Deseru and Kaname- "Love at First…bite?"
Deseru Kerune- daughter of the Kerune family, a small group of pureblood vampires. Deseru
is sent to Cross Academy after an attempt on her life. Deseru is quiet and shy when she
arrives at Cross Academy.
Kane Kerune- Deseru's older brother. Kane is arrogant and snobbish, which results in his expulsion in every school except Cross Academy. Kane later falls to level E vampire and is killed by Deseru herself.
Sorissi Yagari (Risi)-Deseru's best friend and bodyguard. Risi is human, but because of her status as legendary vampire hunter she is entrusted to protect a member of the Kerune family. She is dating Zero Kiryuu, a level D vampire.
Yukuri Kein- The level E vampire that tried to kill Deseru. Yukuri failed in her first attempt to murder Deseru, but fled before she was caught. When Yukuri appears at Cross Academy, Deseru is almost killed again. Kaname saves Deseru by killing Yukuri.
Donji- Deseru's pet jaguar. Donji got in a fight with another jaguar and got his left ear shredded. Deseru saved him and nursed him back to health. After she released him, Donji came back and became Deseru's faithful pet and animal guardian.
"Risi!" My eyes snapped open. "Risi!" I sighed and flopped back on the pillows. "Risi please!"
"My god Kane it's two freaking a.m.! Why the hell are you here?" There was a pause.
"Just open the door. Please?" Maybe it was because he sounded like a little boy who was in
trouble or maybe it was because Kane Kerune said please twice in the span of one minute, but whatever it was I grudgingly swung my legs out from under the covers and padded to the door, yawning. I reached for the door handle, but a familiar churning in my stomach made me stop. It was the feeling that announced a level E vampire.
"Kane are you alright?" There was another pause, this one spanning a few heartbeats too long.
"Yes." But Kane's voice was small and hesitant. I backed away from the door quietly.
"Well ok then. Give me a sec to get my robe on." I lied, dashing across my room to grab my
Artemis Rod. "Got it. The door's open. C'mon in." I watched as the door knob slowly twisted open. I held my breath, thumb on the release switch of the Artemis Rod. The door swung
open and Kane stood there, a knife pressed dangerously close to his throat.
"You are so…gullible, Sorissi Yagari. They said that you were a legend, that you could sense a
level E vampire a mile away, but I entered this house completely unhindered. I even got myself a little slave for protection, but he proved to be not needed. You have lost your touch my dear." A young woman with blood red hair stepped out of the shadows. Her eyes had the tell-tale red tinge to them. The level E I had sensed.
"I see my reputation precedes me." I said calmly. "But if what you say is true, about having lost my touch and being so gullible," I pressed the release button and felt the Artemis Rod slid out noiselessly, "then why, pray tell, am I so prepared?" The woman faltered, her grip on the knife pressed to Kane's throat loosening. "I've met regular vampires better than your pathetic ass. Stop hiding behind Kane and face me yourself. Unless you're too scared." My finger hit a hidden switch and two knives popped out on both ends of my Artemis Rod. "I am as legendary as they say and I'm not afraid of anything. Especially not a vampire as disgraceful as you." I sneered. Snarling, the woman flung Kane aside and charged at me. I dodged to the side and swung my Artemis Rod towards her. She jumped back and one of the knives barely missed her chest.
"You insignificant little brat! I am Yukuri Kein, the legendary level E vampire that works for Jace Kinlu!"
"Thanks for the information Yukuri. When I'm done with you, I'll go after your boss, Jace was it? I will then proceed to topple your while operation, one vampire at a time." Yukuri shrieked in rage and threw herself at me. I flung myself in the opposite direction, landing on top of Kane, who grunted in surprise.
"Oops. Sorry Kane."
"Whatever. Just move." He hissed, throwing his body aside. I scrambled up and ran to the window. In order to fight Yukuri properly, I needed space.
"Hey Yukuri! You want me? Come get me." I unlatched the window and stuck one leg out.
"Thanks for the offer Sorissi, but you're not the one I'm after." I paused, fear creeping into my mind. "I just needed to distract you." I wrenched my leg back in and spun around just in time to see Yukuri disappearing down the hall. I gasped.
"Deseru!"
Deseru woke with a start, covered in sweat and breathing heavily. Yanosa, Risi's backup guard, peered at Deseru.
"Lady Deseru, are you alright?" Yanosa asked, her light green eyes showing nothing but concern.
"Yes I'm fine, thank you Yanosa." Yanosa dipped her head and returned to her post by the door. After a while in silence, Yanosa spoke.
"You know, I could have sworn I heard your name a few minutes ago, Lady Deseru." Deseru started, looking at Yanosa's back.
"Yes I... I heard it too." Yanosa said nothing more, just sighed quietly. Deseru lay awake for a while longer, unable to fall asleep over the thumping of her heart. It soon became clear that the noise Deseru was hearing was not her heart beating, but an outside noise. She sat up slowly. "Yanosa is everything alright?" The only response was more thumping. Deseru pulled her knees up to her chest, trying to control her growing fear that something was going very wrong. "Yanosa?" There was a high girly giggle, followed by the intoxicating scent of freshly spilled blood.
"Oh Lady Deseru!" A syrupy sweet voice crooned into the darkness. "Lady Deseru, come out and play! I know you smell the blood and I know you want a taste. Yanosa's blood truly is delicious." The voice continued to croon softly, but Deseru heard nothing over the roaring in her ears. A figure dressed in a billowing black gown swayed towards Deseru, lips moving hypnotically. The roaring subsided long enough for Deseru to hear the voice whisper. "Yes. Give in to your thirst. Give in to it. Give in to me." A pair of glowing red eyes leveled with Deseru and she jumped back, the hold of her thirst gone. The woman had long, brilliant crimson hair and paired with the black dress and pale skin, it was instantly obvious that this woman was a level E vampire. Deseru screamed and pushed herself back even further, tumbling out of her bed and landing with a loud thump. She got to her feet quickly and stumbled to the window. In her mind, Deseru knew that if she couldn't get the latch open in time, she'd be dead. Like Yanosa. A pang of hunger hit Deseru, this one worse than the last one. She fell to her knees, coughing and gasping heavily. A red tinge surrounded her field of vision as Yukuri waltzed over to her.
"Deseru Kerune your time is up." Yukuri laughed and bared her fangs. She swooped down on the defenseless pure-blood, grinning wildly. Out of no where a blade pierced Yukuri's shoulder. She screamed in rage and pain then whirled around. Risi stood in Deseru's door frame, looking sadly down at Yanosa's dead body. Yukuri hissed angrily. "Can't you just learn to mind your own damn business, you meddling little twit?" She spat, standing up and ripping the blade out of her shoulder. A few drops of Yukuri's blood splattered onto Deseru's face. Deseru reached up and touched the drops with her fingers and cautiously placed her fingertips on her tongue. Hunger flared again, strong and urgent. Deseru forced herself to stand. The room spun and she crumpled back to the floor. She looked up through the red haze in her brain and saw Yukuri advancing towards Risi, who stood there, not reacting, just staring.
"No...Risi...fight..." Deseru's words were lost in the fierce wind that ripped through the room. Yukuri stopped looking puzzled. Deseru realized that she was the source of the scarily powerful wind. Suddenly, the wind stopped, followed by the ground shaking hard. Yukuri lost her balance and fell to the floor, fear and panic behind the blood red eyes. She got to her feet unsteadily, only to be knocked down by an even harder shake. Deseru narrowed her eyes. Was she doing this? That was impossible. Everyone knew that pure-blood vampires couldn't control the earth. But there was Deseru, making the ground move with only the thought of keeping her best friend and guardian alive at any cost. There was another earth-splitting shake and the ground beneath Deseru's bedroom sagged, support beams groaning in protest at the amount of pressure put on them. She gasped and closed her eyes, forcing her mind to go blank, to make the shaking stop before they all fell to their death. Mercifully, the shaking did stop, but when it did Yukuri found she could stand again without falling and continued her slow advance to Risi, who was still staring at Yanosa's blood-drained body. The hunger that plagued Deseru returned with a vengeance, rendering Deseru a useless huddle on the floor, desperately trying to get up and rush to the aid of Risi, who made no attempt to move or fight. Deseru closed her eyes and felt tears leak out of them. She would lose her best friend, her life, and most likely her brother and father. Level E vampires hunted pure-bloods for one reason: to gain their powers. And they didn't stop till the entire family was drained to avoid any conflict. Deseru felt cold all over and waited for the sounds of tearing flesh and dripping blood, but they never came. What did come was the sound of a gunshot from the hallway. Deseru lifted her head with a start. She knew that noise. She would have been able to tell even in a crowd of gunmen who that shot came from.
"Zero!"
A tall, lean figure stood outlined in the doorway, silver pistol raised at the ready, cocked and pointed dead center on Yukuri's chest. Yukuri's breathing became shallow and panicked. Zero stepped out of the shadows, the moonlight hitting his features, illuminating the glow of his lavender colored eyes and his shaggy silver hair.
"Next time I won't miss." He growled, pushing Yukuri back with just the force of his gun, still trained on her chest. She hit the wall and with his free hand, Zero plunged a knife into Yukuri's damaged shoulder. Yukuri winced, but kept silent in fear of angering Zero any further. Zero turned to face Deseru, eyes soft with concern. "Deseru? Are you alright?" He asked quietly, approaching her carefully, as if she were a wild animal. Deseru didn't reply, just swallowed convulsively, knowing that it would do her no good until she had blood in her system. Zero's eyes widened upon seeing hers, still glowing red in the darkness. He smiled and knelt before her, tilting his head slightly. "I wouldn't normally do this, but I know that Risi will kill us both if you don't feed and if I don't help you." He tilted his head even more, his smooth unmarked neck looking very inviting to Deseru. "Go on. I don't mind." Deseru hesitated for a second more, then leaned forward and bit into Zero's neck. They stayed in that position for a few minutes, Deseru leaning on Zero, while Zero supported himself with one hand and supported Deseru with his other. Soon, though, they broke apart, Deseru breathing heavily, licking the last traces of blood away from her lips right as Risi became animated again. She wobbled to her feet and lurched across the sagging room, dropping to her knees next Deseru, sobbing quietly. Deseru put her arms around Risi's warm body, whispering quietly.
"Risi. Risi it's ok. Risi look at me. I'm fine now, and so are you and Zero. Yukuri won't hurt me anymore. Please stop crying."
"Deseru..." Risi sobbed, gripping Deseru tightly. "I was so scared...I thought I was going to lose you." She looked up at Deseru, her deep blue eyes meeting Deseru's dark brown eyes.
"But you didn't. I'm ok and I'm still here. Please don't cry. I'm safe now." Deseru put a gentle hand on Risi's cheek, wiping away the tears. Zero joined the hug on the other side of Risi, slowly tracing circles on Risi's upper arm.
"Listen to Deseru, love. She's right. You're safe, she's safe and that level E isn't going anywhere for a while." Risi looked up into Zero's face who smiled wryly. "What? You seriously didn't think I'd leave Deseru alone with only one novice guard, did you? I just stepped away to refuel. When I got back, the whole house was shaking and I could hear Deseru screaming." He turned his pale purple eyes to Deseru. "By the way, why was the house shaking? You weren't behind that, were you?" Deseru blushed and shrugged.
"I'm not entirely sure what happened, to be honest. I just knew I had to save Risi and that I'd do anything to do so. The house just started shaking..." She let her voice trail off, trying to sort through the convoluted memories of what had just taken place a few minutes earlier. Zero looked at Deseru with a small smile and lifted Risi up off the ground.
"Well, whatever happened we're all still alive and that's all that matters." He looked down at Risi. "Are you ok to stand?" Risi took a deep breath and nodded once.
"Yeah I'm ok now. I was just..." She paused, searching for the right word.
"In shock?" Deseru supplied, running her fingers through her long brown hair nervously, wincing when they hit snags. Risi breathed out another shaky sigh.
"Yeah. In shock. But I'm ok now. Zero. Thank you." Zero smiled at his girlfriend.
"Always welcome." He set Risi on the floor, keeping one arm wrapped around her waist for support. "So...what do we do with her?" He pointed at Yukuri, who was still cowering against the wall, blood dripping down her injured arm and pooling into a large stain on the carpet. The old Risi, the one who always took charge in situations like this, looked around and assessed the damage.
"Well...there's only one way I can think of right now." She looked strait at Deseru. "It requires you to go wake your father..." She stopped talking as Deseru's jaw dropped.
"You want to do what?" A voice yelped from the door. Deseru, Risi, and Zero turned to face the door. Kane appeared, his eyes wide and scared. Risi nodded, rubbing the back of her neck in thought.
"I know it's dangerous-" Deseru cut her off with a scoff.
"The only thing more dangerous than waking my father up before he wants to is angering Lord Kaname Kuran, which I might add, we have already done." Deseru snapped, throwing a glare at her brother. Kane's eyes widened.
"Hey. Not my fault. You'd figure a name like that would have some sort of fanfare attached to it." He grumbled, crossing his arms in annoyance. Deseru bristled at hearing Lord Kaname referred to as "that." Risi saw her friend's annoyance and stepped in between the quarreling siblings.
"Not right now guys. We don't have time. Zero, Deseru, come with me. Kane, stay here and guard Yukuri." Kane nodded and stepped closer to Yukuri. His body went ramrod strait as he stood centimeters away from the pool of Yukuri's blood. Risi's eyes widened as she shouted a stream of orders to Zero. "No! Get him out of here! Now! Zero, don't argue with me, just move!" Zero grumbled, but launched himself at Kane, knocking him off balance and sending flying into the wall. Kane was up in an instant though, snarling at Zero.
"Get out of the way Kiryuu." Kane hissed, normal green eyes glowing like blood.