Chapter 2
Zero found his way down a long corridor lined with doors like his own. He looked back at the room he'd come from and noted that it was number 8, which he committed to memory as he passed the others, approaching a staircase at the end of the hallway. It kind of looked like an old hotel or dorm. It wasn't dirty, but it also wasn't new. Tall ceilings, thick mouldings, and plaster walls confirmed that it was a big old Victorian style building. The lighting was dim and it was quiet. He padded down the carpeted stairs, his hand sliding along the smooth wooden balustrade, and found himself face to face with a middle-aged man with long dark hair tied in a low ponytail. He had little black eyes. He squinted at Zero, pulling a pair of thin-rimmed glasses from his shirt pocket.
"Glad to see you're awake and cleaned up. How are you feeling?"
Zero shrugged. "I've been better."
"Well you weren't looking so good when I found you, but I think in time you will be fine. My name is Shigeo Higashi. I am the owner of this place, and I take care of young men who have nowhere else to go. From the state I found you in son, I didn't think you had anywhere to go. What is your name?"
"Zero Kiryu," he answered, mulling over what he'd just learned. The man sounded well-educated. He was wearing a pair of grey slacks and clean, polished black shoes. His long-sleeve, cream-coloured shirt was tucked into the waist of his pants, and his belt matched the shoes. He had just a hint of gray hair at his temples, but was robust and sturdy, and had a healthy sheen.
The man gave Zero a once-over and clapped his hands together.
"You must be hungry, come with me."
Zero didn't complain. He didn't know how many days it had been since he'd eaten anything, but he knew better than to argue with the offer. Clearly he'd had a small bit of luck to be taken in by someone who seemed to be kind and genuine. He followed the older man through a short hall and into a big kitchen where he saw a few boys who looked about his age cleaning and doing dishes. When they saw Higashi they returned their gazes to what they were doing. He told one of them to fix Zero something to eat and he nodded, heading to the fridge and pulling out what looked like the makings of a sandwich.
Zero was left in the room with the two boys, who stared at him openly after Higashi left. He realized after a moment of awkward silence that they were looking at his neck wound. He self-consciously put his hand up and a challenging glare rose in his eyes. The brown-haired boy who was not preparing food ducked out of the room. The remaining one – a blonde with gray-blue eyes – returned his focus to his task. A moment later a cold sandwich was placed before him with a glass of milk. Zero sat at the large table on one of the long benches that flanked it, hunching over the offered meal and consuming it without looking up from his plate. He remembered his last meal shared with his brother and parents before the horrible tragedy and swallowed the lump that rose in his throat with great effort. He could think about that later. The food helped him immensely with this and he found he felt a tiny bit better as long as he didn't let his mind wander.
The brunette boy returned with some bandages, and offered them to Zero.
"That looks really painful," he said in a soft voice, his eyes filled with curiosity and pity. "What happened?"
Zero wanted to say something in response, but he locked eyes with the other boy and found himself at a complete loss for words. He didn't know what he could possibly say. The story was unbelievable.
He finally just looked back to his glass of milk and swallowed it down. He accepted the bandages and wrapped up his neck so the slashes were covered. It stung and he thought the bandage would stick to the scabs, but at least it hid things and stopped the air from making the bite tingle with pain. The area was very hot and he wondered if it was infected.
After he ate, the two boys led Zero to another room where Higashi was seated behind a desk, going over some kind of paperwork. He looked up from behind his glasses as Zero stood in front of the desk. A glance to the two boys and they were retreating from the room, leaving him alone with the stalky, dark-haired man.
"Feeling better?" he asked, gesturing towards a chair.
Zero sat down hesitantly, shrugging in response. "I guess so," he pondered the carpet at his feet for a moment before looking up to meet the man's eyes. "Thanks for helping me."
Higashi nodded. "I'm glad I was able to help you out Zero. Now I'm sure you must have a lot of questions so I'll explain how things work around here and then you can get settled in. You see, everybody must earn their keep, or I can't keep this place running. Everyone comes here from different situations and has different stories. Order is the best way to keep everything running smoothly. There aren't too many rules, but you need to follow them and you won't have any problems."
Higashi began to explain the way of things. And Zero started to feel a coldness in the pit of his stomach. The House, as it was apparently called, was a place of pleasure for men who liked something a little different. As Zero's eyes widened in horror Higashi raised his hands to calm him.
"Don't worry Zero, I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do, I will only require your help with some cooking and cleaning around the House." Higashi smirked and Zero saw a twist to his lips that he didn't like. "Besides, nobody would touch you with that gash on your neck. That's going to take some time to heal. I think you would have died if I hadn't found you. You're pretty lucky kid."
A few more details and Zero was sent back to the room he'd woken up in to get some rest. He heard a key slide in the lock of the door as it closed. He felt a wave of adrenaline as he realized that he was a captive. His eyes settled on the window, and he ripped the blue swath of curtain aside to reveal a set of steel bars behind it. The window looked on a neat courtyard with manicured bushes and a wrought iron fence surrounding it. Zero closed the curtain and looked back to the room. He inspected every inch of it and found little in it. The dresser contained a change of clothes. The nightstand had two drawers. The top one he opened and saw his photo with bloody fingerprints on it sitting inside. The bottom drawer contained a few books. One of them was blank, like a diary, and there was a pencil in the drawer as well. Nothing of real use or value. With a sigh Zero sat on the bed. It was late in the day, and he was feeling almost feverish from everything that had happened, but nervousness and dread worked their way through him and he was powerless to stop them. He didn't think he could ever relax again.
He finally accepted that right now he was too weak to fight and was oddly grateful to have a roof over his head and something in his belly. He had no family or money and nobody to ask for help, where could he really go if he escaped? For now, he decided to bide his time and regain some strength. He would find a way to escape and go to Master Yagari to become a fully trained hunter. He just had to keep his self-pity from drowning out his rational thoughts until he could come up with a plan. At the moment that seemed like a monumental effort, so he forced himself to close his eyes and breathe slowly and deeply until sleep relieved him of his troubles for a few blessed hours.
As the weeks passed, Zero was introduced to a routine of work. Any hopes he had entertained that he had been rescued and things would get better quickly faded as his neck healed and he was put to work almost every minute of the day, except for a few breaks for food and time to sleep. He was given some small freedoms, but they were few and far between. He was not yet trusted around the public, so he was forced to stay in the back of the House cleaning soiled bed sheets and helping the other two boys cook for all the rest. Neither of them spoke much to him, and he quickly became isolated and learned to deal with being by himself. He ached for his brother's company at first, wishing he could put their foreheads together and talk with him as they had when they were kids. He missed his parents terribly, but when he thought of them his mind turned to their murder. It was all too easy to recall the blank, dead staring eyes of his father's corpse sprawled in a pool of blood. Zero focused on the task at hand whenever his mind wandered to these things and in this way he managed to get through the days a little at a time.
Higashi kept a watchful eye over Zero, and for the time being he did not try to escape or fight. He was trying to learn this place, get to know the people here, and look for a way out. Currently he only had access to a small area in the building. He needed to know more about where he was if he ever hoped to successfully escape. The other two boys he encountered seemed to have similar routines to his own; opportunities to socialize were scarce. They did co-operate to prepare three meals a day for the other unseen occupants of the House, however the two didn't show much interest in talking to him and usually ignored him while they worked. He was confined to his room or sent to fold laundry whenever the mealtimes were held. He was kept isolated and secluded from nearly everyone else, though he could sense that there were at least fifteen people in the house. As a rookie hunter in training Zero had already honed his ability to identify human, hunter and vampire auras. He relied on this skill now to give himself a better idea of what was going on behind closed doors.
His bite wound had remained painful and scabbed over for much longer than any normal injury would have. It felt hot and itchy after the first week, and the skin around it was swollen, reddened. It did appear to be healing, just very, very slowly. As it healed, Zero began to realize the true effect of Shizuka's bite. The wound was constantly sensitive and painful. The slightest brush over it sent a shudder of sickness through his body. When he let himself think about it he could feel her teeth in him still, ripping him open. His body seemed to ache strangely, especially when he was trying to sleep. At first he thought he had sore muscles from all the work he was doing, but the ache didn't subside after a month at the House. Finally he realized the cause; his body was changing, but it was gradual as opposed to the drastic transformation he had expected to occur. Without consuming blood, he doubted it would get better, but that was something he would have to learn to live with.
He started to sense things he hadn't been able to detect before. His hearing had improved marginally, and he became more aware of heartbeats, people's breathing, and noises like their stomachs gurgling, or when they swallowed. None of these things were especially strong – it was only a slight sharpening of what had already been there – but he noticed it. He also seemed to be smelling things more acutely, like people's breath, or odors wafting in through the window that would previously go undetected. The combined effect gave him a bit of an edge, a sharpness over average people. He knew that hunters already had enhanced senses, but even a low level vampire's vision, hearing and sense of smell would easily surpass that.
After two months of working every day Higashi took Zero into his office once more and told him he was doing a good job earning his keep, and that he was pleased with his hard work. He explained to Zero that he had earned some trust, and a new privilege; he would have half a day twice a week of personal time, where he didn't have to work. He also showed him to a room he hadn't seen before, which turned out to be a library.
"You can read any of the books here, as long as you take good care of them and only take one at a time."
The stalky man gestured to the shelves filled with a variety of novels and other texts. Zero hadn't necessarily been a book worm before, but he was extremely excited at the prospect of escaping to a fantasy world after he finished his daily chores. Anything to break up the anxious tedium of his current life. With nothing to do but menial labour Zero's worries over his 'condition' had begun to eat at him and make him a bit paranoid. This would offer a welcome distraction.
"Thank you," Zero bowed enthusiastically, totally thrown off by this strange gesture. He wasn't expecting any freedoms or privileges and felt almost happy for the first time since he'd woken up here. He found that most of the books were educational texts or famous novels. There was a fair bit of variety, and it made his existence slightly more palatable in the following months. It also helped him to trust Higashi more; he was a hard person to read and Zero hadn't yet decided if he liked him or not.
He took to keeping a book in his room so he could read before he went to sleep each night. When he had a whole afternoon to himself he usually found a novel and holed himself up in his room to read for hours on end. This time became the best escape from his new life, and he began to look forward to it each week. He did his best not to make too many mistakes with the chores he was given, hoping that there could be more privileges available if he was well-behaved. Eventually he started to wonder how long it would be before he was asked to go into the other parts of the House.
After being at the House for a total of eight months, Zero's neck wound had (finally!) completely healed, and he was left with an ugly scar that was generally sore to the touch. The aches in his body had subsided, replaced by an ache in his jaws that persisted for several weeks before he realized what was happening. He started to feel the sharp points of his upper and lower canines growing longer, like a vampire's teeth. They only seemed to descend to their full length when he was agitated, or emotional, or hungry, so he did his best to keep an even temper to avoid triggering them. It was not impossible to control, but especially at first it happened quickly, without warning, catching him off-guard.
Usually he was alone, but once he was in the kitchen working on dinner when idle thoughts of hunger seemed to trigger the fangs to show themselves. It was only for a moment and he was sure nobody saw, but it was a reminder to Zero that he had to be very careful and could not let his guard down.
That evening once he was safely locked away in his room he stood before the mirror and pulled his lips back, examining his teeth closely. The eye teeth were absolutely sharper and more predatory now, even retracted. It wasn't noticeable unless you really looked, but Zero could see how they differed from the teeth he'd had his whole life. He ran a finger over one and its razor edge sliced the tip of his finger open, a drop of blood welling up on it. At the sight of the blood he felt the fangs grow to their full length, protruding past his other teeth so they could puncture flesh if he bit into it. Fortunately, the scent of his blood didn't induce crazed madness – it pretty much smelled the same as it had before he was bitten, only stronger. As he popped his finger into his mouth to suck it clean he realized that it didn't taste any different either. He wondered if this was because it was his own blood, then recoiled at the idea that he was even thinking about this stuff. It was sick. He quickly thought of something else, thankful when the elongated fangs retreated to a more normal size. They were still much sharper than they had been before all of this mess.
Zero had been at the house for fifteen months (he was keeping track in the blank book he'd found in his nightstand) when he was again brought into Higashi's office. Curious, Zero entered the richly decorated room and sat in one of the high-backed leather wing chairs across from the huge desk. Higashi was sipping from a delicate porcelain teacup which he set on its matching saucer before meeting Zero's eyes with a small smile.
"Good afternoon Zero. I asked you here because I have been moving some of the other boys around, and I have some work for you cleaning the rooms in the front of the House. You may occasionally come in contact with Clients. They are to be treated with respect, and if they ask anything of you, then you must do it without argument. Your new duties will be to clean the rooms after Clients are finished with their dates in the evenings."
Zero accepted this new job willingly. He gained access to a large portion of the House that he had never seen before. It was halls with rooms, like the ones he and the other boys slept in, but much nicer, with lavish decorations, silky soft sheets and plush carpets underfoot. There were some older boys walking around, some of them accompanied by men, others alone. They wore finely tailored clothes and their hair was neatly groomed. They didn't so much as look at him, brushing past him with purpose as he quickly stepped out of the way. He was instructed to strip the beds from each room as it was freed up, and replace the sheets with fresh ones. He would also need to clean any other mess in the rooms so they remained presentable for new clients. He was given a utility cart with cleaning supplies to use and told to make sure he looked clean and presentable when he was working in this part of the house.
Zero wrinkled his nose at the smell of semen that filled the first room he went into. He tried to hold his breath and not get his hand in anything as he stuffed the soiled sheet into the bin and started putting out the fresh one. Disgusting. He knew his parents would be so ashamed of him if they could see what he had been reduced to. That line of thought was going to be fruitless, so Zero pushed it away and reminded himself that this was a step closer to freedom. Somehow doing this gross job was going to gain him a little extra trust and respect from Higashi. Maybe he would be given more free time, or perhaps he'd be allowed to go outside? It had been so long since he'd actually breathed fresh outdoor air that Zero nearly forgot what it was like.
He finished up the room and went to the next one. As he opened the door he was immediately aware of the smell of blood. He closed the door behind him, the odor enveloping him and beckoning him forward. His teeth ached. His gut twisted, his nostrils flaring as he breathed in again His gaze fell to the bed and he instantly honed in on a few drops of red that stained the sheets. He could only guess as to why they were there; some strange or forceful activity with the previous Client, no doubt.
Zero could not tear his eyes from those little red spots, inching closer and lowering his nose over the place as he drew air in, filled with that smell, that pungent aroma that for the first time filled him with hunger. Zero slapped a hand over his nose and mouth and pulled away from the bed, spinning on his heel and fleeing into the bathroom to splash some water on his face. As he stood back up he caught sight of himself in the mirror. His normally light purple eyes were tinged red, and he saw the tips of his fangs glinting from past his lips. They had lengthened enough to be useful for their obvious purpose.
He gripped the cold marble countertop like a vice and clenched his teeth together, glaring into his own reddened eyes. There was a luminosity there that was very clearly a sign of vampiric hunger. Actually he could feel it too, a warmth, sort of a painless burn.
"No!" Zero insisted to himself, meeting his reflection with determination. This was the first time he'd seen the telltale redness in his own stare. It made him look… scary. For the first time he actually looked like a vampire, just like the ones he'd despised so thoroughly his whole life. He blinked at himself a few times, rubbing his eyes as if that would clear them. He could still smell those few tiny drops from all the way on the bed and his mouth felt entirely parched even though he knew damn well that he was not dehydrated. His clenched harder on the edge of the marble counter as he reminded himself of his hatred for vampires. He renewed his vow to never succumb to his thirst for human blood. Or any blood.
Zero took a deliberately slow calming breath, relaxing his hand. He took one more, relaxing his aching jaw.
I am in control.
He focused on the teeth in his reflection and willed them to return to normal, watching as they reluctantly shrunk into a less predatory shape before his eyes. The red in his gaze was also receding back to lilac and Zero felt himself regaining control over his first wave of bloodlust.
Revulsion washed over him as he thought about how it felt to want something so disgusting. He didn't want to go back into the room because he knew the smell would be stronger.
I have to get used to this sometime, otherwise I won't be able to control it, he thought to himself as he steeled his resolve and went back into the main room to strip off the bed and dispose of the offending sheets. It was imperative that he remain in control of his condition. This was actually sort of an opportunity – he was alone here, and could use this incident as a tool to teach himself about the thirst. He needed to know what to expect in the future, how to recognize and manage it. He knew that he had been lucky so far, it had already been a year and three months since he was bitten and only now was he beginning to feel the hunger. That was sort of a blessing since he'd been expecting it to happen right away.
He left the room and moved on to the next one. He was able to stay calm and finished off the rest of the day without encountering anymore blood. He felt a swell of pride at being able to manage things as effectively as he had, but it was juxtaposed by the intense shame of knowing that he'd grown ravenous for a nasty drop of blood on a semen-stained bed where a young guy had probably just had sex and lord knew what else. It was hard to see the overall experience as a win, even with steadfast optimism in place.
That night Zero lay stiffly in bed listening to his protesting stomach as he thought about how much time had passed since he arrived here. Fifteen months of pointless existence, waiting to succumb to his inevitable conclusion. It had been easier to ignore before today. Now it really was just a matter of time until the hunger became more than he could bear. He wondered how it would happen. Would it get gradually harder and harder to control himself or would it come on suddenly? Would he know he was losing it, or would he believe he was still rational for a while after it happened? The idea that he may only have a short time left before he descended to the End was terrifying, but Zero was also beginning to realize that there really wasn't much to look forward to even if he didn't go mad. He had become a nameless servant in a whore house. Nobody would notice if he died tomorrow, much less mourn him. The positive outlook he'd been firmly holding onto was slipping. He felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, and he knew that he would eventually lose his footing.
He shut off the light and once more laid in the dark with his thoughts swirling as he tried to sleep.