I don't own, nor do I claim to own, Vampire Knights or any of the music/T.V. shows listed below. I have no relationship/agreement with the owner/owners. This story was written for no purpose other than personal enjoyment.
LiteraryEden
End of Days
Chapter 2
Read and Review. Use Your Voice.
He's the same, was the first thought in Yuuki's head.
As she stared, she tried to ignore the sting of the sun in her delicate eyes, but it was a chore. Her blood was thrumming, pulsating like a revving car engine with her new power. It was still a force unlike anything she could explain; a wild, thundering intensity that threatened to tear her apart with every vibration. She still worried that her small body wasn't strong enough to contain it, and found herself again questioning her brother's decision…
Silent, Yuuki stared outside, the sun uncomfortably hot on her face as she contemplated the arctic wasteland beyond her window. The snow was brown, contaminated with dust and chemicals left over from the human war. The trees and wildlife were withered and shrinking away, unable to rise against the harsh, new climate. She sighed heavily at the thought, her breath fogging the glass. The sight brought a gentle smile to her face and she recalled a time when she would have traced pretty nothings in the haze with a finger tip. Had it really only been five years?
"You're beautiful, you know."
His silken voice filled the room and Yuuki tilted her head in acknowledgment, the corners of her eyes crinkling with a smile, "So are you."
His dusky, jasmine scent tickled her nose with his approach, his body warm against hers as he leaned in and wrapped long arms around her shoulders. As his body heat sunk in, so did an immense sorrow. Yuuki frowned, "Kaname?"
He sighed softly, his breath whispering across the back of her neck, "They're coming for us."
Yuuki's kohl lashes lowered, her pale fingertips pressing against the cool glass. Kaname's face was troubled in the reflection, his dark eyes wide and shining. She watched them dying within them and wished she could soothe him.
"I'm not afraid," she whispered, her voice heavy, "We're together."
His embrace tightened, his silence stretching tense fingers through the air and spilling trepidation into her heart. She swallowed hard against it, her throat like gravel as she leaned her small weight back against his chest.
"I will not watch them hurt you," his voice was grave and he turned her slowly to face him, his eyes furious with love.
"Kaname-" her breath caught as he lowered a hand to the small of her back, his fingers splaying across the satin of her dress. He shushed her softly, slowly dragging her with him to the floor.
Arms and legs tangled, they held each other for a long moment, Yuuki's head cradled against his chest, Kaname's fingers woven deep in her hair. With a sigh, he pressed his soft fingers under her chin, tilting her head back and guiding her to his neck. His pulse was slight and sinuous to her gaze and Yuuki felt her fangs throb.
"Drink."
The heat came in sudden, tantalizing waves, spreading beneath her skin like a passionate blush. Her fingers clenched in the white cotton of his shirt and she opened her mouth, panting as his scent made her dizzy and warm. The rush pushed her forward and his skin parted easily beneath her fangs, the monster taking over and lulling her in bliss. It was then, as she lay pressed against him, his heartbeat in her throat, that she saw Kaname's horrifying intentions.
With a cry she ripped away, blood spattering the floor as she scrambled from him, "I will not!"
"Yuuki. Please do this for me."
She backed against the wall, one hand over her stained mouth as she fought her tears.
"My blood will save you. They wont be able to touch you."
"No!" she cried, shaking her head, "No, we can fight them together."
"We're not strong enough this way."
"Then we'll die together!"
He was instantly still, his eyes clouding as he watched her. She barely heard him when he spoke, "I cannot watch you die."
No, she couldn't do this. She could not.
"Do not ask me to," his voice was as sad as his gaze and her heart wept, "Do not."
She turned her face away, wanting to hide from the anguish in his gaze and the answer she couldn't possibly deny him. He came to her, his fingers warm as they pressed against her shoulders. As he took her into his arms, Yuuki wanted to scream. Through her dark hair she stared up at him, burning all that he was deep into her memory; the soft curve of his lips, the delicate perfection of his skin, the ancient perceptiveness behind his scarlet eyes. He was so old. So very old.
Kaname had been with her always; when she was born, as she'd grown. He was there when she'd been lost and wandering and forgetful, had watched over her as she'd found love in the Chairmen… found love in Zero. She paled as that face flashed in her memory, lavender eyes shimmering with disgust, silver locks of hair and a tight frown...
Kaname's soothing touch stole her back and she buried her face in his chest, burning with shame; she still hadn't a whole heart to give him, not even now as they stood in his final moments. Kaname deserved so much more, so much more than she could give.
"Yuuki."
His voice was tender with emotion she couldn't distinguish, and when she turned her face up to stare at him, he was smiling ever so gently, "I love you," he whispered, "and the love you've given me in return is enough."
Tears stung her eyes, "I love you, too."
Kaname's smile softened and he turned his dark eyes to the window. The sweet, subtle scent of sorrow filled the air, "They are coming, Yuuki."
The deed was uncomplicated in its difficulty and Yuuki tightened her fingers in his as she felt him begin to slip away. Her heart wrenched along with his, and when its shuddered its final beat and died away, her own heart became nothing more than flesh and blood.
It was as she was lowering him to the floor that she heard the first of them arrive, and the powerful anger within her was uncontrollable. As it pummeled through her body, fueled by the new strength her brother had given her, Yuuki realized with the sharpest and most cruel of all despair that she would live to see tomorrow…
"How did he die?"
His question was callous and it sparked her hatred anew. How she'd become capable of feeling so much fury was beyond her. The emotion was as alien on her tongue as it was unwelcome in her heart, but it raged all the same.
Yuuki turned her eyes down, knowing Zero had lived with hatred inside him every day since the attack on his family. Her eyes sharpened; all that raw malice pumping through his veins was bound to have a devastating effect. She wondered if she could use it to her advantage.
"I'll show you, " she whispered.
The corners of Zero's lips lifted slightly, the safety on his gun clicking with its release. At that moment, Yuuki felt the burden of their relationship, felt the grief and the loss and the yearning; it was a crushing weight.
"You." His laughter was cynical.
Yuuki's eyes burned with a biting fierceness, the ruby of her irises shimmering beneath the cumbersome emotion. The wheezing wind stirred her hair, tickled her flushed skin; she wanted to scream.
"Yes."
The answer was one of heartbreak and Zero frowned, something like envy rousing within his deranged, hateful heart.
"Probably the only thing you've ever done right."
Her fist caught him off guard and he crashed into a slate of sandstone, the immense force causing the foundation to buckle and split beneath him. His spine burned, stars sparking before his blackening vision as he pushed himself upright. His face stung from the blow and he rubbed his jaw, groaning as the ringing in his ears began to fade. He lifted his eyes to his adversary; she was away from him again, barely a shadow beyond the settling dust. He pictured her petite, perfect form nestled against the backdrop of cloudless sky - and cursed.
He winced as he climbed to his feet, his gun scraping against the hard stone; the pain set him on edge, gave him clarity. The air began to clear and he cast Yuuki an impassive stare, watching her chest heave from her exertion. He realized suddenly that he wouldn't be standing when this was over - not that he cared. His life didn't mean much. Never had. In a blur he cocked his gun and pulled the trigger twice.
The fizzle of electricity singeing oxygen hissed in his ears as the symbols raced forward. Yuuki dodged them easily, streaking to the left in a graceful leap. There was a pause, and then he felt the earth begin to shake. He took off, racing in the opposite direction as he unloaded another round her way. She bounded away from each bullet, focusing her energy on the earth. The soil split behind him, cracks snaking across the expanse of land like a wicked spider web. Zero smirked; chaotic, unrestrained paths. She still hadn't learned to control Kaname's power.
There was a rush of wind and he took a step back, staring up just as she launched down at him from above. He shot away, the sharp crack! of breaking earth resounding in the stale space from her impact, the shuddering of the soil reverberating up his legs. Dust flew, mushrooming like smoke through the dry air and he coughed, turning and heading back toward the ruins of Cross Academy, re-adjusting his gun.
She cut him off before he could reach the broken pillars, her dark hair tangled, her cheeks flushed. She was a portrait of riled perfection, her expression guarded as she calculated him. His gaze never left hers as he stepped back,
"And the others?" He pressed in the silence, "Did you kill them, too?"
Yuuki didn't answer, didn't even seem to have heard him as she studied his face… his eyes. Something in her expression broke and he frowned, lifting the Rose and leveling it at her heart; but he faltered. When she opened her mouth, her breath was sickly sweet with the scent of vampire, "What are you waiting for?"
Her words froze him, his gaze steady with hers. Her eyes were desperate, pleading.
"A Pureblood with a death wish?" he tightened his trigger finger, his eyes narrowed, "Hard to believe."
"Stop stalling, Zero."
Her hand shot out, clasping around the barrel of his gun. A searing pain shot up through his wrist and he jumped, cringing at the sensation; the Bloodyrose had recoiled from her strength. She tugged at it gently, guiding it from her chest to her forehead. She closed her eyes as the cool metal brushed her skin, "You promised me."
"Promises are broken easily enough," he snapped, "What about my reason to live?"
"I'm sorry."
Her apology was sincere, and her woeful regret made him sick to his stomach.
"Yes, I killed them," she whispered, "Kaname gave his life for mine. I couldn't let it to be for nothing."
"Then why die now?" he barked. Not that he really gave a damn.
"Why not?" She gestured around them, "What's left?"
Zero's heart bloated with anguish before disintegrating in his chest, hissing in a ragged, dying breath; I'm left, Yuuki. He was tempted to turn the gun on himself.
"Nothing," she glanced at Cross Academy, her eyes painfully sad, "Just so much nothing."
He didn't reply, just stiffened as he watched her remember things they both would have liked to forget. The sweet moments between them when they were alone, the powerful ones. He felt the bittersweet joy it had given him when she'd saved his life, felt the horrible pain behind his kiss that final day, the anger at her leaving. She was a vampire. Kuran's bride. A Pureblood. A beast.
"I'll find you someday… and I'll kill you."
Yuuki looked back to him with miserable, knowing eyes, as if she could hear his thoughts; and Zero pulled the trigger. She hurtled across the yard, electricity crackling around her body and snapping through the dark locks of her hair. Time seemed to suspend, debris kicking up into the air, her limbs reaching toward him, her hair in her face... She landed hard, her body scraping across the crusted earth and stirring up dead grass. It took what felt like hours before she finally rolled to a stop, a rumpled heap in the dizzying haze of dust.
Zero lowered his gun slowly, the barrel winding a maze of smoke toward the sky, his hand stinging from the aftershock. He waited for a chorus of triumph to fill him, for the sweet taste of victory… but there was nothing.
Author's Note:
Thank you so much to all who reviewed, especially CelectialCircumference (thank you - so much! You were my first review for this story, and it was a beautiful one at that. Oh, and, sorry about the length - this was actually suppose to be a one-shot, but I broke it into 3 pieces), NinjaSheik, SuperGalGene348, Evelyn Disraeli, WitchyMage, fenderlove13 (thank you so much for your ridiculously kind review. I really took it to heart), and birdy22. A special shout out to Starriecat and her wonderful advice - I fixed it as best I can, thank you! Oh, and a special shout out to Starless as well, who didn't sign in, but still reviewed - thank you! I love you all - you are truly valued by the many writers on this site (myself included), as well as the main source of my motivation and gratification. I applaud you!
- Eden
Updated: 6/8/14