Chapter II – Falling
Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight
Special thanks to Izzu for proofreading my story.
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The pure-blood dropped a single tablet into his glass of water. Upon hitting the bottom of the goblet, the tiny pill dissolved into fine lines of red liquid swirling inside the water towards the surface. Within seconds the vial of liquid changed in both color and viscosity; becoming the darker shade of red, like blood. Kaname closed his eyes and took a sip of the drink as if he tasted a glass of a good wine; despite how it was far from being any good. The liquid had been made to imitate the taste of real human blood but unfortunately for the vampires of the Cross Academy, the pills were nothing but a cheap imitation. And he could never be used to the bland metallic aftertaste that lingered on his tongue every time he drank the vile liquid.
Night again. Vampires did not sleep at night. Instead, they hunt. For some, it was a small pleasure for them to see their pathetic victims' terror and helpless struggle. Kaname never took any pleasure in such acts but even if he did in the past, he would not do it any more now for he had made an agreement with the headmaster to ensure that the peace was kept. Instead, he had to find other means to amuse himself busy during the long nights. Most of the time, he shadowed Yuuki while she patrolled the school grounds; ready to come in between her and any real danger that she might faced. Real danger did not come too often for all the vampires at the academy were well controlled and it would need a really good reason to provoke a pure-blood's authority. Of the few rare instances in the past when Yuuki accidentally spilled her blood and attracted some of the blood suckers, the silver-haired lad would always appear; ready to defend her to the death and somehow he always managed to do it.
It was a surprise that tonight the male perfect decided to leave the school grounds and abandon his duty. Kaname sensed it almost immediately and curiosity made him follow the youth. He knew of Zero's situation but chose to refrain from doing anything that might upset Yuuki later. He had a plan already, just waiting for the right time to set it in motion. Yuuki had so much faith in the other boy and he wanted to trust her judgement.
It was not a mistake to follow Zero. In the end, he had been very amused by how the event had played out. Kaname sat in his room to reflect back on the event that occurred just a moment ago and realized that he was right all along: Zero was dangerous.
The dark-haired man went back on the decision he had made. But in truth, he did not have a choice. It was for Yuuki, he told himself and he did not regret it. Still, he played what happened over and over again in his head.
xxx
He walked towards the young man kneeling on the ground. Zero's head was facing down as if buried in all of the sorrows of the world and perhaps he was. He looked very human but Kaname sensed a very inhumane blood running under his skin that threatened to take over every last inch of his flesh. He would become the creature that would not have a place in society, hunted day and night by both humans and vampires.
He won't let that happen. Yuuki would not be happy about it.
He called out his name, for he doubted the young man could sense his presence. When Zero looked up, he was indeed surprised. But there was something else in his eyes that almost made Kaname taken aback. There was no trace of hollowness and greed that would usually progressed to a level E. When Kaname met those amethyst orbs closely and carefully for the very first time, he was pulled into an abyss of sadness.
For a second or so, they just stared at each other. Kaname was mesmerized and began to learn the very surface of Yuuki's affection for the young man in front of him. It was something he did not understand and probably never will.
And then there was the part when he had to convince Zero to take his blood. It was the only thing that could save his soul from the eternal inferno of hell and yet, he refused as if was poison being offered to him. It was all for Yuuki. And it was not like he wanted it either. That ungrateful bastard…
Kaname was impressed and annoyed at the same time. Clearly the youth needed the power of his blood to fight the monster that was now taking over. It was so strong inside of him and yet he fought it and still had common sense. He resisted as if he was processed by some other unnatural force. Perhaps he would last longer but when Kaname mentioned Yuuki's name, he hesitated and finally gave in.
It was the first time anyone sunk their fangs into his flesh. The feeling was strange as his own blood was being sucked out of his body. Kaname let him take more blood than he needed, maybe he was curious of this new sensation. And it was Zero who removed his fangs in the end.
The boy had such a strong will…
xxx
He took another sip from his goblet and this time held it in his mouth a little longer before letting it wash down his throat. The taste did not change. It had been so long since he had tasted real blood. It was one of the small sacrifices he made to earn his privilege to stay here at the academy. He wished to stay close to Yuuki, watching her and protecting her at a distance.
It was the first time when they met in the cold December snow when Kaname decided that Yuuki was special. Being a vampire has everything associated with blood and so it was rare seeing someone who was so innocent and whose soul was tainted not by even a whit of red when all she was covered in was blood. Kaname could not help himself to want to protect her and shield her from all the evils of the world. He also found her precious in other ways, too. Yuuki looked up to him in a different way of admiration that no one else did; for her eyes promised unconditional love and care.
xxx
"Please go back to your dormitories, everyone!" Yuuki threw herself in front of a crowd of crazy girls from the day class but was helplessly stomped over when the gates of the moon dorm opened. Like always, it took no time before Yuuki got herself on her feet and was blowing her whistle at the masses. They screamed and pushed when the night class walked out, but they hardly paid them any attention at all.
Unlike Yuuki, the other perfect had no trouble controlling his side of the crowd. He set an invisible line with the fierceness of his eyes and no fangirl dared to cross until this day.
Zero watched silently as the night class students walk by and kept his eyes on the leader. What happened last night was so surreal that it all seemed like a bad dream. He was still puzzling over why the other man did what he did.
Suddenly, Kaname stopped. The rest of the night class upon sensing something not right also came to a halt. The dark-haired man walked to Zero and stopped when only inches were left between them. Everyone else followed with their eyes, also puzzled by Kaname's actions.
"How are you feeling?"
Zero did not expect this, and for a moment, he was taken aback.
Kaname smiled, "… Take care of yourself."
He figured that Zero was confused about his actions the night before, so there was really no harm in playing with his head a bit right now. It was the least he could get out of giving him his precious blood. Kaname was also curious to see how he would react.
Zero clenched his fist, which was not missed by Kaname. The dark-haired man watched in amusement, knowing the other could not really do anything.
Yuuki stared at the two men in confusion. For a second, she thought that there might be something she missed between the two but quickly dismissed the idea.
After the night class students walked off, the crowd of people dispersed as some of them went to their classes while others went on minding their own business. No one really noticed the silver haired youth anymore, except for Yuuki.
She walked close Zero and realized that a drop of sweat has trailed down a pair of knitted eyebrows. She called his name but there was no response.
Zero was lost in his own world where time stop at that one fateful night that changed everything. And yet, the sun still rose the next day after and nothing around him was any different. Surely this stillness would not last very long. There was no reason for Kaname to not tell this to the headmaster. Perhaps he already did and Headmaster Kaien Cross was waiting in his office for him to confess this very moment. It did not matter because nothing at this time would repent for his sins. He finally decided then: he will go tonight and tell the headmaster everything. He has made a promise to his master Toga and he had every intention to keep it.
Yuuki took Zero's silent distress as a sign of a vampire needing to feed. She was determined to help him; as a friend and maybe something more… She grabbed hold of his hand and pulled him to walk with her until they arrived at her choice of destination. It was under an ancient oak tree in a part of the gardens that people had no reason to visit, where the shadows sheltered them from the blazing sunlight and unwanted attentions. It was a quiet little spot where the golden rays of daylight could not reach and the grass could not grow because of the thick greedy leaves above. The wind blew and those who were not troubled by their own thoughts would notice the immediate drop of temperature under the shade.
The oak leaves rustled a husky cry that submerged the sound of a school shirt dropping onto the ground.
For a moment, the silver haired youth had nothing but a puzzling look on his face and wondered if the girl knew of his sins already. The female accompanied him then moved closer until their faces were almost touching. She then tugged on the ribbon-like bandage wrapped around her slim neck and it too fell onto the ground. The delicate skin underneath was reveled and so was a pair of fang marks that was not healed from days before.
The young man comprehended the situation and his eyes overcame with sadness. He could not hold in the guilt of having his loved ones in deceit on longer. There will never be a right time to tell something like that.
The girl saw the inner struggle of the boy that was so close but did not understand the true cause of it. She wished to help him to the best of her abilities but the boy was surrounded by unbreakable icy walls. She embraced him, hoping that the warmth of her affection would melt those barriers trapping a helpless boy inside but it only heated the guilt of a remorseful heart.
The boy pulled away and averted his eyes.
The girl tried again, and this time she was pushed away.
His name escaped her lips but she was interrupted and barely finished the word.
"I killed an innocent woman last night," the words bluntly came out.
"What?"
The girl's eyes were wide with disbelief.
"I didn't even know her name," he continued, "I drank her blood until she had no more."
Moments passed and the girl was shaking.
The boy slowly raised his head, and his eyes met hers. He held onto his breath and anticipated shock and disappointment. He knew it was coming but it still hurt him a great deal to finally witness the consequences of his selfishness.
It was excruciatingly painful, more than what he could bare. The one who truly understood him and love him for who he was stood right in front him, and her eyes spoke his deepest fear. She opened her mouth and would voice the inevitable judgment that the boy knew was coming. He just could not take it anymore.
It all happened so fast…
There was hatred inside of him that he did not know where it came from, and it suddenly took over his soul and burned in his eyes. Two long fangs protruded from his lip promised a taste of the venomous poison brewed for the longest time in his heart.
Fear was in the girl's eyes. She grabbed her rod-like weapon with trembling fingers. It was the only thing that might save her from the vampires but it was snapped away with a powerful swing of the arm. The sharp edges of the extended nails scratched the surface of porcelain skin and crimson drops stained the dirt below their feet.
The monster of a master puppeteer pulled the strings again and again as his little toy danced around the fire.
That day, the silver haired boy broke yet another promise as his demon drained the precious blood of another innocent. This time, it was his one and only beloved.
All he wanted was to get away from this agonizing situation and to acquire a little more time before he could accept the cold truth and his fitful punishment. He desperately wanted to stop but could not. It was not a body which he could control anymore.
He wished for nothing in the world at that moment to stop and stop he did.
In an instance, the girl was no longer in his grasp but instead in the arms of a man with obsidian hair and equally dark eyes which held a deathly gaze upon a youth who had been pushed a lengthy distance across the garden by some invisible force. He cleared a path of destroyed obstacles that did not hold enough in trying to stop the force of the boy's fall and one of them was the great oak tree which was now snapped at the trunk and broken to the ground. Sunshine kissed the spot where the grass could not once grow in the place that used to be shadowed and assured to restore it to the fullest of glory. But not even the holiest light could ease the sinister aura around a certain angered demon.
"You will regret what you did to her, Zero." And that was the last thing he heard until the silver haired boy faded into an unwelcoming darkness.
xxx
'How many times had he altered my plans with acts of passion and foolishness,' Kaname thought to himself as he watched the motionless youth now lying in his bed. They were alone now, with Yuuki just left the room leaving Zero to his care.
After the incident, he had brought both troublemakers to the safety of his own chamber, where windowless walls sealed out the curiosity from the outside and the scent of blood inside. He let his power flow freely to assist the healing of the girl. But when it came to the boy, he hesitated.
Yuuki had shed her tears for the other boy and sympathized in no ways a vampire could ever understand. He watched quietly as she begged him to have mercy on the one who almost took her own life as if assuming murder was the only thing he was capable of. He was a little angered at the girl's inability to see the truth lay out so plainly in front of her but there was nothing he could do right now to change that. There would be a day when she can finally open her eyes but until then he told her everything will be alright. She believed him and left quietly to resume her usual life, leaving the silver haired boy behind with a monster capable of a kind of hell that no one had experienced in the mortal realms.
Kaname knew that Zero had a twin brother, who looked exactly like him but with a personality that was everything he was not. His name was Ichiru and he had become a human servant for Shizuka Hiou, the so called "Madly Blooming Princess" who was also a pureblood vampire at that. He thought of perhaps he could make a deal with Shizuka and switch the brothers. She needed a skilled and powerful hunter and he needed a docile human puppet. It would be the perfect trade. He had all the pieces of his trap laid out and hoped for the prey to be lured into biting it soon. Once he gets his hands on the other twin, he would train him to be exactly like his brother and replace him. Until then, he had promised Yuuki something.
He sensed that the silver haired youth had regain consciousness and only seconds later a deep groan of distress reached his ears. The youth's nails dug into the bloody bed sheets but the rest of his body only trembled. It was obvious that he was in an utter state of pain but the black haired man only watched and enjoyed the other's agony. It was a while before he got up from his comfortable seat and went over to the boy. He eyed the pathetic figure but spared no sympathy. The boy underneath his gaze did not apprehend his presence at all until hard knuckles made shattering contacts with his stomach and lower ribs.
He had never hurt anyone with physically contact before, for he had no need for it. His actions were a surprise even to himself. It was like he just had to do something to the other man and hurting him with the brute force made it all so real and fulfilling. It was a good feeling too. He could do whatever he wanted, to hurt the other boy how ever much he wanted; just because he was just powerless to do anything about it.
He smirked as blood squirted out of the other youth's mouth and his eyes opened wide with shock from the pain. He watched for a moment as the helpless body twitched to accommodate the shock, tried to intake oxygen and twitched violently again from the introduction to a new kind of pain.
It was fun to watch but finally Kaname decided it was enough. He extended his fangs and bit into his right wrist, drawing precious pure vampire blood. They ticked down his wrist as he slowly removed his fangs. Liquid ruby suspended at the bottom of his arm as not quite enough was able to form to make a drop. He moved his arm inches in front of Zero's face and taunted him with it like candy to a child. Immediately, eyes lit up and jaws clenched.
He thought the monster had taken over but he was wrong. His arm was pushed away and the force made the suspended liquid to form a drop and it flew and landed on the stone floor.
"Get away, you filthy…" the boy's vehement was cut off by a sudden series of frenetic coughs and the air was further stunk with the scent of blood.
The arm that was pushed away came back with hundred times the force and grabbed the delicate neck. He held on until the other boy's face turned blue and eyes rolled back and yet did not stop until he heard the cracking sound of bones. As if he had just finished playing with a ragged doll, he threw him onto the floor not far from where the drop of his blood landed.
The vampire blood now running freely inside Zero's body prevented him from dying. He held up his head and looked up into the eyes of a real devil with absolute horror.
Kaname was calm as usually when he spoke to the human.
"If you wish to continue to hold on to your pathetic life, then lick that drop of my blood off the floor. It is the only thing that can save you now."