The Fate of the Purebloods
AN: This story is obviously set in Rido's childhood. I am making all of it up. None of this is concrete in the actual manga. Which I am not that far into yet! I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight. And it is unlikely I ever will :(
It is a starless night. A crescent moon hangs in the black sky. Dead leaves rustle in the sighing wind. Under the cover of darkness, a cloaked figure strides along the quiet road. Underneath the grey cloak is a beautiful woman. At her side is a young boy. Maybe ten years old. He is carrying her bag for her.
"... but Okaa-sama!" the boy pants, hurrying to keep up with her long stride. "How long will you be away for?"
The woman does not reply. She does not know the answer. She does not know if she will see her son again. This makes her stop. The boy stops as well, looking at her in confusion. She composes herself, and removes the hood, letting dark curls spill forward. She kneels down on the road and takes the boy's face in her pale hands. She smiles and gazes deep into the boy's eyes. In those treasured seconds, she imprints that face her memory. The messy, dark hair, large eyes in a pale face. Such unusual eyes. One is red. One is blue. "It doesn't matter. I love you. You are such a responsible boy. I want so much to watch you grow up. I want to be there at the most important moments of your life.... my precious boy...." she catches her breath. But goes on. She hasn't got much time left. She wants it to count.
"You'll look after them, your siblings, won't you?"
The boy nods furiously. "Of course, Okaa-sama, but I don't understand-"
"Shh.." she places a long finger over his lips, silencing him. Then she kisses him on the forehead and strokes his unruly hair one last time. At that moment a black carriage arrives. It is modest and small, as she does not want to draw attention to herself. A man jumps down from the driver's seat.
"My Lady, we haven't got time. We must go!" She nods and takes her bag from her son.
The boy feels sick. He knows something is wrong. "Okaa-sama! Where are you going?"
She smiles at him and gets in the carriage, assisted by the driver. "Okaa-sama..." the boy whispers. He is frightened. There is something in the air. He can taste it. Fear. His fear. And his mother's fear. Before she closes the door, the beautiful woman leans out. "Be good", she says, trying to sound stern. But she smiles again. "I know you'll be good."
The boy nods. He doesn't know what is going on, but he wants his mother to know she can rely on him. He will never let her down. "I promise, Okaa-sama", he tries to smile. He can't. His eyes smart. "I promise I will be good. And look after Haruka and Juuri. Always, Okaa-sama."
The woman bites her lip. She cannot speak. All of a sudden, she isn't sure any more. She wants to go home with her son. And tell him it is all a silly game. Her son is clever. He knows things are not as they seem. The last person she has left. And now she will lose him. But this isn't for her to choose. This is for him. What she will do, it is for her children. So they will be safe.
So she nods. "I know, Rido."
Then the carriage lurches into motion as the horse sets off at a brisk trot. The boy follows. Tears are running freely down his cheeks. He runs after the carriage because he knows now that something terrible is looming. That Okaa-sama isn't safe. He will look after Haruka and Juuri. But he wants to look after his mother too. He has always tried to look after her. Father won't. He won't trust her.
But I will, the boy thinks. The carriage is getting further away. He cannot catch it. His vision blurs with tears. "O-Okaa- sama", he sobs quietly. For now he knows, he is truly alone.
The woman can see her son running.
Okaa-sama...
She can see his mouth form the words. She watches until the carriage turns a corner and he is lost from sight. Her cheeks are wet. Her body shakes with silent sobs. She puts her head in her hands and cries.
"I hate him, I hate him...." she whispers over and over again. She would kill that man. He would die by her own hand. If it was the last thing she did. She would kill him. Ichijou Asato. She would kill him. For her son. For Rido.... Juuri, Haruka...
She reaches for her bag. Inside there are letters. They are from Shiki Maguri. Her accomplice. Maguri is her spy. The latest one is several weeks old. That worries her. "Oh, Maguri san... please be safe..." she whispers.
Suddenly she is alert. The carriage has stopped. Her heart is thumping, for she knows they could not possibly have reached their destination. Her hand creeps to her bag and her fingers close around her whip. She calms herself, for she knows her son is far away enough to be safe. The carriage shudders. And the door is ripped off it's hinges. A shadowy figure appears.
"Kuran Rukia sama", it rasps. But she is quick. She thrusts her hand out. Blood splatters over her clothes as her fist emerges from his back. He turns to ash and she leaps out of the carriage, whip in hand. From the corner of her eye, she can see ash on the driver's seat. In front of her are seven cloaked figures. "Hello, Rukia sama", one of them purrs, stepping forward. She recognises him. She knows him from a soiree. He is holding a sword. "Ichijou sends his regards."
She snarls at him. Ichijou Asato... that man....
"Oh, I thought you would like to know", the man runs his finger along the blade. "Maguri san has left us. Unfortunately, he yielded little information, no matter how persuasive we tried to be. It was a pleasure to finally slay that disgusting.... traitor. Just like it will be a pleasure to kill you. This little rebellion is pathetic", he sneers.
"Luckily, a search of his house was more helpful. We found these."
He holds up a fistful of letters. They are her letters to Maguri.
They know everything...
She does not want to hear anymore. "Be silent, impudent filth. You should know better than to address your Pureblood superiors that way", she hisses. "Or perhaps you don't. I..."
she cracks her whip, and black flame runs menacingly down the three tongues. ".... will teach you what happens when you cross a Pureblood".
The six figures behind him leap at her. But she is ready. With a deft flick of her wrist, the whip snaps up, black flames hissing, and cuts halfway through one's neck. He cries out and falls to the ground.
She grasps a dagger from inside her cloak and swings it sideways, plunging it into the closest vampire. At the same time, her foot flies up in one smooth, balletic motion. The other vampire's neck snaps backwards. He turns to ash before he hits the ground.
More replace the fallen. Fear grips her. There are so many... but she fights. She fights for Maguri, who was loyal to the end. She fights for the freedom of her fellow Purebloods. But most of all, she fights for her children. She fights so they will grow up in safety. Above all, she fights for them.
So she feels horror, not for herself, but for them, her precious children, when the dagger pierces her heart.
She turns to look at her murderer. "You are disgusting", she snarls. But he smiles, catching her as she falls. He is just as charming as he was at the soiree, she thinks.
"Have you got anything you would like to tell us, Rukia sama?"
She will be like Maguri. She will protect the cause. So she says nothing. She spits in his face, then feels a blinding pain surge through her body. There is a bright light. She cannot see him anymore, she cannot smell the blood. She sees someone else.
The messy, dark hair, large eyes in a pale face. Such unusual eyes. One is red. One is blue.
"I will be good. And look after Haruka and Juuri. Always, Okaa-sama."
"I know, Rido."
Then she sees nothing.
The woman in his arms explodes into dust and pearly fragments. He seethes and crushes the opaque pieces with the heel of his boot. No matter, he tells himself. He can find that information else where.
At least she is dead.
He looks around. All of his comrades are dead. He smirks and begins to walk back the way the carriage came. To the Kuran mansion...
The little boy wakes up. He is bathed in sweat and his sheets are tangled around him. "Okaa-sama?" He cries. Now he knows, something is very wrong indeed.
Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! If this gets a good turn out I'll continue it. If I did it would probably take a while, as I am really busy at the moment... if you think it's confusing or annoying I'm really sorry, but please bear with me! This story is supposed to be enigmatic....
If you were wondering, this Maguri guy is supposed to be Senri Shiki's grandfather. At least, that's what I was thinking when I wrote this. I came across it a few hours ago. I hope it's a boy's name! o_O
Please review. Thanks for reading :)