Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or any of the characters belonging to the manga.
Author's note:Hello,everyone! I know I promised to be more alert in my posting of new chapters, but an error occurred whilst writing this one. The story ended up evolving towards a whole different concept than what I had in mind, and I was too engrossed in it to be able to stick to the actual story. But, I'm back and ready to write!( hopefully I'll manage to find enough free time) So, gomen nasai! Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai!*bows*
Word count: 3,541
Chapter 2: Bones
Motto: "Did you know that human bones last forever? "
The sound of sandpaper roughly scraping across bones echoed through the hallways, startling several dirty, red-eyed rats into a frenzy as they feasted upon the corpse to whom the prized body part had belonged. An eerie silence enveloped the macabre scene of two figures cradled in a corner, one holding the other intimately to her chest as she rested her lips upon a rapidly bleeding gash. The predator's long dark wisps fanned out on the cold cement floor underneath them as the shorter fringes clung to the much more younger pray's crimson covered shoulder and neck.
"Please more, take more" were the murmured pleas escaping the level E's lips. Her facial muscles contracted into a smile as faint as her presence, as if to remind her gentle tormentor that she'd once lived, loved, laughed, that she'd once been someone's most precious being, yet it was clear that her only desire was to be devoured, to fall in the oblivion that only death could bring her. Again and again, like a mantra, she repeated her request, eyelids dropping lower and lower until the older, red-eyed woman extracted her fangs from her neck, watching the body of her victim turn to ashes. She smiled, eyes turning back to a greenish-brown, irises now almost divided between the two colours which would never blend.
"They are closer" she said whilst turning to the man who, after hearing her, stopped shortly to gaze her in the eye. He was studying her uninterestedly, seemingly deciding if he should dignify her with a response. In the end, he posed a calm yet threatening question:"Why did you bleed her dry? I thought I'd instructed you to ensnare her for my masterpiece, did I not? And yet you managed to again destroy such precious material." Of course, he cared not for the hunters and the possible threat they may pose, but for his Masterpiece. 'How typical', thought the aristocrat.
"She wanted to be entirely consumed, my liege" was her calm answer as she peered upon his handy work. The long, creamy white fibula was almost perfectly shaped, except for a small mar near the lateral malleolus, which indicated that the bone had been injured sometime during the victim life. 'So that's what annoyed him' she concluded mentally. But she didn't manage to address the situation as, in an instant, the woman had been pressed flat against the wall behind her, a clawed hand taking purchase of her throat whilst another pressed her chest unyieldingly, with the clear intention of crushing her ribcage. She could feel her bones cracking under the tremendous pressure.
"I instructed you to keep her" was his reply as the pureblood loomed over his impassive pray. She knew that if it'd please him to kill her, Edgar would have done it a long time ago. It thrilled Monica to know that he regarded her differently than the rest of this world.
"I should devour you or, better yet, leave you food for those hunter mongrels coming this way" he mouthed as he planted his mouth on the aristocrat's neck. "Would you like that?" he inquired menacingly. At those words, the woman laughed, crystalline sound devoid of any real humour, and eyed him uncaringly as she grabbed his hands and pushed them off her bruised skin. "Don't make empty threats" she said whilst tending to her annoyingly small front fringes soaked in almost-caked blood. "I'd wanted her, do you have a problem with that?"
Hearing her tone, he started chuckling darkly: "You almost sound like one of my dead ex-wives" he said as he turned his back to the noble and resumed his project.
Six silhouettes walked through the dimly-lit corridors, inspecting the area cautiously for any hidden passages. They headed deeper into the catacomb-like structure, putting an increasingly large distance between them and their only escape: that sewer which had its entrance barred by a rusty door... if they'd known what awaited them, they would have broken into a sprint right at that moment... Alas, they had a mission.
Suddenly, Zero wordlessly signalled his team members to stop and reactivate their tactical headsets as their outside source was transmitting information. Immediately, a calm female voice made itself present through their newly established channel: "Alpha check, you are 15 meters away from a three-way split and approaching."
The leader waved his hand wordlessly for them to advance and the team started stealthily moving ahead. Indeed, they were where the radar had pin-pointed their position. "Affirmative, request permission to split the team in three two-man cells" was the ex-human's response for their operator. Five sets of eyes warily turned towards him, obviously afraid of such a move inside a vampire nest with confirmed violent population. But their leader's eyes had gained a steely resolve; clearly, no bargaining would sway him. He was a Kiryuu after all.
"Roger that, I'd advise against pursuing this path as we've yet to establish an accurate heat signature for the entire building. A foreign aura seems to be blocking our readings. Additional information shall be transmitted when gained. That is a continue dry. I repeat, continue dry." Was the monotonous answer of their bored operator. Damn! They'd hoped she'd not give him the go, yet she'd just done the opposite! Anyone knew that if Kiryuu-sama was not given clearance by the higher-ups, he would just take the responsibility himself and pursue their target nonetheless.
Without another word, Zero signalled for Sousuke and Yuugi to take the north-western wing of the underground tunnels in search of any living victims or threats and waved permission for Sai and Mariko to scour the north-eastern halls. All that remained was for him and Kaito to go straight ahead, through the northern door. He decided against urging the others towards extreme cautiousness. They were pretty frightened as it was, no need to add gas to the fire. He faintly wondered what would their reaction have been if he'd informed them of his assumption that there must be a pureblood around. At that idea, he started to silently chuckle to himself. Poor hunters, they were like sitting ducks. Well, all but Takamyia...
"They have breached the barrier but also split up. Shall I put the plan into motion?" of course the answer would be affirmative, that was what he'd instructed her, but still, she had to obey vampire customs and etiquette. She glanced at him almost curiously, pupils dilated due to her the spiralling thoughts of fresh blood not very far from her grasp. 'Just an affirmative, just one word and I'll be sinking fangs deep into hunter flesh... how tempting,' she mused darkly. However, he was still engrossed in his work, gleefully muttering under his breath the word 'forever', a mantra for his endeavours.
"Sir? " she asked almost uncertainly, thinking that she'd once more lost him in one of his macabre fantasies. And, sure enough, Edgar turned towards her, eyes almost dripping crimson and, as soon as he could acknowledge her, posed the question which had first incited his insanity over forty years ago: "Did you know that human bones, unlike a vampire's which turn to dust at his death, last forever? That these creamy white pieces belonging to the fascinating puzzle of a human's body can outlive even a pureblood?" Hearing his question, the woman could do nothing but sigh in dismay. It was moments like these when Monica felt hopelessness envelop her, when she was almost sure her master was completely gone, devoured by this obsessive monster.
Knowing that there was no conversing with this beast, she quickly disappeared into the darkness enveloping the corridors, the sound of her dark hair swishing in the strong draft mixing with his deranged murmurs. He'd not noticed that she'd left but that was just as well as she could not face him when he was like this. Maybe, when she'd return, he would have regained his sanity. Soon enough, he completely forgot about her, the only reminder being the echo of her black stilettos clinking on the pavement.
Sai and Mariko were slowly advancing towards the end of a corridor when the woman stopped and asked her partner: "Did you hear that, Sai? It sounded like...high-heels "she said, clearly confused as to why such a sound would be present in this place. It wasn't like level Es wore footwear. The man halted, concentrating on his surroundings for a few quiet seconds in which Mariko waited with baited breath for the faint sound to re-emerge. Then, turning to his counter-part with a condescending smile, he mouthed between closed teeth: "You're insane, woman. I can't hear a thing. And who would wear high-heels in a sewer or whatever this is? Level E's?" he scoffed, turning ahead and starting to walk again. Suddenly, the faint, almost non-existent sound of stilettos hit his eardrums. Stunned, he turned to talk to the woman, but abruptly realised the he was alone. There was nobody in the corridor with him.
"Mariko?" he whispered, slightly alarmed "are you trying to sneak up on me again?"
No answer.
"Cut it out, woman, you're gonna get us both killed!" he shouted, full-blown panic making him forget that he was, indeed, inside a vampire nest. Looking ahead, he noticed a figure. "Mariko?" he asked, a little uncertain about the identity of the creature.
Taking a few steps, he realised that the presence had a woman's curves. He exhaled the breath he didn't know he was holding. "How did you manage to get past me that easy?" he asked, in the mood for jokes, now that he'd been reassured that it was his fellow hunter. After all, if it would have been a level E, it would have pounced on him already.
There was something wrong with his partner though, he realised as he got closer and was greeted by a pair of sangria eyes gleaming in the dark. Sai unconsciously took a step back, preparing to take out his shotgun. However, he found himself frozen in place, those animalistic orbs captivating him, ensnaring his mind. Soon, his every thought had been swept away by the image of those eyes. They infected his mind, much like a powerful poison, paralysing him, forcing him to renounce his free-will.
"Hello, human."
Zero's eyes analyzed the area, as if deciding whether to go deeper into the catacombs or not. This structure was much bigger than they'd first assumed but, being built underground and its presence having been attested only briefly, it was no surprise that they'd misjudged its vastness .And then there was the problem of not having encountered any level E's yet. This was unlike any other situation previously encountered while raiding nests. They were certain that there were over 10 level E's on the premises, yet this place was eerily silent. Last, but not least, about a week ago he'd had to visit Kuran's castle for a refill on his blood-tablets and he'd eaves-dropped on Aido and Kain who, at that time, were discussing a rumour about the infamous Edgar de Valois, a six hundred years old insane pureblood who'd been ravaging through Europe's human and vampire population for the past twenty years.
Seeing as he considered that collecting information from the enemy was beneficial regardless of the fact that said enemy was dangerous or not, he didn't comprehend why he should have been polite and give the nobles some privacy. And anyways, he'd found out that the blood-sucking leech had retreated to Japan to hide from the European Vampire Senate, who'd put a bounty on his head. He knew for a fact that during the war many dormant purebloods had been awakened, leading to an over-population of this segment in their society. This in turn resulted in a double conflict: between hunters and vampires and amongst different factions lead by purebloods. The Senate's Elders, seeing as the former conflict was only detrimental to the whole war effort, decided to legalise the killing of purebloods, as long as they were deemed demented and dangerous for society. This way, the struggle for power within Europe could be controlled and even diminished. A wanted nobles list was thus issued. The House of Valois contributed to the list with its lord - who just so happened to be at the top, among conspirators who'd tried to turn the entire human population into level E vampire slaves.
Aido and Akatsuki were actually worried that the pureblood may have taken residence on their King's territory, and they had just cause to be wary of such a thing. A pureblood, no matter how deranged, was a force to be reckoned with.
The moment Zero had heard about this recently discovered nest, he'd decided to participate in this mission, simply because he was almost 100% sure that it was a cover-up for de Valois' business. If it weren't the case, Kuran would surely have taken care of it a long time ago. Zero was willing to bet his month's salary that the only reason why Kuran had allowed this transgression was that a direct fight with a pureblood was just too dangerous, mostly because he would have had to carry the battle alone. So he had informed the Hunter Association, hoping that they would guarantee enough a distraction for him to operate. But Kiryuu wasn't about to let the 'King' gain even more power by killing another pureblood. 'No, this one is mine', Zero had thought grimly.
The sound of rat claws scraping the floors alerted Zero's senses right before a very aggressive aura constricted his movements, willing him to kneel. A noble-class vampire was approaching him and Kaito. So, indeed, the level E attacks were a cover-up to turn the eyes away from the real inhabitants of this construction. He motioned for his partner to stop and prepare for an incoming, possibly aggressive target. He didn't need to explain himself as Kaito knew he could feel vampires faster. Being a vampire yourself did have its perks. Zero considered contacting his other crew members via mouthpiece but decided against it in the last minute. What good would it do? If he and Takamiya couldn't bring whatever was coming their way down, the others surely were as good as dead.
Zero pulled his trusty Bloody Rose while watching Kaito unsheathe a katana exuding a strange purple light, being imbedded with hunter magic. They both took a fighting stance while walking ahead with measured steps.
Catching a glint of something, Zero fired a shot yet, as soon as the bullet left for its trajectory, whatever he had seen vanished in thin air. It was close, and it appeared to be toying with them. Zero gritted his teeth in annoyance and glanced back at his partner, making sure the other was indeed safe. Kaito seemed unscathed, yet his pupils were enlarged due to a bout of panic. It took Zero a few seconds to realise that he was signalling him to look ahead.
Sure enough, before him stood a tall woman, gleaming green eyes the only feature Zero could distinguish in the engulfing darkness. He gazed directly, bravely in those shifting pools of intense green-hazel that morphed into crimson in certain areas. She surely had no good intentions.
"Hello mister vampire hunter" she said breezily "do you have an appointment with my master?"
She sketched a deceitfully peaceful smile, obviously mocking the two stunned men, beckoning them to answer. Zero quickly pointed Bloody Rose in her face, deciding to blow her brains out while he still had a chance, but found himself incapable of pulling the trigger. Her jolly eyes lowered to slits, gaining a hard, threatening edge: "You know you can't approach my master with that thing" she said disgustedly. Her features gained a sadistic twist. "Well, shall I escort you two?"
The first thing that Zero's senses picked up when he awoke was the slight smell of calcium particles in the air. And then he felt it. Overwhelming. The suffocating presence of a pureblood in the room made the hunter's eyes glow red in pain. He could also feel his team mates around. They'd been captured too. 'Perfect, this is just perfect. Now we're all stuck in this situation. And who will "rescue" us? The bastards took our communication devices too.' Their operator would probably have a laugh at this.
Almost instantly, Zero felt the oppressive aura shift closer. The beast was approaching. He'd probably noticed that Zero was awake, which was bad. The hunter struggled to get a grip of reality because, currently, his hearing and eyesight felt like they'd been encompassed in black velvet. Whatever the noble had done to him, it was pretty effective. The anti-vampire binds around him seemed to sap all the energy from his body, leaving him weak. He tried to move, but all was in vain. Then, an exterior power zapped through him, almost over frying his delicate awareness. A hand touched his shoulder. This was followed by a hard slap on his left cheek, clawed fingers ripping his flesh. The bastard had backhanded him!
The pureblood brought his left hand to his lips and tasted the level D's surprisingly fragrant blood. Zero shuddered unaware, reigning in his fear. Whatever the bastard had planned for him, right now he couldn't fight against it. His only chance to survive lay in the pureblood's reluctance to instantly pulverise him. He needed to buy time for his mind to catch up with reality.
A minute later rough fangs plunged into his neck, bringing back a whisper of the fear that'd once gripped him when he was bitten by Shizuka as a child. His heart sped up, survival instincts kicking in as he tried to pry himself from that leech. A small, almost childlike laughter echoed in his head as he failed to get away, mocking his ineptitude.
'I will come for you and, when I do, be ready little man. Grow and let the hatred within you blossom. Hate me and... be ready...' that had been the request of his 'master'. A bidding that still haunted him from time to time, as the cold tendrils of hatred wrapped tighter still around him. 'No, I have to focus! There's no use in losing yourself in memories... ' he chastised himself. Yet the image of a beautiful creature dressed in a white kimono and walking confidently towards him still appeared in his mind's eye. Then, that image blended with the memory of a savage beast drenched in his blood, slowly destroying his life. 'No, this isn't real!' he screamed to his perpetrator whilst struggling to get a better grasp of reality, to pull away from the fangs embedded in his neck which were draining him to the point of hallucinating. Feeling him regain consciousness, the pureblood ruthlessly crushed the hunter's left shoulder, delivering enough pain to make him black out again.
A shock ran through Zero's body, the pain excruciatingly invading his mind, making him let go of his frail grasp of reality. The nightmare once more took hold of his mind, plunging him into a world of despair whose main actor was Shizuka Hiou, glancing down at him with red eyes and protruding fangs, beautiful face bathed in blood. He felt himself once more captured by her hypnotizing image, lulled by her insane coos. The hunter felt that he was forgetting something yet, at the moment, the bizarre image of his blood dripping down her chin kept his mind more than occupied. He once more felt the animalistic urge to lick his own blood from her neck and plunge his human teeth in the pale column. He felt a nagging pain in his shoulder yet he ignored it in favour of hatefully glaring at the beautiful monster cradling him in her arms. Wait, when did Shizuka injure his shoulder?
Suddenly, de Valois realised that the body below him was stirring, the person fighting for consciousness again. 'How bothersome', he thought 'maybe I should bleed him dry'. As he planted his face near the previous bite area two vines formed from the drying blood on his victim's neck and clothes, slithering around his neck and shoulders. "Oh, I see you have a-" but he didn't manage to finish as a pair of clawed hands clamped themselves around his head and shoulder, twisting his head sharply to the right. De Valois' spinal chord popped audibly, bringing a painless death in its wake. The creature then ran his nails roughly across the dead man's neck, causing blood to gush out sluggishly from the new wounds. Zero, although unconscious, latched on to the injured neck, survival instincts kicking in. He barely managed a few mouthfuls, when the pureblood's body cracked, dissolving into millions of shards which peacefully filled the air.
Zero slowly opened his eyes, pure blood helping him replace the lost vital energy and heal his wounds. His body suddenly freed from the noble's powers, he gazed up to his "saviour". Even in this darkness, the hunter could determine the presence's identity for there was only one man who possessed this figure and aura. Snarling, Zero felt his name roll scornfully, almost involuntarily from his lips: "Kuran."
Author's note: And Kaname has entered the scene.(Shouldn't there be a "dun dun duuun" right about here?) XD Sorry for the cliffy...this is all I managed to save from my yaoi-induced writing spree... Now, onwards! And do graciously leave comments, pretty please.
