"Even though I love you so much I feel like eating you whole…" he whispered. The threat was not lost on Yuki who forced herself to move her arm foreword so Artemis could pierce through his heart. She didn't know why she felt bad about this or why against all her better judgment she felt pity for her lonely old uncle. But she took satisfaction in the fact that it was now over. The evil he had plagued the world with for thousands of years would soon shatter like glass with him.
Or so Yuki thought.
Her newly awakened instincts told her that his aura should be weakening as his death approached but it wasn't. She heard Rido chuckle deep in his throat. Yuki scowled at him pulling Artemis farther into his body. In return he only gave a discomforted grunt not the pained response she expected when being faced with such a potent anti- vampire weapon.
But Yuki saw something that would send chills down her spine forever. Artemis began to glow a steadily growing shade of crimson and it burned her right hand with the heat of the sun. But she knew she couldn't let go of it if she wanted to protect herself. Rido smirked again and chuckled yet again because then Artemis started to dissolve. Yuki gasped and stared as the weapon that had been her savior for the past ten years disappeared before her. What was worse was where the scythe was going. It was then that Yuki fully noticed that if anything Rido's aura had gotten stronger. So strong that she could barely sense anything else. Yuki shivered when she realized that Artemis had not killed her uncle… it was being absorbed by him. She knew it was one of his talents to bend his form and shape shift with his blood but this went beyond anything she could comprehend.
Yuki went cold when she also realized she had nothing to protect her now from Rido. Rido's smirk widened as he saw her comprehension of the current situation. He held out his left hand where Artemis began to form again but in his grip. Yuki trembled in fear that now he was the one that could kill her. As Artemis regained all of its shape Rido used his pureblood strength to fling it off the rooftop. Yuki cried out when she saw this. She had a mixture of relief that he wasn't wielding it, but new found worry that she no longer had it when it fell into the trees about a mile away from where she was standing.
Now that Rido was no longer occupied by that insignificant detail he wrapped his arms fully around Yuki. Yuki found herself so intoxicated by his presence that she stalled on moving. She knew it was dangerous to be so unprotected but he had full control of his powers when she didn't. It all made for a very unfair match.
Rido lent down to her ear nuzzling her hair with his nose. Yuki finally got the mind set to struggle. She thrashed and squirmed to no avail. He tightened his grip on her not painfully but to where her movement ceased. Yuki was about to start hyperventilating, she needed Kaname and Zero right now. Right now! But her boys were no where to be seen. She was totally alone with the uncle who had wanted her blood from the moment she was born.
"Did Kaname Onii-sama not tell his dear girl the truth about those kinds of things?" Rido asked mockingly sweet.
"Let me go…" Yuki protested weakly.
"Would you like me to tell you?" was his response. Yuki shook her head violently. She didn't want to know a single thing he had to say; she wanted to get away from him and she wanted Kaname and Zero to hurry up!
Rido ignored her plea and said, "You know I mentioned that I killed your father with this. But I might not have mentioned that when a vampire gives its blood to their anti- vampire weapon of choice the two create a bond. The weapon will always serve and know who its master is… my little girl gets it now don't you? Artemis is my weapon, Yuki."
Yuki cringed when she heard this. Too many things were hurting her heart then. The memory of her father's death and most importantly Artemis the one inanimate thing she cherished was not hers at all. It was Rido's. The guardian she had kept for years had been tainted not only by her uncle's use but by his blood. And all the people she loved the most Cross, Zero and Kaname had touched this now tainted and dirty childhood protector of hers. Yuki didn't stop the hot angry tears that flowed freely down her cheeks.
Rido smiled as he watched this. What delighted him was Yuki really was so much like Juri when she was angry. He looked down at her neck and saw the blood flowing freely there his for the taking. He listened to the drum beat of his niece's heart now quickening its pace out of anger. He slowly lowered his head even further to bring his mouth down to her neck. She smelled just like Juri too. He had already thought of not draining her and loving her instead but the idea was now solid in his mind. He would keep Yuki and love her like he would have of loved Juri if she hadn't left him. He wouldn't kill her. But it would just be no fun if he didn't play a bit first. After all ten years of not being in his own body left a lot to make up for.
He licked from her collar bone to the top of her neck. Yuki stiffened in his grip. She wasn't going to let him… she just couldn't!
"Juri… it's not the weapon I want…" he said against her skin. Yuki turned her head to try to stop his advancement but it was too late. All she had managed to do was nuzzle his head in the crook of her neck. He smiled and couldn't help but think that maybe Yuki would love him after all.
"I'm not my mother!" Yuki cried almost breaking the allusion. But Rido didn't let it hinder him. Things were already going very well.
"That's right," he answered, "You're Yuki and you are going to let me love you." Yuki clung to the hope that this was just a horrible dream that it wasn't real, and when she woke up Zero and Kaname would be there for her. She knew that it was a false hope when Rido grazed his fangs along her neck.
"Are you going to kill me?" she asked hesitantly.
Rido decided that the fun should be over and he should tell her the truth. But then he hesitated. The last time he was prepared to give a woman his heart she had thrown it in his face and chosen his brother instead. No, maybe he wouldn't tell her the whole truth- not yet.
"If you let me love you then no", he stated. A gross lie but it would work for now.
And for whatever reason Yuki thought she would never figure out she leaned her head back to rest on his shoulder. Maybe it was because she was sorry for him or maybe because he was a relative. Or maybe it was because she felt she could help him by just being there without hurting him in the end.
"OK," she said even though he wasn't asking. Rido felt something like his heart warming. He wasn't sure though because it hadn't happened in a long time. He took her invitation and sunk his fangs gently into her neck.
Kaname kept struggling for all he was worth. He couldn't conceive how this had happened. He had gone to the Senate chambers to put an end to the corrupt government he was so tired of. But somehow they had managed to get the jump on him.
They had managed to bind and gag him while throwing him into one of their dungeons. He had managed to get the gag off of his mouth but his wrists were bound behind his back with anti- vampire shackles and the same for his legs.
But he was a pureblood! He should have been stronger than this!
His dear girl needed help and no one was coming. Kaname kept on writhing around trying to free himself. All he was managing to do was make himself bleed spreading the scent of his blood. It wasn't helping the fight going on outside. Many hunters of the Association had rebelled against their President and came here with all of the Night Class students to help Kaname fight. The rest of the hunters were at Cross Academy protecting the students from wandering level Es. Kaname felt extreme respect for all of the Hunters at this time. They had even gone to the trouble of killing their highly corrupt leader. However Kaname would respect them even more if someone would help him get out!
He also knew that was an unfair request to make. The hunters and Night Class students were giving their all, but… they weren't winning. Over the centuries the Senate and grown incredibly strong. Too strong. Even Toga Yagari the number one hunter and Kaien Cross the legendary hunter were starting to break a sweat. Not to mention Kaname was almost being chocked by the scent of blood. And most of it wasn't coming from Senate members.
What worried Kaname most was he didn't know where Zero was. He prayed he was with Yuki but if that was true he and Yuki would be here by now. But during his struggle Kaname froze.
There was the dull pain of being bitten radiating from his blood bond with Yuki. Could that mean…?
"Bastard!" Kaname screamed, "You bastard!" He had felt those pair of fangs bite him before. Even now the owner of those fangs still brought him nightmares. That monster Rido had the courage to actually bite Yuki. Kaname fought as hard as he had in his entire life. Nothing was as important to him as Yuki. He had to get to her. He had to go right now!
And as if his prayers were answered Yagari threw the huge iron door open. Relief flooded through Kaname. "Yagari- sensei, boy am I glad to see you," he said. Yagari gave a crooked smile.
"Well we couldn't find you until we heard you scream," he replied. Yagari quickly helped him on his feet and undid all of the shackles. "Now Kaname- kun would you help us with all these fools?" Yagari pointed behind him to where the battle still waged.
"It would be my pleasure," Kaname responded with an evil glint in his eyes. Yagari gave him a pat on the back and they both rushed foreword. First thing was first; he would kill the Senate and then he would kill Rido and get Yuki back. But what poor Kaname didn't know was that it was much too late.
Yuki clung to him even tighter as she drank more of his blood. When she had just been awakened the only blood she had access to at the time was Kaname's but… Rido's blood was… amazing. It was thick and warm and it even carried hints of his love for her. Much more than Kaname's ever had. It surprised her to no end. She had been convinced that the only blood she ever wanted was her Onii-sama's. Now though, she only desired Rido's.
He moaned softly when she licked his neck again. This was a case where the girl was different from her mother. Juri had never been gentle; she took what she wanted when she wanted it. She had been a lot like him in that respect. Yuki finally pulled back and sealed his wounds with a kiss. Now Juri had never done that. Rido was quite pleased with how everything was turning out. He now shared a blood bond with the prize he had been after for a decade. He looked down at Yuki with his signature smirk firmly in place. Yuki realized that she was beginning to like that smirk.
"You didn't suck me dry," she stated.
He chuckled and said, "You were good and didn't try to run."
Yuki wasn't unaware of what blood bonds meant. They were as sacred and as intimate as a human wedding ring. And even though she knew she should feel guilty about Kaname she found she couldn't. He seemed to be creeping more and more to the back of her mind. She also found that she wanted to be with Rido. She could tell in almost everything about him that he did love her. Even if it was just because she looked like her mother.
But Yuki smiled up at her Uncle and he returned it with a quizzical look. She thought to herself that with enough time she could teach him to love her as Yuki and not as her mother. Yuki still couldn't tell whether it was all her sense of pity for him or what other reason, but she felt it wasn't so bad to be loved by her uncle. There were things she already liked about him yet she barely even knew him. He was like Kaname yet so different. With Rido there was passion and upfront honesty. He felt his emotions and expressed them as well. He was very much a pure blood yet didn't let rules of etiquette hinder his life. Rido was someone Yuki could get used to the idea of spending eternity with. When she looked him in the eyes her decision was made. She stepped towards him and leaned up to kiss his cheek.
"I love you," she whispered to him. His eyes widened for a moment then he truly smiled for the first time that night. He lightly caressed her cheek with the back of his long fingers. She leaned into his touch. She liked how he was soft and gentle but even with such an innocent gesture there was something more to it. Yuki realized she had been totally seduced by this man who was a blood relative… but it was ok. Because she had been right to begin with. Her decisions were not hurting him. Her relationship with him wouldn't turn out like Zero and Kaname. And purebloods were the way they were for a reason. It looked like it was going to be Rido and herself to continue the famous Kuran blood line.
Rido getting impatient broke her long train of thought. She blushed when he picked her up.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
'His voice is so soothing', Yuki thought. "Yes," she replied. He held her close and this new pureblood union disappeared into the night.
Zero paced the hall in the Hunter Association infirmary. When he had found out Ichiru had been wounded he rushed him over there as quickly as he could. Zero was fuming on the inside though he did his best not to let it show. That Kuran bastard had the nerve to hurt his brother! He would kill him for this! But even so he wasn't strong enough yet. The thought of drinking his twin's blood had never even crossed his mind even if it was the way to save Yuki. After all to Zero the Yuki he loved dearly was already dead. If she even existed to begin with.
'No,' Zero thought, 'she was always there. I just never held her close enough to me.' She was always with the perfect pureblood. She had always looked up to him and been in love with him. "No," Zero said sternly to himself, "Now is not the time." He paused his pacing for a moment, he thought he had heard Ichiru say his name. But his thought pattern was broken when a nurse stepped outside to speak with him.
"You're brother is going to be fine," she said, "However he has lost a substantial amount of blood. Do you know how this happened? I have an idea but I don't want to make assumptions. In any case we were wondering if you would be willing to give him some blood." Relief flooded Zero so fast he went dizzy.
"Of course," he said, "take as much as you need. And as to how he got hurt that's a long story but… I think it might be why everyone else isn't here."
The nurse nodded her head and led him to the exam room. Ichiru was pale but he was breathing normally and it looked like he was asleep. Zero knew that giving blood to Ichiru might cause his thirst to go out of control but he couldn't bring himself to care. Because maybe he wasn't the stronger twin after all.
The battle had finally been won. The Senate had been brought to an end. Kaname felt very grateful at that moment. All of the Night Class and even the majority of the hunters had stayed to fight it out. None of the vampires were injured, but they helped with transporting the injured humans to the Association facilities for treatment.
Even though his body was weary Kaname knew he had a few more goals to accomplish. And finding Zero was added to the list. Everyone quickly found where he was. He had helped the healing of his twin brother during the fight. No one blamed him for not being there. Not even Kaname could bring himself to. But his worry for Yuki pushed to the front of his mind. He had to go find her now. And he needed Zero to kill Rido. They both rushed to the roof of the Moon Dorm while the once quite infirmary filled up with noise and action.
Zero and Kaname did not find Yuki or Rido. They were long gone never to be found again. As morbid as it was Kaname knew it must be true. The scent of the drops of dried blood carried the tale of what happened. Yuki had broken her blood bond with Kaname. He couldn't even tell whether she was alive or not anymore. But he prayed she must be. He felt the sting of hot tears burn his eyes. He didn't care that Zero was there, because he was dealing with the same thing. Zero knew that Kuran must be hurting more than he was if that was even possible. He reached out and put his hand on Kaname's upper arm.
Kaname felt his arm being squeezed reassuringly before he heard the words, "I'm sorry." Kaname couldn't answer but he put his hand over Zero's. He needed that contact. His heart was breaking and his dear girl was missing.
'But she's not mine anymore,' he thought, 'maybe she never was to begin with.'