Wow! It has only been a few weeks and I'm already uploading a new chapter. :D Thanks to all the people who have read this (and DCMysteryGirl and HImitsu Detective for favouriting and alerting respectively). You all get metaphorical fudge! Hey, maybe if you review, I'll give you metaphorical cookies too! (hint hint)
Well, not too much happens in this chapter. I promise, it gets MUCH better in the next one. I was going to write more for this chapter but I figured I'll end it here so I can make the next chapter longer (since it would've been only like, half the size of this).
Also, apologies for any grammatical mistakes (my Canadian-ness spelling doesn't count). I don't have Microsoft Word on this computer or any other good programs for that. And I don't really want to bother any possibly-busy betas. So, if you see anything wrong, tell me so I can fix it please~!
The bloody red moon
Grinning at its newborns
The ones who feast within the night
Mocked from Heaven and from Hell
Their death beyond their grasps
A cheerful Kaito whistled happily as he walked towards his high school. He had two pockets full of tricks for his classmates and some new purple permanent hair dye for a certain British detective.
As the mischievous magician walked into the school, he vaguely noticed how empty it was.
Hm? Am I that late?
Kaito picked up the pace and jogged to his classroom. When he quickly opened the door, his world crashed down on him.
Blood was smeared all over the classroom. The kids he grew up with, his teachers, everyone he knew was lying on the floor in a massive puddle of blood. The crimson mess slipped around his shoes and out the room, as if opening the door set off some sort of trigger.
He looked over at the closest body and the urge to throw up was stronger than ever.
Okaasan . . .
His mother's body looked like it had been torn in half. Bones were sticking out from the mess and pink was everywhere. Her eyes were staring at him, wide and terrified.
Kaito forced himself to look away and take deep breaths. He didn't care why his mother was at his school, she was there and ripped to shreds.
A few more bodies caught his eye. Nakamori Ginzo, Hakuba-kun, Aoko's best friend Keiko, even his tantei-kun was there, his small face expressing defeat and vulnerability. The sight made Kaito guilty but he didn't particularly know why.
Aoko's corpse seemed to stand out the most. The only wound was on her neck but it was deep and nasty. Her face was stained with blood, as if she had been crying.
Kuroba spun around when he heard a raspy cough. The red-head witch was barely standing, shuddering in pain, her face a mix or triumph and disgust.
"I told you so, Kuroba-kun," Akako laughed, scarlet spewing from her lips. The brunet couldn't look away, no matter how hard he tried.
"It's all your fault, kaitou. After your breath was stolen, you had to steal everyone else's too."
She cackled as she collapsed to the floor, Kaito running forward to catch her.
"Wait! I didn't do this! Koizumi-san, what are you talking about? Koizumi-san!"
The woman exploded into blood upon contact, covering the young thief. The crimson blotted his vision, the pools growing bigger and making the world dark.
~x~
Kaito snapped back to reality all at once, the strange vision fleeing to the corners of his mind. The blindfold was taken off of Kaito and the arms released him. He spun around wildly to get a look at his attackers and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw them.
There was eight people in the room. They were all pale, breath-takingly gorgeous, seemed a bit "out of this era", and wore black clothing. Three sat on thrones while the other five stood to the sides of Kaito, eying him carefully. Though there was one thing that stuck out to the Japanese high schooler.
Their eyes.
The room's occupants' eyes were all a deep crimson. The male teenager was reminded of his bright red eyes and pale complexion. He remained tense, eying each of them as if they were all the fish he loathed.
"Hello, little newborn!" one of them on the thrones greeted cheerily in English. He had long black hair and Kaito assumed he was the leader. "You must be terribly confused, aren't you?"
Kaito didn't respond. Pokerfacepokerfacepokerface-
"Oh, you're so tense!" he continued warmly, which the magician didn't fall for. He used the trick enough to know when someone was trying to use it on him. "Don't worry, we're all friends. We brought you here to explain your condition to you."
Kaito let his eyes dance over the room and its occupants.
"Condition? I am perfectly fine," Kaito replied in English, keeping his face unreadable, "Where am I and who are you?"
The man who addressed him earlier slid off his throne and gracefully walked over to the younger boy. He stopped in front of Kaito, looking at him with his warm smile.
"You are in Volterra, Italy, newborn. And we," he gestured to the other seven in the room, "are the Volturi."
"Italy? Oh, this is mom's version of a joke, isn't it?" He looked around for the hidden cameras or the trick. "Haha, funny one. You could've just told me you were dragging me to Italy!"
To Kaito's surprise, the man in front of him laughed and held out his hand. "Oh, no, your mother isn't here, child. We, the Volturi, are the royal family of the vampire world. Could I have your hand for a moment?"
The boy replied with a laugh of his own. "Vampires? Please, I'm not a kid!"
The Volturi leader's face didn't change. "Why, yes, I suppose you aren't a child in human years, hm? But, yes, us vampires are very real. If I could have your hand, I could prove it to you."
Kaito snorted as his mind shuffled through all the possible escape routes. "Right. Yeah, no way."
The man's eyes flickered over to one of the other Volturi members. The particular member was female and had short black hair, framing her pale face and the scarlet eyes.
"Tell me, newborn, did you experience anything strange on your way here? Perhaps, maybe, a horrific nightmare of sorts?"
Kaito's pokerface almost cracked. "So what if I did?"
He smiled. "Vampires sometimes have special abilities depending on what type of person they once were as a human. That was the ability of this woman, Xell. She implanted the vision in your mind to distract you so you couldn't fight back."
The magician looked at the still-outstretched hand. "I'm assuming your ability has something to do with contact."
The man laughed and clapped his hands together. "Oh, you're so smart! Yes, when I make physical contact with another, I can see every thought that has passed their mind."
Kaito tensed. "Then, no, you cannot have my hand."
The black-haired man frowned. "That's upsetting. But, I assume this means you believe us now, yes?"
The kaitou couldn't reply to that just yet. "Why am I here?"
His smile returned. "Don't you know? We can't have newborns running amok, reigning terror and exposing us. So we had to track you and bring you here for training!"
"Newborns . . . ?"
"Yes, that's you. It's the term for new vampires. It's a wonder, really. I didn't even know a coven existed in Japan!"
Kaito tuned out the man in front of him as his pokerface shattered into shock.
Vampire.
Me. I'm a vampire.
The world around him seemed to brighten at that knowledge. The colours looked more vibrant, he could feel the stares he was getting, he could see the specks of dust floating in the air, different scents swirled around him.
How did this happen? Why am I a vampire?
Kaito didn't realize he had spoken aloud until the man in front of him spoke up. "I'm sorry, young vampire. I'm afraid I don't understand your native tongue."
Kuroba Kaito built his pokerface back up and made eye contact with the smiling man. "Why am I a vampire?"
The young kaitou stared at the curious look he was receiving. "Yes, I would like to know that as well. It doesn't seem like you have been bitten by our kind. Perhaps a glance through your memories would clear things up?"
He held out his hand again and Kaito hesitated.
He'll know all my secrets. Everything I have ever thought . . .
Kaito slowly lifted his hand and offered it to the Volturi leader, who took it with a goofy grin. Moments passed and his smile slowly fell.
"Oh dear . . ."
"What is it?" the Volturi member named Xell asked.
"It seems we have a very important child on our hands . . . A certain thief known for his tricks. The Kaitou Kid . . ."
One of the men on the thrones got up and trailed over. Kaito couldn't help but notice the graceful stride in his steps. The blond man had an angry look in his eyes. "What? Who did this?"
The leader shook his head. "Calm, Caius. It's no one's fault - it seems he's a pureblood."
The room went silent. The newborn could pick out the curious stares from many of the people in the room.
"Um . . . What's a pureblood?" Kaito had to ask - the curiosity was burning him.
The man in front of him smiled again. "Purebloods were the original vampires. Most - if not all - of us were changed by another's venom. The first vampires became who they were because of a mysterious jewel that shed the venom under the moonlight."
No . . .
"This jewel had been shattered after that and the pieces were thought to be lost. It was called the Pandora. Oh, don't be upset, Kaito! You might learn to like this life more than the human one."
Kaito was startled at the use of his name before he remembered English was a very informal language and had no honorifics. He shook his head and pulled his hand away from the man in front of him, glaring at the smile he was receiving.
The black-haired man sighed. "Well, if you still don't like it, you can return to your old life after a year, once you have your instincts under control."
"A year?" The mask broke once again and rage bubbled inside the high school student.
"Yes, a year. Though it might be better to stay here with us, since you'll outlive your friends anyways. And we can't have you exposing us when that time comes along."
A member with brown hair chuckled a bit. "Hey, with the way you're controlling yourself, you might not need much training at all!"
The brunet shook his head and turned to leave, breaking out into a sprint. He could only reach the door when a horrible pain shook his body and sent him to the floor in a withering mess.
A female voice rung through his mind, though it sounded distant. "God, at least I can affect THIS brat."
~x~
All of Kaito's escape attempts ended with an illusion of pain or a temporary disabling of one of his senses. He eventually gave up and was led to a room by the brunet member - who was named Felix - and the Xell woman.
"Sorry about Jane and Alec," the black-haired girl said as they entered the room, "They're both quite sadistic. Of course, your escape attempts didn't help at all."
"Yeah, I can't believe you actually dressed up as that crazy chick just to try and get away. Too bad your blood has a distinct smell, you might've gotten away!"
Felix laughed a bit as Kaito examined his surroundings. It looked like the type of room you'd see at a fancy hotel, except for the fact that there were no windows. He eyed the large and comfy-looking bed.
"Hey, do vampires sleep?"
Xell shook her head. "No. We don't need rest. It's just a luxury, really. But, yeah, this is where your room is. Make yourself at home while you're here. When the sun sets, I'll take you out and teach you more about what you've become. You're probably thirsty too so we can take a hunting trip if you want."
Felix chuckled. "What a romantic first date."
Kaito caught the glare the girl shot the other vampire. He cleared his throat to ask one of his many questions.
"Hey, do vampires drink blood? Like, um, human blood?"
This time, the elder male erupted into laughter. "Dude, I think I like you! Of course we drink human blood. Hey, I know you were famous for being a friendly thief but, y'know, you gotta do whatever you can to survive."
The newborn swallowed hard. He didn't want to hurt anyone, even if it meant his own survival. He remembered the heavenly scent around Aoko and Koizumi-san . . .
No, dammit! I'm sure I can handle a while without blood, at least until I think of another way without harming people. Blood banks? Hah, imagine Kid stealing from a blood bank . . . Hm, what about . . . ?
"What about animal blood?" Kaito asked aloud. Felix's gaze seemed to darken in disgust and amusement.
"It doesn't taste that great. There's a family that actually gets by on that stuff but it makes you weaker than if you drank human blood. But I bet you'll drink from a human before you can get close to an animal."
"Don't tease him," Xell snapped, "He has excellent self-control for a newborn. Aro says he's only been a vampire for a day and he hasn't even thought about killing anyone."
"He probably will now, since you've brought it up." The elder brunet smirked as he began to walk out of the room. "Anyways, I'm going to go. Later, lovebirds."
Felix seemed to disappear in a blur before the black-haired vampire could react. She growled and punched her fist into the wall out of fury. Kaito yelped at the impact, noticing how the wall cracked.
She reminds me of tantei-kun's girlfriend . . . Note to self: Stay on this woman's good side.
"Ugh! Felix is such an ass!" she groaned, pulling her fist away from the wall and flexing her fingers. She seemed to remember she wasn't alone and gave Kaito an apologetic look.
"Ah! I'm sorry! Gomen!" Kaito was startled to hear the Japanese word from the girl's mouth. "I'll fix it right away!" She began to leave but turned around before sprinting away. "Oh, you can explore if you want! Just don't go outside - it's really sunny outside."
"Yup, don't want to explode!" Kaito teased. Xell smiled slightly.
"Well, actually, we don't explode at all. Those are just myths. Real vampires sparkle like jewels when they're exposed to sunlight. We don't go out when the sun is shining so we aren't exposed."
Apparently the shock was evident on Kuroba's face since the other vampire began laughing to herself as she blurred out of existence.
I clearly have a lot to learn about this new life.
~x~
Kuroba Kaito discovered there really wasn't much to do as a vampire. Along with the no-sleeping clause, the night children couldn't eat either since they didn't have proper digestive systems (which the boy discovered the hard way after he coughed up his small breakfast). He also didn't have to breathe or blink anymore (but often did it out of familiarity).
Anything to believe I still have humanity within me.
There wasn't very much to do in the ancient Volturi "hideout" - as he liked to call it - either. Most, if not all, of the the vampires looked to be in adulthood stages so there was no entertainment that suited the mischievous magician. So, after giving himself a quick tour and making minimal conversation with other vampires (who didn't have much to say to him, sadly), the Japanese student situated himself in his temporary room for the duration of the afternoon.
Kaito was, at the moment, watching one of his doves examine its surroundings. He was barely aware of a small burning pain gnawing in him, though it become more apparent when he realized the dove wasn't going to make the time pass any quicker. He sat up stiffly on the bed and idly let his eyes wander around the room.
It's like I need something. But my body doesn't know what yet. Maybe . . .
He looked at the dove. It gazed at its owner with what Kaito believed was a questioning glance. Kaito pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to focus.
Being the only "pureblood" in the building, no one really knew how help Kaito. Apparently, vampires had a raging bloodlust after they first turned. And the transformation took more than a day. For Kaito, the transformation has taken what he assumed was five minutes and he had no signs of needing blood yet.
Aro, the Volturi leader, had told him about the animallistic instincts that came with thirst and said he should go find an older vampire if he thought he needed blood. Of course, Kaito had no desire to give into his instincts. If it meant saving an innocent life, he would much rather starve until he could find another way.
The kaitou was vaguely aware of the staring bird, which started to waddle over to its master. Once Kuroba noticed the bird looking up at him, he reached out to stroke its feathers. The young magician instinctively pulled his hand back when the dove flinched upon the contact.
I must feel like an ice sculpture right now. God, why can't I just go back to being a human?
The newborn sat there for a long while, motionless as he dwelled upon happier times. He only switched back to reality when he heard the door to his current room open.
"Hello, Kaito!" a cheery Xell began, "Are you ready to-"
Her jaw hung open as a look of disbelief and shock was plastered over her features. The subject of her shock cocked his head in confusion.
"But-! How-?" The elder vampire's words came in stutters, unable to form a complete sentence. She stopped and took a few breaths before she have Kaito an irritated look. "You! What kind of trick is this?"
"What are you talking about?" Kaito was trying to think of something that could be the source of her shock. No, he tested his hair colouring tricks an hour ago. And he wasn't in any sort of disguise.
"Don't play dumb! You look human! God, are masks these days that realistic? And how are those contacts not bothering you?"
She said this as she walked over to Kaito and pulled on his cheeks. Hard. The newborn struggled out of her grip and rubbed his cheek.
"Oi, oi. What are you talking about? I look just as dead as you. And if I was in a disguise, I would use the whole body."
"You . . ." Xell shook her head in disbelief. "You honestly aren't doing this? Here, c'mere-"
She grabbed Kaito's arm and dragged him over to the mirror on the opposite end of the room. The expert illusionist never thought he'd be jawdropping at his own reflection but he proved himself wrong at that exact moment.
His skin appeared to be a healthy peachy colour, like his human self, and his eyes were filled with the unmistakable pool of blue. Any tiny blemishes he remembered having were present and accounted for. Although, said blemishes seemed much noticeable than they used to, with his new "vampire-vision".
The black-haired woman beside him shook the dumbstruck newborn out of his trance by poking his cheek. "Your body temperature hasn't changed at all. And your senses seem to be just as vampire-like as the next guy." She paused and thought for a moment. "Maybe this is your new ability upon becoming a vampire. Changing your human appearance."
"Hmm . . ." Kaito thought about this. What was he thinking about that could've caused this?
I wanted to be human again.
That's right. He was remembering his human memories. Is that it? Just wanting to be someone? He decided to test it, visualizing the person in his mind. Pulling his skin to match their form, shifting his colour to brighten to theirs, reaching for the surface of that person's appearance.
"Wha-? Kaito! What the hell?"
Kaito opened his eyes and grinned at his new reflection. There was now two Xells, standing side by side, identical from the shade of black hair to the ghostly white skin. The only difference was the clothing and the facial expressions.
"Hey, it works!" Kaito exclaimed. His face fell when he realized the physical transformation didn't include his voice. He changed his voice and made it higher pitched to match his female vampire companion's. "We can be twins now!"
This coould in handy at the next heist.
If there's another heist.
"What's with you and dressing up as women?" The original's cheeks puffed up in annoyance. "I mean, isn't that awkward?"
Kaito shrugged and continued in Xell's voice. "It's unexpected, isn't it? No one expects the obviously male Kaitou Kid to dress up as one's wife or daughter. Especially when there seems to be nothing wrong with the said female."
Xell pouted. "You're a pervert!"
The kaitou laughed as he watched his body alter back to its original form. He was fascinated how the smallest changes were what made them two incredibly different.
The girl beside him made a face. "That's slightly disturbing to watch."
Kaito's grin just got wider. Surprisingly enough, Xell gave him a grin of her own, though the reason made his smile crash and burn.
"So, ready to go eat some humans?"
Yay! Kaito's super awesome vampire ability is revealed! And, yes, Xell is an OC. She'll be the only OC for this story. I don't particularly plan for any sort of romance between them so all you KaiAokos, KaiShins, and other strange shippers and breathe a sigh of relief. For now. I don't want to spoil it so I won't. :D Mwhaha.
So, yeah, this chapter was mostly for anything that needed to be explained or revealed. Most people call it filler but meh.
Next time: Kaito learns more vampireisms! AND SOMETHING POSSIBLY BAD HAPPENS (I dunno, some people may deem it good, others may not care)! If you can guess the possibly-bad-thing (or something remotely close to it) before the next chapter is up (so hurry, I've been updating quick), you get something awesome! What is it, you ask? Well, I was thinking of a one-shot based on something DC or Twilight-based with a plot of your choice but I might not get around to it (unless it's a kickass plot - like a character getting killed off or something lol). If anything, you get thrice as many metaphorical cookies. Yay!
Thanks for reading~! :)