snapped off a nice, thick branch and prepared to wield it against whatever danger may threaten in the more open space of the park. All at once Zero jumped out, swinging the stick defensively in case the enemy might have been closer than he had gauged from the voices. Zero stood frozen for a few long seconds in wake of the scene playing out in front of his eyes. A rather tall being, probably about 6' 5" or 6' 6", was bent over for the purpose of placing long, ferocious, teeth at a young girl's neck. The vampire, Zero had come to realize, had the girl's head pulled back to the point that it had become a breathing hazard to her.
The most unforeseen part, however, must have been the identity of the girl Zero could have just as easily chosen not to save. It was the very same girl from the restaurant. Granted, she was now covered in sweat and her eyes were as frightened as any in such a situation, nevertheless, it took nothing away from her. Her rather pale hands were gripping tightly at one of the vampire's grimy, coal black sleeves pulling it back to show what could be deduced as a bite mark out of which flowed crimson. The man holding the young girl was clearly seeking blood. His eyes glowed scarlet with the anticipation of sinking some oversized teeth into the squirming, lively prey that was so close to being his next meal. Zero noticed that the man's hair showed itself to be grey, what was left of it anyway. It had obvious, extremely ugly, bald spots that must have come on early because of overwhelming stress. He had an unsightly, almost pig-like nose and several scars running down the length of his right cheek.
Overall, it was a scene that most would only witness in hideous nightmares and wild movies. If one were to be too squeamish in such a situation, that person could easily faint from the sheer amount of saliva dripping from almost serpentine fangs.
The vampire turned his blazing eyes on Zero and smiled in a way one could only describe as deadly. "What do we have 'ere now? A boy who thinks he's a knight? Or maybe a young hopeful for this here girl's love? Now I'll fix this problem 'ere yes I will." Zero was further appalled by the whole situation as the man threw the poor, stunned girl hard against a tree clearly intending to concentrate on the new disruption the boy presented. The girl squeaked in indignation but slumped soon after, most likely due to exhaustion and fear. Zero immediately remembered the stick now held loosely in his hands and resolved it was high time to make use of it. As the grotesque man jumped in Zero's direction the stick flew forward successfully knocking him back a few steps with a blow to the chest.
That same smile appeared along with the words, "Now we can't have that now can we? What a flimsy twig ya have there to fend off a creature like me." Stepping forward again, the branch also launching in time, the man grabbed it this time, snapping it in half with a petrifying crunch.
Asking himself what damage could possibly be done with a sturdy half-branch, Zero was not given time to think as a withered old hand with impossibly long, sharp nails came directly at his upper arm. Thankfully Zero had managed to avoid most of the attack, however a decent trickle of blood began to ooze down his arm, further adding to the ferocity of the vampire. The mad thing lunged at him a final time, fangs bared menacingly. This time Zero waited until the last possible moment to fling forth the primitive weapon. The creature wailed as the stick struck his right eye, effectively blinding him for the moment in a painful mix of blood, eye fluids, and other foul ingredients splaying from that side of the face.
The brute backed off looking bewildered for a second. It took but a moment to gather his bearings and realize the extent of the damage done. Upon comprehending this, the vampire shook his fist several times while cursing a long string of unintelligible words and dashing off in the direction of the nearest exit to the park. Zero was content to call it a day and made up his mind not to pursue the vampire when he remembered the previously discarded girl still sprawled along the base of a large oak.
Rushing over, Zero was at a loss about what to do when he found the girl unconscious with a good sized bump adorning the back of her head. Not only was there no practical way for him to transport the girl, but Zero was not at all experienced when it came to the art of healing or dealing with medicine. Deciding that draping her over his back was the best option, Zero started walking at a painfully slow pace back to the apartment building.
The girl stirred once or twice throughout the duration of the trip, but Zero was almost certain that she had not opened her eyes and she would most likely be in a bit of shock. Sighing, Zero struggled with the door knob while attempting to balance the girl precariously in a different position. He finally got the door open and carried the girl inside.
He set her on the only bed in the room, usually occupied by Zero, and sat down in a ragged, but comfortable, armchair with the intention of looking her over for major injury. Finding none, Zero went on to scrutinize her appearance. Her hair splayed out around her in an array of several slightly different shades of brown. She wasn't currently breathing out of her almost delicate looking nose, but was instead taking in air through her slightly parted mouth. The girl looked just now to be hitting puberty because slight curves of her body were starting to form. She was about average height and looked to be rather healthy besides her current condition.
Finding himself satisfied at his thorough examination of the girl, Zero made his way to the bathroom to sloppily bandage his own minor wound. Finding all business taken care of to a satisfactory degree, he determined that the best course of action would be to wait for the girl to wake up. Flipping on the small television set the room had to offer, Zero drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
A small sneeze drew Zero from his slumber, and the boy looked around in alarm. When his eyes spotted the girl he had saved earlier, the events of the day came back to him and he relaxed somewhat. The girl was sitting up on the bed now; covers draped around her, and was studying the room with a half-surprised, half-nervous look. Her eyes, Zero had noticed, mirrored her exact emotions.
The girl finally finished surveying the room when she turned towards Zero who currently had every ounce of attention aimed at her. She opened her mouth to speak, but then seemed to think better of it and closed her mouth, shaking her head in the process. When the girl had finally decided on what to say, she asked, "And who might you be?"
"I'm Zero." He answered plainly and bluntly like he did most of the time. Zero was not a fan of drawn out conversation and never had that many people to talk to anyway.
The girl then looked somewhat irritated. Apparently she had expected a longer explanation as well when she had inquired about his name. "What happened to me and why am I here?" She demanded, not quite unfriendly, folding her arms and her face showed a small frown.
Zero also didn't tend to comply well with the wishes of others. Instead of answering her query properly, he countered with his own. "What is your name?" Generally Zero was more polite but he justified his temporary rudeness by convincing himself that she was in no position to be asking questions after he had just braved a vampire to save her.
The girl snorted in annoyance. "My name's Yuuki if you must know."
Both stared at each other in awkward silence for a few minutes while each was thinking of what to say or do next. "Well," Zero started, seeing that they were getting nowhere, "you must be hungry. You've been out for…" a quick check of the clock here, "about four hours." He then got up to go into the kitchen with the sole purpose of heating up some spaghetti all the while hoping that she would be more compliant after a good meal.
Halfway through the meal Yuuki became much friendlier and attempted to make small talk with Zero, eventually finding out his name for herself and his current situation of no family. "I don't know how you do it." She sighed. "I've only been on my own for a couple of days and I've been attacked already."
"Why are you alone?" Zero asked with his interest now piqued.
"I really don't know. I just woke up one morning on the ground and can't remember anything that happened before."
Zero regarded her with a look of puzzled interest. It's not like there would be any parent that wouldn't want her. He had originally judged her to be the daughter of some rich visitor, being able to afford extra lessons for the piano. Now there was nowhere for her, and such a shame it would be for her to be attacked again… Zero sighed; he already knew where his thoughts were taking him.
With a final shake of his head he looked up again at Yuuki and offered what he could. "You can stay here if you want. I mean, until you find your family." And that was that. Yuuki accepted the offer with the promise that she would help out in anyway she could. Seeing that Zero didn't quite look happy about his own offer, indeed maybe a tad bit unhappy, she determined to stay out of his way for the most part.
But secretly, Zero was glad for the company.
