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There is a character in this chapter that is shamelessly based off a character in Nana. This isn't a crossover fic and you don't need to have watched Nana to read this. It's just a little cameo. Plus I always thought he would make a good vampire.
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The music shook the car with driving bass beats that caused vibrations even through the dark leather upholstery.
Ruka sat stiffly in the back of the limo and sucked in her stomach so she wouldn't rip her dress. Despite her better judgment, she had followed Aidou out the back door of the ballroom. It wasn't until she found herself sitting in the back of this limousine with a very suspicious crew, that she really began to worry.
There were four other vampires sitting in the car including Aidou, who had a blond vampire in a little black cocktail dress hanging onto his arm. Despite her young appearance, her green eyes gave away an age that could only come with very adult experience. Those green eyes were looking Ruka up and down, from the bottom of her purple silk gown to her white gloved hands folded tightly in her lap.
"Aidou, I don't understand why you brought her along." The girl's voice revealed an obvious distaste at Ruka's presence.
Ruka gave a practiced look of boredom and uninterest, but felt herself trying to sink farther into her seat.
Aidou looked up from where he had been fishing out a bottle of champaign from an ice bucket. He glanced at the blond next to him and then to Ruka. "You don't have to worry about her. She's practically my sister."
The blond pouted prettily and held out a glass so Aidou could fill it with champaign.
Ruka recognized the other girl sitting across from her, a daughter of one of the less established families named Chihiro. They were roughly the same age and had both attended social gatherings as children. Chihiro was a member of one of the vampire families Ruka's mother referred to as "commoners." According to her mother, she was unfit company for a member of the Souen family, and therefore an unacceptable playmate for little Ruka.
Now, Ruka was the one who felt unacceptable. Chihiro looked like a fun loving party-girl. She fit into the setting perfectly in tight jeans and a sparkly shirt that displayed a flat midriff. The boy sitting next to her looked equally stylish even though he appeared to be very young. He had spiky white hair and his lower lip was pierced with a silver loop. Ruka's eyes widened as she noticed the loop had a silver chain going through it and connected to another loop pierced through the top of his ear.
In order to stop herself from staring, Ruka looked down and absentmindedly straightened the layers of violet silk that covered her legs. She felt incredibly out of place and made sure to cover the vulnerable feeling with a haughty air. Why hadn't Aidou told her she should change clothes? She was obviously far too dressed up for wherever they were going. At least the other two vampires were polite enough not to comment about her being there.
"Ruka, here take this."
Surprised that somebody was speaking to her, she glanced up to notice Aidou holding out a glass of champaign expectantly.
She gave him her best admonishing look. "You know I don't drink, Hanabusa."
The boy with the lip piercing folded his arms. "She's not gonna say anything about where we're going is she?"
Everyone in the car stopped what they were doing and stared at her, all concerned that she would ruin their night of fun.
"Nah, Shinichi, she's cool." Aidou said as he downed the glass of champaign in his hand. "She can keep a secret. Can't you, Ruka?"
"Of course I can." Even though this was not her normal setting, Ruka wasn't about to let Aidou show her up. If nothing else, she was determined to save face, no matter how uncomfortable or shocked she felt.
The vampire, who she now knew was named Shinichi, shrugged nonchalantly and bent his head to nuzzle Chihiro's neck.
"Aidou," Ruka leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "How old is he? He looks like he's no more than fourteen."
Aidou gave a suspiciously nervous laugh. "Yeah he does doesn't he? Ya know, Ruka, you should really have a drink, you look pretty tense."
"I'm quite fine, thank you."
Ruka didn't want to draw any more unwanted attention to herself, so she sat back and looked out the dark window, wishing she could disappear. People like this could never understand her. She simply hadn't been raised like them. While other children had been playing in playgrounds, she had been inside studying French. While other girls had been going to school dances with boyfriends, she had been attending social dinners, practicing etiquette and taking lessons in politics from her father.
Ruka became a woman before she ever had the chance to become a child. It was possibly why she had been immediately attracted to Kaname. The sad look of a life without a childhood reflected in his dark eyes as well. Not even Aidou and Kain had seemed to understand. Their parents had at least given them more freedom to do as they pleased.
Ruka looked at her reflection on the glass of the dark car window. Pale cheeks and tired eyes set over a bored face. Her mother was right, she should be wearing more make-up than this. She should really try to make her parents happy since they were obviously so disappointed in her. She made a mental note to follow her mother's advice and watch what she ate for the next few weeks.
The sound of the car door opening, abruptly brought her out of her thoughts. Ruka picked her purse up off the seat next to her and lifted her skirt so it wouldn't get dirty as she stepped out of the car. Chihiro and Shinichi walked arm in arm. Aidou and the blond walked not far behind them. Ruka followed them all alone.
They were in the middle of town, yet the streets looked deserted, with only soft street lights to reveal the empty road. It had rained earlier that night and Ruka took special care to watch for mud puddles as she followed the vampire couples.
When they turned down a dark alley she hesitated. "Where is it exactly that we're going?"
Aidou paused. "It's just around the corner."
Ruka stood perfectly still, unsure of what to do. This didn't seem like a very good idea.
They all stopped and and turned to look back at her. The blond looked at her with disgust, Shinichi with disinterest, and Chihiro had a look of none other than pity.
Aidou took off his suit jacket and swung it over his shoulder. "Hey guys, why don't you go ahead of me? We'll catch up in a minute."
"But Aidou," the blond let out a high pitched whine. "You promised we'd have fun tonight."
Aidou whispered something in her ear. The girl giggled and then winked at him before turning to walk away with a swing in her hips that was obviously practiced to show off her well rounded behind.
Aidou stood staring after her lecherously as if he had forgotten Ruka was there.
Ruka couldn't take it anymore. She punched him in the arm as hard as she could.
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"Your disgusting."
"Yeah, well at least I'm not a prude."
"Oh," Ruka dramatically gasped at the insult. "I'm not a prude and I don't have anything to prove to you. I'm leaving."
She turned swiftly and began walking away. Ignoring Aidou as he ran after her trying to cut her off.
"C'mon Ruka, you promised you'd come out for an hour and a half. It hasn't even been twenty minutes yet."
She kept walking.
"What are you going to do? Walk home?" he persisted.
Still, she ignored him.
"I know. You're scared aren't you?"
That stopped her. "I may be disgusted and disappointed in you. But I am certainly not scared."
"Yes you are. You're scared that nobody will like you."
"I am not."
"Yes you are."
"No, I'm..." She stopped before she repeated herself then let out a sigh. "This is childish, isn't it?"
Aidou smiled a bit. "Yeah, but we haven't fought since we were kids. I kinda like getting the old Ruka back."
"Yes, but we're too old for this now." Somebody had to be the adult here.
"Absolutely, so are you coming with me or not?"
Ruka sighed in defeat, his taunts worked and now she had to prove to him that nothing so ridiculous could scare her. "Yes, but only for a little while."
"Yeah I got it, an hour and a half. Just like you promised." He seemed determined to remind her.
As she reluctantly walked with him towards the back alley, Ruka started to worry about what would happen once they got wherever it was they were going.
"When we get there you're going to ditch me to go do whatever it is you plan to do with that other girl, aren't you."
"No, I'm going to keep an eye on you because if I don't, my cousin will kill me."
Ruka couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah right, Akatsuki is always so calm. He would never lose his temper."
Aidou lifted an eyebrow. "You may not know him as well as you think you do."
As they walked down the darkened alley, Ruka was distracted by Aidou's statement. She thought she knew Kain fairly well considering they grew up together. Was there something Aidou knew about him that she didn't? Even though the two cousins were inseparable, Ruka doubted it.
Kain was just always...there. He was a nice guy, somebody she could always depend on. She knew he looked after her, but it was like the way a big brother would look after his little sister. It didn't mean anything...right?
For a reason that was somehow beyond her grasp, these thoughts bothered her. Kain was somebody who was steady and dependable in a world that could spontaneously turn upside down. She couldn't picture him being angry or sad, or being very emotional at all really. His level-headed attitude was something she had always admired and she liked to think that they both respected each other.
Ruka paused when they reached their destination. It wasn't through the dark alley, it was in the dark alley. They stood in front of what appeared to be an abandoned door, except there was loud music coming from behind it and a large angry bouncer smoking a cigarette in front of it.
Aidou spoke to the bouncer as if he'd known him for years, he motioned back towards Ruka announcing that she was with him. Apparently this was all it took to get them inside, because before she could react, Ruka found herself standing inside the most lively, crowded, and somewhat sweaty, dance club she had ever seen.
The high ceilings and wooden floors gave off the impression that this was an abandoned warehouse. There was a large dance floor with so many people dancing she could hardly make out their moves. Techno music blared so loud it practically shook the floor. There was a bar that went all the way across the room. Behind it, display shelves of liquor covered the walls almost to the ceiling while bartenders and dishwashers busied themselves with serving drinks to customers.
Most people were wearing black or dark clothes. It must have been what was in fashion for people like this. The club was lit with black light, making every light colored piece of cloth stand out in contrast to the dark surroundings. She ignored the people who stared at her, knowing that her long violet dress stood out like a sore thumb.
Ruka instinctively breathed in to try to catch a questionable scent in the air. Humans and vampires were here and the place reeked of freshly spilled blood.
"C'mon we're headed through this way." Aidou had to yell over the crowds and the music.
"Hanabusa, what is this place?" She called back at him, as he took her by the wrist and weaved through the sea of people. "There are humans here and..." She trailed off, surprised at what she had been about to say while out in the open.
"They know." Aidou said over his shoulder.
"What?"
They had cleared through the most crowded area and walking towards several booths in the back. It was a little quieter back here and Ruka was thankful she wouldn't have to scream in order to be heard.
Aidou stopped to look at her. "I said they know." Then he grinned. "And they like it."
Ruka stood in shock, and it was then that she noticed that many of the booths had dark curtains so that people could have privacy behind them. It was from those booths that the distracting scent of blood was coming from.
Ruka's mind raced as the sweet scent flooded her nostrils. Nobody knew this about her, but she had never drank straight from a warm body, human or vampire. Her parents had told her that this was no longer acceptable according to the modern rules of vampire propriety. They wanted her to be virginal to whichever established vampire she acquired as a husband, preferably a pureblood. She had never told them about what had happened with Kaname, but she didn't doubt they would have been happy about it if they had learned of it.
Unfortunately, Ruka had been raised on tablets, and was completely unequipped to defend herself against such an onslaught of desirable sensations. Her mouth began to water as her fangs lengthened. As the room began to cover with a red haze she realized bloodlust was settling in, and she was completely unprepared for it.
Embarrassed at her display of lack of control. She quickly looked down to the floor.
"Yeah I know, It's hard to resist isn't it?" Aidou said with gentle understanding.
"I'm fine." Ruka insisted.
"Mmmhmm, okay well, just so you know, they have it by the glass here."
At this, Ruka couldn't help but give him an inquisitive look. The only places she had seen blood in a glass was at exclusive vampire gatherings. "They have that here?"
"Yeah" Aidou gestured to a booth several feet away. "See?"
Ruka glanced at the booth. It was apparently where they were heading, because there sat Chihiro, Shinichi, and the blond who was as yet unnamed. They seemed to be relaxed and enjoying the atmosphere and they each had a glass filled with red liquid.
Drinking blood from a glass was not something new to her, but Ruka had still very rarely drank the blood mixed with liquor that was served at the social gatherings of nobles. After all, she made a point to stay away from alcohol so as not to lose control.
But this time the temptation was irresistible. She watched as Shinichi lifted the red liquid to his moth, pressed the glass up against his pierced lip, and swallowed it down. Her throat dried and she tried to swallow as if she could somehow accomplish the same sensation from a distance.
She wanted it. Badly.
Aidou must have noticed the way she was staring, because he smiled at her and said, "I'll order you one as soon as we sit down."
She followed him as he began walking towards the booth, still mesmerized by the blood in the glass like a fly attracted to a bright light. Chihiro was tapping her finger against the rim of her glass and it wasn't until she stepped closer that Ruka noticed that the girl was watching her with another look of pity.
"Wait!" She stopped Aidou.
"Ruka, I thought you said you would stay for awhile." He pouted.
"No, I mean...yes. I'll stay. Just...where's the ladies room?"
"Oh, there's the dirty public one on the other side of the room. Or there's the private VIP one around the corner there."
Ruka walked in the direction Aidou had pointed towards the VIP restroom. When she rounded the corner, another bouncer stood in front of the bathroom door. Ruka gave him a look that said 'I dare you to try and stop me.'
He must have gotten the message, because he opened the door for her and she quickly stepped in and closed the latch, locking herself inside. The comforting silence engulfed her and the breeze from a small window cooled her heated skin.
This was crazy. Absolutely insane. She couldn't believe she found herself here, pondering drinking blood, from a glass..or from a person. She lifted her hand to cover her face in utter confusion. Why was it that everyone here could be so carefree? How could they enjoy themselves so frivolously? Why was she the only one trapped in a suffocating cage of backwards morality?
Her mind asked a million more questions as she stepped in front of a full length mirror. She looked ridiculous in her violet gown, like a little girl playing dress up for a costume party. No wonder people had stared and Chihiro had given her those looks of pity. Normally, Ruka was used to being admired for her feminine delicacy, but here she just looked pathetic.
Enough! She wasn't the type to mope and feel sorry for herself. No matter how much pressure her parents applied or how many times her heart was broken, she always kept her feet on the ground and pressed onward. If she wanted to have fun and wanted people to like her, then, by God, she was going to accomplish it.
Without a second thought, she ripped off her white gloves and reached into her purse, digging for any usable tool. When her hand closed around a nail file, she couldn't help but smile. Trust her well-bread feminine preparation to come in handy now.
With one quick strike, she stuck the file clear through the skirt of her dress and began slicing it through the silk fabric. It wasn't exactly the best tool for the job, but a little vampire strength could really be quite convenient at times.
Within seconds, she had cut along a seem, ruining a two-thousand dollar ball gown, just to transform it into a short cocktail dress. All it took was a few carefully removed extra strands of thread, and she was sure nobody would notice that this wasn't the dress's original purpose.
With an experienced eye, she assessed herself in the mirror. It was much better but something was still wrong. The hair dresser had spent two hours putting her hair into a perfect up-do, but it only took Ruka a few seconds to take it down. Light brown hair fell to her waist. Because of the curls that had been pressed created with hot rollers, her hair had extra waves and buoyancy, as if she had styled it this way on purpose. Then, as an afterthought, she took off her necklace and wrapped it around her ankle.
Now, she was prepared to have fun.
Hehe, I had fun with this chapter even though I feel guilty for stereotyping the blonde chick...especially since my hair is blonde too...
Anyways, please tell me what you think! I LOVE your comments!
